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Going with the flow: Life on the river on a Mekong River cruise

Jen Adams | June 26, 2016 | 2:58 am | Comment

mekong river cruise
Sailing towards my floating hotel on the Mekong

My introduction to daily life on the Mekong River began with a boat journey from Tonle Sap Lake, near Siem Reap in Cambodia, to the floating hotel I would call home for the next seven night on my Mekong River Cruise, the RV AmaLotus. En route, we passed entire villages built on the water. Homes, schools, markets and even basketball courts floated alongside the riverbanks, mostly inhabited by the families of fishermen who use this liquid highway to earn their living.

mekong river cruise
The sights along the river

After a few days in Siem Reap, where I discovered the incredible Angkor Wat complex and more, I was continuing my 13-day exploration of Cambodia and Vietnam following the mighty Mekong River with APT. As I pondered the adventures still ahead of me, the sounds and sights of children playing, women gossiping while chopping up fish, men arguing over a broken boat engine, and cats and dogs jumping from one barge to the next filled my ears and eyes. It was lively and energetic, and no-one batted an eyelid at the boatload of tourists passing by.

mekong river cruise

After half an hour or so, we arrived at the ship, marking the official beginning of our journey down the Lower Mekong River from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The Mekong River cruise would introduce us to local communities like the ones we’d just seen, rural villages whose inhabitants’ lives revolved around the river. We would also visit better known sights such as Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh along the way. It’s an adventure designed to uncover the secrets of the Mekong and immerse us in its local way of life, accessing locations otherwise untouched by tourism.

mekong river cruise
My incredible suite

We were welcomed on board the river ship with refreshing hand towels and smiles that lit up the faces of our Cambodian and Vietnamese crew. The RV AmaLotus is a modern and stylish boutique ship that carries just 124 passengers. Guest suites are spread over four decks; most have private balconies from which you can watch the scenery glide peacefully by. There were also lounges with terrific views, plus a swimming pool, spacious restaurant, library, fitness centre and day spa that proved popular for foot massages.

mekong river cruise
Incredible and clever fusion food on board

On our first night, drinks in one of the teak-hued lounges with the captain were followed by an Asian-and Western-inspired dinner in the restaurant and live piano music. The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate, and new friendships are quickly formed, ones that would grow over card games, G&Ts on the sundeck and new adventures on land.

mekong river cruise
Camaraderie building on the sun deck

I relished the thought of unpacking just once, yet able to visit a new destination each day. Relieved of having to check in and out of hotels, I needed only to concentrate on the adventures ahead and enjoying the ship’s considerable comforts.

mekong river cruise
Travelling by local transport

One of our first shore excursions saw us disembarking in Prek K’dam, and climbing aboard traditional ox carts to experience the ‘local transport’. Many of the rural villages we visited on this trip have been welcoming foreign tourists for only a short time, and in many ways locals here are still living as they have done for hundreds of years. In the interests of boosting the local economy through tourism, rice farmers down tools for an hour and come from all around to offer their ox carts for our enjoyment. Our guide Pisak told us that life has been tough for the locals, but the arrival of more tourists has opened up another income stream for them.

mekong river cruise
Meeting the locals

Bumping our way into the village of Kampong Tralach, we passed rice fields and happy, excited children who run beside us. As we travelled along the little town’s main street it felt as though we had taken over the village, but we couldn’t be made to feel more welcome – everyone waved at us with a smile and it felt like a celebration.

mekong river cruise
Monk blessing ceremony in Oudong

We then were taken to the nearby town of Oudong, once a royal capital and now home to one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in Cambodia; anyone can join a meditation retreat here. We entered one of the largest pagodas to witness a magical monk-blessing ceremony, and left with the musical chanting still in our ears.

mekong river cruise

As the ship continued towards Phnom Penh, our trip was broken up by stops at several other villages along the way. Each had its own speciality, such as the village of Chong Koh, known for silk weaving. Every stop gives us further insight into life on the river, allowing us to see how livelihoods are sustained.

Throughout the journey, my fellow passengers and I couldn’t help but be affected by Cambodia’s most recent tragic history. Most of the people we spoke to, such as local tour guides or the farmers who transported us on their ox carts, had their own heartbreaking stories to tell from the brutal Pol Pot era. It quickly became clear though that Cambodians are a resilient people, optimistic about their future and the opportunities that lie ahead.

mekong river cruise

It is in Phnom Penh that we were confronted with the darkest realities of this era, when we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Known as S-21 (short for Security Prison 21), this was a former high school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. One of around 150 detention and torture venues in the country, it housed more than 17,000 people who were later sent to the nearby notorious Killing Fields of Choeung Ek for execution.

mekong river cruise
Traditional Khmer dance to farewell Cambodia

This sombre excursion affected all of us deeply, especially after we visited the Killing Fields themselves. It was an incredibly emotional day and we sought comfort from newfound friends over dinner that night, sharing what the day evoked for each of us. On that poignant note, we farewelled Cambodia with a traditional Khmer dance on board the ship and looked forward to sailing into Vietnam the next morning.

mekong river cruise
Switching places – driving my rickshaw driver!

