grand voyage ADD-ON
EXCURSIONS
HO CHI MINH CITY: For clients wanting to explore the city from an alternative perspective, suggest a tour with Vespa Adventures, which had us whizzing through downtown on the back of a scooter past ramshackle buildings, dusty streets and hundreds of other honking mopeds before stopping at a flower market. It’s exhilarating, if a little hairy. Prices from $79.
vespaadventures.com
Mekong Delta (left) and fishing net repair work
of Mr Huynh Thuy Le, the famous lover of French author Marguerite Duras and the central star of her autobiographic novel, L’Amant (The Lover). We visit the house, which featured in
the controversial film of the same name. Browsing photographs of Duras and Mr Huynh Thuy Le’s family hanging on the walls, amid ornate, traditionally Indochinese decor, gives us a glimpse into the Vietnam of yesteryear and its history as a French colony.
PAST AND PRESENT Indeed, history is ever-present along the Mekong. As Thang tells us: “In the 20th century, Vietnam experienced 89 years of war and only 11 years of peace.” The turbulence included the 20-year Vietnam war, which pitted the communist Viet Cong against the US-backed South Vietnamese government. In a rural village on the verdant
island of Long Khanh – all corrugated- iron buildings lining dirt tracks and scooters whizzing past pastel-hued houses – we visit the residence of Mr Sau Dien, a 74-year-old war veteran who served as a medic in the Viet Cong from 1963 until 1975. Today, he runs a
travelweekly.co.uk/cruise
pharmacy in the village and is a proud member of the ruling Communist Party, flashing several medals on his shirt. Pictures of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh hang on the walls of his house as he tells us about the war, recounting his H[SHULHQFHVbKHOSLQJbWKHbZRXQGHG “American or Vietnamese, I helped
everyone,” he tells us. “A wounded man needs help, whoever he is. Americans were our enemies but now we’re friends. We are very happy the war is over.” It’s a memorable moment, and one
that seems to typify the whole trip. Sailing back to the ship in our sampan
for the final night – golden hour turning the water into a reflective pool of gold, patches of grass sprouting up through the rippling surface – I can’t help but wish I had a little more time to explore this charming, less-visited area. Because here it’s just as much about
exploring verdant villages and emerald isles as it is about meeting local people, discovering the region’s history and experiencing genuine, authentic traditions that remain in many ways unchanged. And that’s something to be cherished in today’s increasingly EXV\ bDOZD\V FRQQHFWHG ZRUOG
BOOK IT: A four-night Upstream cruise in a Superior Suite on Mekong Navigator starts at $964 per person, based on travel between May and August 2022. A
seven-night itinerary costs from $1,679.
lotuscruises.com
Uniworld River Cruises sells sailings on Lotus Cruises’ Mekong Jewel, including a 13-day trip from Ho Chi Minh City priced from £4,199 per person,
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uniworld.com
May 2022 25
PHNOM PENH: No trip to the Cambodian capital would be complete without a visit to the Royal Palace (pictured), a structure of gold-roofed pagodas that serves as the king’s residence. Lotus Cruises offers a tuk-tuk tour that combines the palace with the National Museum of Cambodia – home to ceramic sculptures from Angkor Wat and beyond – swerving clients in and out of the traffic amid beeping horns and city smells.
PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK/ LUKIYANOVA NATALIA FRENTA, PRADEEP_KMPK14; LUMINOUS PHOTOGRAPHY
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