Mekong River Vessel (V1) Specification
Class Inland Water
Length 190ft (OA)
Beam 36ft
Draught 4ft (Fully Loaded)
Engines Proposed 2 x 600hp Hino or equivalent, coupled to propeller shafts via forward/reverse reduction gearboxes.
Power 2 x AC electric generators of approximately 150kva each
Cabins 34 x twin cabins distributed 10 on the main deck, 6 on the mid deck and 18 on the upper deck each with en suite WC and shower room
7 x single cabins distributed 5 on the main deck and 2 on the upper deck each with en suite WC and shower room
Public Dining hall, observation saloon/bar, promenade decks and sun deck with part awning
Water On board water treatment plant and storage
Sewage On board collection tank
Comms Immarsat, (or equivalent) phone/fax/email, SSB radio, internal phone system, PA system and tannoy system for navigation purposes
Safety Smoke detectors in all cabins and public places, emergency lighting and generator, fire pump, hydrants and hoses, fire extinguishers, life jackets for all on board and ships boats
Navigation Navigation lights, ships horn, searchlight
Amenities On board laundry, bakery, fully equipped galley and refrigeration units
Hotel A full supply of soft furnishings, bedding, bed linen, towels, dining service, cutlery, crockery and bar equipment

Pandaw Cruising on the RV Mekong

SAIGON - SIEM REAP Upstream (7 Nights)

Full tour details

SIEM REAP- SAIGON Downstream (7 Nights)

Full tour details
Sailing dates

RV Pandaw Mekong Cruises RATES
Rates per person in £ sterling

SAIGON to SIEM REAP and SIEM REAP to SAIGON

High Season: November / December * January / February / March
Upper Deck Twin Cabin £970 per person * Twin Cabin Single use £1,450 * Single Cabin: £1,210 Mid Deck Twin Cabin £835 per person * Twin Cabin single use: £1,250 Main Deck Twin Cabin £695 per person * Twin Cabin Single use £1,050 * Single Cabin: £870
Low Season: June to October * April
Upper Deck Twin Cabin £720 per person * Twin Cabin Single use £1,080 * Single Cabin: £ 900 Mid Deck Twin Cabin £600 per person * Twin Cabin single use: £900 Main Deck Twin Cabin £520 per person * Twin Cabin Single use £ 780 * Single Cabin: £ 650

Prices for one journey, either up-stream or down-stream

For currency conversions, click here: XE.com Personal Currency Assistant

RIVER STOPS

Please keep in mind that the day to day itinerary of the cruise is subject to change due to local conditions:

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam’s largest city and port, Saigon recently celebrated her 300th Anniversary. Rebuilt by the French who
colonized Southern Vietnam in 1859 there is still a very French atmosphere with tree lined boulevards and fine
classical buildings. Of particular interest are the Notre Dame Cathedral and old Post Office in the city center. The Reunification Palace or former President’s Palace was captured by communist tanks that crashed through the gates in 1975. Also of interest is the National History Museum. We transfer passengers from the Renaissance Hotel in Saigon to the Delta Port of My Tho by coach as this saves considerable bureaucratic hassles at the International Port and avoids tidal delays on the Cao Gao canal. The time saved in not cruising this more industrial sector gives us more time in the wilder areas upstream. The transfer time is approximately 2 hours.

My Tho
The hub of the Delta, we visit the Vinh Trang Buddhist temple and then cross the river to visit the Unicorn or
Phoenix Island planted out with exotic fruit trees. We explore these island backwaters by local canoe.

Cai Bei
Cai Bei to see floating market and walk ashore to visit old churches and colourful port area with its French
colonial buildings and delightful flower gardens

Chau Doc
We explore this French style colonial town with many old colonial buildings. We travel by coach to the Nui Sam
Mountain with its Buddhist shrines and for an excellent view of the surrounding rice plains and to the distant hills. Overnight at Chau Doc. At the base of the hill we visit the Indian-style Tay An pagoda with its exquisite statuary.