Our group was inducted into the Vietnamese way of life via cycle rickshaws in the small town of Tan Chau. Winding our way around the haphazard streets, ducking and weaving between bicycles, motorbikes and dogs, locals waved and pointed amusedly at us as they went about their daily business. I couldn’t help myself and asked my driver if we could swap places. He agreed and giggled behind me, obviously unused to being the passenger, and I discovered muscles in my legs that I never knew existed.

mekong river cruise
Meeting the kids of the Evergreen Islands

We headed back down to the river via a floating fish farm, where small boats took us to the Evergreen Islands, a group of islands in the Mekong Delta that are practically untouched by tourism. The islands’ inhabitants live in stilt houses poised over rice-paddy fields, and we were greeted by groups of friendly children who spontaneously invited us to visit their homes. We gratefully accepted and climbed a ladder into one house, touched by the generosity and hospitality of these strangers.

mekong river cruise
Sa Dec markets

Our journey towards Ho Chi Minh City continued via the slightly larger town of Sa Dec. A local market here had some interesting produce on sale – freshly prepared mice, rats, eels and snakes were the speciality, sold next to standard Vietnamese fare such as pineapples, green vegetables, rambutans and rice. The markets were a place of colour, vibrancy and noise and are clearly the hub of the community. Women crouched on the ground, gossiping amongst themselves and selling their goods in-between chats.

mekong river cruise
The incredible crew on board

Our farewell dinner on the ship’s last evening was an emotional one. Ho Chi Minh City awaited but I was in no hurry to leave my floating hotel. The camaraderie and friendships that had been forged over the last eight inspiring, and at times emotional, days were hard to say goodbye to. I would miss the crew, from the bartender on the sundeck who knew my drink by heart, to the team who made up my room each day and the chef who prepared my pho (rice-noodle soup) at breakfast. It’s amazing how attached we had all become to them and their incredible hospitality in just one week.

http://www.aptouring.com/trips/asia/vem13

This was a clever and memorable journey, an experience that shows how age-old traditions still have a relevant place in society and that in places like these, community is still king. In many ways it was the local people who made the trip, from the villagers along the river to the crew on board, each sharing their own backyard, story and smile.

About Jen Adams

Places We Go is Jen's dream come true. As the founder, she simply wanted to 'share the world with the world'. With the tag line “It’s not just the places we go, but the people we meet that capture our heart” Jen knows that it's always the locals that bring our travels alive.

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I was lucky enough explore regional Victoria earli I was lucky enough explore regional Victoria earlier in the year (between lockdowns!), and tour the Goldfields with @big4holidayparks – Sure, I got my much-needed fix of the outdoors and was able to feed my insatiable curiosity as I explored the regions utterly fascinating history & culture, but it was sitting up at the old bar of family run Munari wines, just outside of Heathcote that got me.
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 Chatting to the chief winemaker Adrian Munari, and his daughter India (over a lovely red, of course) I heard all about the historic sheep station that was established in 1871, and life on the property today. (I wonder how the farmers endured the pandemic in 1919?)  
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Here’s to a happy summer holiday for us all, of enjoying those ‘moments’, wherever we are. 
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 I based myself at the @BIG4BendigoAscotHolidayPark 
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 See link in bio if want to plan your own getaway 😍
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#holidayhearthisyear #ExploreBIG4 #BIG4HolidayParks #VisitVictoria @visitmelbourne
WHO WANTS TO **WIN** A LUXURIOUS 2-NIGHT GETAWAY? WHO WANTS TO **WIN** A LUXURIOUS 2-NIGHT GETAWAY?
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How would you (and a friend!) like to escape to NSW’s New England Tablelands on a 2-night LUXURIOUS getaway, experiencing the best of Armidale’s premium accom, stunning food, wine & beer, an immersion in the local arts AND a World-Heritage Listed backyard to cap it off? 
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Take it from me, this is worth entering, and if you do in fact WIN, set your alarm and get up for sunrise in the New England National Park, followed by a trip to Wollomombi Falls (the second highest falls in the county!) - it was sincerely exceptional.
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Oh and say hello to John at the Tattersalls Hotel, Rachael from the Art Gallery, and Sam from Great Hops Brewery. 
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 **TAG A FRIEND YOU'D  LOVE TO TAKE, and increase your chances of winning by both entering.. I know I would 😉❤
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Good luck, 
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WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!! ON TV TODAY 😎🕺 . Would WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!! ON TV TODAY 😎🕺
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Would love you to join me as we celebrate the locals of #armidale on TV today
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Tune in (or set your record buttons) @ 1.30pm, ON TEN **TODAY**
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A special thanks to all those that not only shared their magnificent backyard with us, but who opened their hearts and let our TV cameras in.
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Armidale, you can no longer use the term “hidden treasure” 😉
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Ps did I say “today” enough times? 😆🤪🙏 Jen xx
ARMIDALE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Ready for another cele ARMIDALE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
 
Ready for another celebration of a brilliant person and travel experience for us all?
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He not only spends his life taking us travellers on scenic chopper tours over his World-Heritage Listed backyard of the #newengland region – he’s one of the many brilliant pilots who you’ll find hovering above the blazing heat helping fight our Australian Bushfires.
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