The Mekong and Angkor Wat 12 Days

Saigon (currently Ho Chi Minh city) varies from the rest of Vietnam due to its modern flair. Various cultures mesh together to create a colorful city with foreign influences:

• Built by the Cantonese congregation, Thien Hau Temple and the Binh Tay Market both reside in the Cholon district, which is presently the largest community of Chinese.
• The War Remnants Museum houses a history of locals’ perspectives of the American/Vietnam War.
• The old Presidential Palace is where victory was declared after years of fighting and is preserved as found with vehicles still in the garages.
• The Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Saigon Post Office are both magnificent displays of French architecture.

Highlight experience: Visit the War Remnants Museum to learn more about the history of Vietnam

Venture away from Saigon, through rural scenes, to encounter mysterious religious practices and unusual sites of preserved history:

• Investigate the unique Cao Dai Temple, and be launched into this melting pot of Eastern and Western theologies.
• Witness the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, and scramble through part of an unbelievably complex system of tunnels built by the Vietnamese resistance fighters.

Highlight experience: Go through the Cu Chi Tunnels and experience the way of exit of the soldiers

Move from Saigon and head for the rich, fertile lands of the Mekong Delta region and its extraordinarily busy inhabitants:

• Wind along narrow waterways on a local sampan and observe productive rice fields, fruit orchards, and historic buildings.
• Visit a rice popcorn factory and an ancient colonial house in Vinh Long.
• Travel by road to Can Tho, the largest town and trading center in the Mekong Delta.

Highlight experience: Go arround the fields of the Mekong Delta

Start an eventful final day in the Mekong Delta full of vibrant opportunities:

• Journey to the colorful Cai Rang floating market and Ba Cong fruit orchard to taste their fresh products
• Visit the 100 year old Binh Thuy historic House to appreciate the historic workmanship and architecture
• Admire the lush vegetation and active life of the local people along the riverbanks
• End your Mekong Delta trip by wandering Can Tho’s bright market.

Highlight experience: Go shopping on the floating market

Embark on your journey towards Phnom Penh, and once there, view some of the city’s most fascinating sites.

• Enter a world of visual wonder, starting with the National Museum of Fine Arts’ sculpture collection, before heading to the resplendent Royal Palace, admiring its striking Khmer architecture.
• Survey the serene Silver Pagoda and its magnificent Emerald Buddha.
• Meander through the Central Market, famous for its Art Deco architecture.

Highlight experience: Visit the stunning Silver Pagoda

Be swept in the sensations of Phnom Penh’s many markets and clamouring streets.

• Explore Wat Phnom, the oldest of the city, and see the statue of Madam Penh.
• Take in the somber atmosphere of the camp Choeng Ek Killing Field, outside Phnom Penh, the final resting place of many Cambodian people, murdered by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.
• Be educated about the nation’s past at the Museum of Genocidal Crime, which was the S-21 prison – the scene of the worst examples of brutality and torture under the infamous Pol Pot.

Highlight experience: Explore the old city of Wat Phnom

• Enjoy free time until your transfer to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap
• Arrive and be welcomed by our guide at the airport and be transferred to your arranged accommodation.

Highlight experience: Get ready for the next journey in Siem Reap

Arriving in Angkor Wat, you’ll rove among the ruins of the world’s most famous Hindu temple complexes, built for gods, and fit for kings.

• Gaze upon the fascinating Buddhist monastery of Ta Phrom, where the jungle threatens to reclaim all stone structures, in time.
• Visit the three-tiered Baphuon (a temple in honour of another Hindu deity, Shiva) with its spectacular layered structure.
• Pass through the Terrace of the Elephants, once a viewing platform for kings.
• See the Terrace of the Leper King with its beautiful carvings of gods, nagas (semi-divine serpents), and dancers.
• Visit the Royal Enclosure and its small temple, Phimeanakas. These ruins are particularly significant as they date from the 10th century.

Highlight experience: Explore the beautiful Terrace of the elephants listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Advance to an off-the-beaten-track site, an hour away from Angkor Wat, encountering stunning Cambodian countryside, and uncovering more temples.

• Be dazzled by Banteay Srei, a Hindu temple dating back to the 10th century. Called “the citadel of women”, its stone has a marvellous pink hue, and is very well preserved.
• Come face to face with the meticulously restored enclosed temple of Banteay Samre, complete with carvings of lions and nagas (semi-divine serpents).Return to Angkor Wat and get a sense of true history in the Buddhist sites patronised by King Jayavarman VII, including the Angkorian monastery of the “sacred sword”.
• Leave behind the crowds of tourists and view the less-appreciated, but newly restored Ta Som temple.

Highlight experience: Learn more about the Buddisht religion

Inhale the fresh air at the edge of Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Asia. Then, go back to where it all started, and view some of the earliest temples in Siem Reap, heralding the start of Khmer architecture.

• Cruise past floating villages and note the bamboo houses on stilts, specially designed to avoid flooding.
• Try your hand at fishing using local techniques!

Become acquainted with the Roluos Group, and its three main temples, dedicated to Shiva.

• Prepare to be dumbfounded by incredibly intricate sandstone carvings at Temple Lolei.
• Visualise the first Angkorian capital city, by gazing at the remains of Bakong Temple, which was the city’s focal point for worship and rituals.

Highlight experience: Wait and admire the temples with the sunset

Free time until transfer to the airport for your departure flight.