Pearl of The Orient

UPSTREAM: Saigon - Phnom Penh

Day 1: Saigon - My Tho - Cai Be
We gather before noontime at our welcome lounge in Saigon. Lean back with a drink as our staff welcomes you and collects your details for the boarding.
We bid farewell to the hustle and bustle of Saigon and travel 70 kilometers south overland to My Tho to embark your luxury floating home for your coming journey along the Might Mekong.
Upon boarding our crew warmly welcomes you and you check in to your prepared staterooms. The ship set sail and your fasctinating journey of exploring the Mekong can begin. Lunch buffet is served in the restaurant while the vessel steadily glides upstream to reach the overnight spot. Make yourself familiar with all the ship facilities. Now it is time to become one with one of the largest streams in Asia.
The afternoon allows you pastime at your private balcony or join our tea time at the open air bar as the twilight bathes the land of Mekong Delta into a golden haze.
During the time you savor your dinner the ship reaches Cai Be. Cai Be is a charming small town, famous for its Catholic French church and manufacturing of traditional crafts and food products. The floating market of Cai Be is getting smaller every year, since trading on the water is shifting more and more into modern central markets.
We drop anchor mid-stream and overnight near Cai Be.

Day 2: Cai Be - Sa Dec - Tan Chau
Everyday, we offer to our guests an invigorating Tai Chi class on the sun deck. Set in your day like many local people do around Asia just as the sun begins its gentle glow.
A sumptuous buffet breakfast is the perfect start in your first exploration day in the Mekong Delta.
The morning tour takes you Cai Be. Cai Be still hosts a small floating market for boat to boat trading of local goods such as fruits and agricultural products. Our guide explains the particularities of this long lasting dealing cutlture. Each boat has a special marker to let buyers know what goods they are selling.
Cai Be is a rustic town criss-crossed by and many water canals. We go on-shore to visit a workshop where we learn about and observe how rice paste, rice paper, rice cookies or rice wine is manufactured. Cai Be and its surrounding areas are covered by palmtrees and hence the region is also famous for the production of coconut candies. With our local boat we continue to cruise through the lush and green canel network and can observe farmers working in the fields.
Back on board lunch is served and you have some time for yourself afterwards to either enjoy a true Vietnamese coffee at the bar or simply watch the life on the riverbanks floating by.
In the afternoon, we reach the area of Sa Dec. We embark a traditional sampan and tour towards Binh Thanh Island. This island is one of the larger ones in the vast stream of the Mekong. Some communities have settled here and make their living by growing water hyazinths. We visit exclusively one of those untouched areas. By wandering through the village we get a deep understanding of the native life. But moreover we can follow the whole process of ratt making. You can even try yourself the weaving which is still done manually. We will meet also an old local people who shares with us their story on this island and they are happy for any chit-chat with you.
Back on board you may like to pamper yourself with a spa treatment or take a dip in our pool on the sun deck. Our expert guides offer a presentation on the “Life on the Mekong Delta” as the ship continues sailing to Tan Chau - the boarder town to Cambodia. We moor mid-stream near Tan Chau.
Dinner is served and afterwards you can join our evening cinema session (offered every night) featuring selected classic movies.

Day 3: Tan Chau - Border crossing - Phnom Penh
Welcome to the fish sanctuary of Vietnam. Begin your day with a hearty breakfast at the dining hall or in the quiet sanctuary of your balcony.
Brace yourself for an excursion around Tan Chau, a pleasant, slow-paced town near the Cambodian border with a sizeable Chinese, Kinh and Khmer community. Once arrived on-shore we hop on “xelois” to explore Tan Chau. A xelaoi is a local vehicle which is still used as taxi in this region. We slowly move around the streets to see all the workshops, houses and domiciles. Get to feel the laid back vibes of this place. We stop at the colorful local market near one of the ancient temples. This is the best time you can interact with the vendors of this friendly town to make your own bargain experience. We board our local boats and cruise along floating houses to finally reach a floating fish farm. This region is the source of fish production to be sold all over the world and we can see closely how fish farmings works.
Back on board our “home” we sail towards the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Get ready for a fascinating and leisurely cruise through the deep Cambodia countryside towards Phnom Penh.
The whole afternoon is at your own arrangements. This is the cruise part when even the last passenger will turn into cruise mode and hopefully experience the therapeutical influence this mighty river radiates. It is time for massages, time for sun bed relaxations, time for private balcony kick-backs - forsooth the time to merge with the river.
A culinary class if offered during the afternoon to sharpen your knowledge and skills on the local cuisine. Some may like to do a flying visit at the bridge - the captain always has a story to share about “his” river. “The Highway Blues” beckons as we float into a state of mild bliss and before you totally drift away join our afternoon high tea for some treats.
Dinner is served before we arrive in the capital of Cambodia around 8 o’clock. The boat docks at the pier of Phnom Penh. You are free to go for your first exploration by yourself. Stroll along the river promenade and watch the locals chit-chating, selling odds and ends or have a drink in one of the numerous bars (kindly inform our crew once you are leaving the ship on your own).

Day 4: Phnom Penh
Welome to Phnom Penh - the once called Paris of the East. Despite its rapid development, it has retained a lot of its rustic charm and elegance. It is an amazing town to bespeak centuries of incredible history and culture which can still be felt at many street corners.

