By Sandra Scott
I have watched scores of National Geographic specials, and the ones that intrigued me the most were the river explorations. My adventurous side longed to join such a trip, but the sybaritic side wanted the adventure to include excellent accommodations, great food, personal service and no stress. My voyage on the RV Mekong Pandaw from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Saigon, Vietnam, was all of that — a luxurious river adventure on the world's 12th longest river.
It is fascinating to cruise slowly along a river and watch the daily activities of the people without disturbing their routines. They may be fishing, bathing, gathering water or farming along the banks of the river. I like that.
The voyage started in Phnom Penh, located on the Tonle Sap, a waterway that drains into the Mekong River, and then continued on the Mekong River. I made it on a beautifully crafted luxury vessel that was built to reflect the traditional teak and brass vessels of the colonial era.
Most of the passengers boarded in Siem Reap, home to the amazing ruins of Angkor Wat. Since I had already been there I opted to board in Phnom Penh, and while most of the guests toured Phnom Penh, visiting the Silver Pagoda on the grounds of the Royal Palace, the National Museum and the Killing Fields, I checked into my cabin and explored the four levels of the vessel. All the cabins are roomy with lots of easily accessible storage space, a desk and a bathroom with a shower that was bigger than typical on a cruise ship. I especially loved the promenade deck with a table and chairs outside my room and spent hours there watching life on the river. It never got boring.
I started exploring at the top on the Sun Deck, which had a panoramic view and a hospitality bar next to where the evening cultural shows were held. The Upper Deck had some accommodations and an enclosed, air-conditioned Saloon Bar. It was plush, but I don't think anyone on our trip used it because the weather was too wonderful to be inside. There were more cabins on the main deck, along with the air-conditioned dining room where the chef served gourmet meals and dinner was a white-tablecloth affair. They had something to please all palates but also some unusual items, such as the excellent wild boar I enjoyed the first day. The lowest deck, the Spa Deck, had a full-service spa where I relaxed with a foot reflexology treatment. There is also a gym with cardio machines and weights plus a relaxation area with reading material, a fair-trade shop and a movie theater.
Crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam was a non-event, and we stayed on board while the staff took care of all the formalities. While we waited one of the chefs showed us how to make spring rolls and then demonstrated his skill at fruit-carving.
The shore trips were varied and included in the price. Our first excursion in Vietnam was to Chau Doc town, where we visited an Islamic Cham fishing village where some of the families lived in stilt houses designed to accommodate the seasonal rise and fall of the river. Our visit did not seem to interfere with their usual activities. We saw a group of men playing marbles, one young woman weaving and another cooking soup. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a floating fish farm.
That evening we watched the French movie "The Lover" — very adult — in the ship's movie theater. The film is based on the autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras about a young French girl who falls in love with a Chinese man in Vietnam during the 1920s.
The next morning our shore trip included a walk past the colorful and vibrant wet market to the house featured in the movie. The house is nearly 125 years old with a large ancestral altar and period furnishings — an interesting contrast with the wooden stilt house we visited the day before. People who were seeing a wet market for the first time were fascinated by the variety of goods for sale that included fresh fish, meat, an amazing variety of vegetables and fruits, plus other delicacies that included nice, plump ready-to-cook rats.
One afternoon we boarded a local tour boat for a ride past the floating market, but most of the vending boats had gone as the market is mainly a morning activity. We continued on to a small village where there were many cottage industries, so we got to watch the locals make a variety of sweets, popped rice and rice paper, and at the end of the visit we enjoyed samples. There was also snake wine that some of the more adventurous tried. Venomous snakes are placed in large glass jars of rice wine and left to sit for many months. The wine is said to cure just about everything from eyesight to hair loss but is usually promoted as a way to improve health and virility.
On our last evening we enjoyed an onboard Vietnamese cultural show that evolved to include modern music with the guests encouraged to join in.
I loved many things about the cruise: the small number of passengers; shore trips, adult beverages and gratuities being included in the price; the crew's excellent service — including cleaning our shoes after a shore trip; Internet availability; and easy access from ship to shore with no steep banks to climb. My only regret is that I didn't board in Siem Reap for the whole trip. Even though I had been there before, the experiences described by the other passengers sounded unique and wonderful.
WHEN YOU GO
For more information on the many cruises offered by Pandaw in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and India, visit www.pandaw.com or call 800-729-2651. Visas are available upon arrival.
Sandra Scott is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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