Phnom Penh
The capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh retains a French charm. The crumbling colonial architecture makes an
attractive backdrop to lively cafes and the redeveloped river "corniche" is full of life. The city has several
impressive Wats (temple-monasteries), including Wat Ounalom (headquarters of the Cambodian Buddhist
patriarchate), Wat Phnom (the hilltop pagoda which gave the city its name) and the newly painted Wat Lang Ka.
Pride of place goes to the spectacular Silver Pagoda, one of the few places in Cambodia where artifacts
embodying the brilliance and richness of Khmer culture were preserved by the Khmer Rouge. The National
Museum is another highlight, with outstanding displays of Khmer crafts. The Royal Palace where King Sihanouk
resides has splendid throne rooms and a cast iron pavilion, once used for the opening of the Suez Canal, gifted
to the King of Cambodia by Napoleon III. There are fine mural paintings dating from the 19th century at the Royal
Palace. There is an optional visit to the Genocide Museum. Phnom Penh has a lively night life and some
passengers choose to dine ashore or try one of the capital’s many watering holes, a favourite being the Foreign
Correspondent’s Club.

Kampong Cham
This area is as far north as we can navigate on a vessel of the RV Mekong’s size. Here we are downstream of
the great falls that straddle the Lao – Cambodia border which renders further passage upstream impossible. On
the way up to Kampong Cham we will explore remote river villages which have had little exposure to tourism.
Spending a day here, in the morning we journey by bus to the 12th century Angkorian temple of Wat Nokor. This colourful temple is unique in Cambodia as a modern wat is set within the ruins of an ancient temple, offering some excellent photo opportunities. After an hour exploring here, we continue to the twin holy mountains of Phnom Pros and Phnom Srei, or Man and Woman Hill. Legends abound about the origins of these hills and there are many pagodas and shrines on the hilltops. In the afternoon we transfer to small speedboats for a journey upriver to the hilltop pre-Angkorian temple of Wat Hanchey. Dating from the 8th century, these ancient brick structures characterise the architecture of the Chenla Empire which pre-dated the glories of Angkor.
Tonle River connects the Tonle Lake with the Mekong and Bassac Rivers that merge at Phnom Penh. This river is remarkable as it changes direction twice a year with the coming and parting of the monsoon. With the monsoon rise the river flows back to the lake and floods the entire central Cambodian plain. This river journey is a high-light of the trip. It winds its way through jungle and as the river narrows you feel you can reach out and touch the houses and people who ecstatically cheer our great ship on. Temples abound along the river banks.

Chong Koh Village offers a pleasant morning walk along the river bank and we encounter friendly village
people. This village specialises in silk weaving and one can buy the beautiful Khmer headscarfs for reasonable
prices.
Peam Chikang Village has a very interesting Wat or monastery where the village community store their splendid
racing boats. These are up to 20 meters long and carved from local hardwoods, then decoratively painted and
gilded.
Kampong Chhaang
Here the river narrows and one can view the rich tapestry of Cambodian rural life. This is a busy rural port town
with bustling markets. It is difficult to bring the ship alongside the river bank and necessary to transfer passengers by motor boat.

Tonle Sap
This is the great lake of Cambodia and over 150km in length. Here bird life is profuse and in the midst of the lake
one can not even see the shores. There is a great stillness and tranquility on the Tonle Lake. There is a number
of floating fishing villages that we pass Due to seasonal high winds and water levels we may transfer passengers
by speed boat from the mouth of the lake to Siem Reap. Navigation on the lake can be very tricky.

Siem Reap
We embark/disembark at the Siem Reap and transfer to/from by car or coach. Siem Reap is the nearest town to
Angkor with all the main hotels and international flights to/from Siem Reap International Airport.

Angkor Wat
Along with Pagan in Burma and Borobodur in Indonesia, Angkor is one of the greatest Buddhist sites in South
East Asia if not all Asia. Surrounded by man-made lakes, this tranquil and movingly beautiful place is the setting for some of the most impressive monuments mankind has ever made. Today the celebrated temples of Angkor are Cambodia's greatest tourist attraction. The 100 or so surviving monuments are the sacred remains of what was once a much larger administrative and religious center covering over 60 square kms. They were built
between the 9th and 13th centuries to glorify a succession of Khmer kings. Most of Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century and the temples were gradually cloaked by forest until French archaeologists rediscovered the site in the 19th century.

Sailing Dates

Pandaw Cruises

The River Mekong January to December 2007 Sailings

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