After breakfast we bid farewell to our passenger of the Pearl of the Orient Cruise (3-nights).
, take plenty of memories and friendships along with you that will linger on with your stories of this amazing river - the Mighty

DOWNSTREAM: Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh

Day 1: Phnom Penh - Border Crossing - Tan Chau
At 8 o’clock we weclome our passengers of the Pearl of the Orient Cruise (3-nights).
The lounge is set up for a captivating lecture about Cambodian mordern history, held by a professor of the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Definitely among the highlights of this cruise is to receive knowledge first hand as our lecturer has studied the subject extensively and personally. The whole afternoon is at your own arrangements.
This is the cruise part when even the last passenger will turn into cruise mode and hopefully experience the therapeutic influence this mighty river radiates. It is time for massages, time for sun bed relaxations, time for private balcony kick-backs - it’s time to merge with the river. Some may like to visit the bridge - the captain always has a story to share about “his” river.
Float into a state of mild bliss, but before totally drifting away do not forget lunchtime around noon. A culinary class if offered in the afternoon to sharpen your knowledge and skills of the local cuisine. There may be an afternoon snooze kicking in. Our high tea with coffee and snacks might work against it if you like to. We reach the border and arrive finally in Vietnam.
From here it is just a short way to Tan Chau, a pleasant, slow-paced border town close-by with a sizeable Chinese, Kinh and Khmer community. We moor near the city with views of the riverside. Dinner is served and afterwards you can join our evening cinema with another selected classic movie.

Day 2: Tan Chau - My An Hung - Sa Dec
Welcome to the fish sanctuary of Vietnam. Begin your day with a hearty breakfast at the dining hall or in the quiet sanctuary of your balcony. Brace yourself for an excursion around Tan Chau, a pleasant, slow-paced town near the Cambodian border with a sizeable Chinese, Kinh and Khmer community. Once arrived on-shore we hop on “xelois” to explore Tan Chau.
A xeloi is a local vehicle which is still used as a taxi in this region. We slowly move around the streets to see all the workshops, houses and domiciles. Get to feel the laidback vibes of this place. We stop at the colorful local market near one of the ancient temples. This is the best time to interact with the vendors of this friendly town to make your own bargain experience.
We board our local boats and cruise along floating houses to finally reach a floating fish farm. This region is the source of fish production to be sold all over the world and we can see closely how fish farmings works. Back on board you may like to pamper yourself with some spa treatments or take a dip in our pool on the sun deck before lunch time.
Our expert guides offer a presentation on the “Life on the Mekong Delta” as the ship continues to My An Hung near Sa Dec province. Before we arrive mingle and share some stories. We will set off for the My An Hung Village. In the village we receive wonderful insights into the private household of a local family. We are allowed to visit their vegetable garden and accees the seasonal vegetable fields via crossing a monkey bridge.
We are invited after to their house for a Vietnamese tea tasting. Vietnamese tea is often bitter and locals sweeten it with honey. The honey produced by the family is a delicacy in this region. We are the offered fruits, juicy, fresh, and right from the tree. A local artist group performs a typical traditional dragon dance while we munch on those natural “vitamins bombs”. As the sun sets and the light bathes everything golden we settle on a riverbank with cocktails to recap the day.
Back on our ship we cruise down the Mekong. Refresh yourself and get ready for dinner. The ship moors mid-river around Sa Dec.

Day 3: Binh Thanh Island - Cai Be - My Tho
During breakfast time we arrive at the island of Binh Thanh.
We embark a local boat and head towards Binh Thanh Island. This island is one of the larger ones in the vast stream of the Mekong. Some communities have settled here and make their living by growing water hyazinths. We visit exclusively one of those untouched areas. By wandering through the village we get a deep understanding of the native life. But moreover, we can follow the whole process of mat making. You can even try yourself the weaving which is still done manually. We will meet also an old local couple who share with us their story on this island and they are happy for any chit-chat with you.
Back on board lunch is served and you have some time afterwards for yourself in your preferred cruise mode.
In the early afternoon we arrive in Cai Be. Cai Be is a charming small town, famous for its Catholic French church and manufacturing of traditional crafts and food products. The floating market of Cai Be is getting smaller every year, since trading on the water is shifting more and more into modern central markets. We can still see some boat to boat trading of local goods, such as fruits and agricultural products. Our guide explains the particulars of this long lasting dealing cutlture. Each boat has a special marker to let buyers know what goods they are selling. We go on-shore to visit a workshop where we learn about and observe how rice paste, rice paper, rice cookies and rice wine is manufactured. Cai Be and its surrounding areas are covered by palm trees and hence the region is also famous for the production of coconut candies. The city is criss-crossed by and many water canals. With our local boat we continue to cruise through the lush and green canal network and can observe farmers working in the fields.
As the sun sets, our crew invites you to a farewell event. Before your dinner enjoy some dance and music together with the crew.
The ships moors at My Tho in the evening.

Day 4: My Tho - Saigon
Enjoy your last breakfast aboard our floating sanctuary.
We will disembark the ship after the breakfast and take a bus transfer from My Tho to the drop off point in Saigon. It is only around 70 kilometers on the highway.
You arrive in Saigon by mid-morning. We hope that you enjoyed this fascinating river just as our crew does every single time. Moreover we wish that you will take plenty of memories and friendships along with you that will linger with your stories of this amazing river - the Mighty Mekong.