29 | Viking Explorer Society News
e Magnificent
MEKONG
"The Mekong?" a friend queried when I told
her about my 16-day trip to Vietnam and
Cambodia, half of which was on a riverboat.
"Isn't it muddy, and what is there to see?"
Turns out, lots. It's a vast, fast-flowing river
that never sleeps, teaming with life above and
below, and clinging to its riverbanks. Beyond
its shores is a glorious medley of wooden stilt
houses, ramshackle shacks, petrol stations,
rice factories and fish farms, elegant colonial
French architecture—the remnants of a
90 -year protectorate rule—and, rising from
the green foliage, golden temples and the
occasional giant reclining Buddha. It's a river I
fell in love with during a cruise on the
luxurious Viking Saigon.
It's the rainy season, or what the locals call
"the floating season", when we set sail from
Kampong Cham in Cambodia. We can just
make out the top tips of the famous Koh Paen
bamboo bridge poking above the water. In
the dry season this kilometre-long bridge,
built strong enough to hold the weight of cars
and trucks, provides access to Ko Paen island.
In the rainy season, it disappears beneath the
river, and the locals go by boat.
As we glide quietly down the river, those
who call the Mekong home just go about
their business: children wave from the rickety
porches suspended over the water's edge,
locals wash or swim by the riverbank, or head
out in sampans to fish or transport vegetables
to market. There is no shortage of something,
or someone, to see, and the river people
don't seem to mind us peering at them as we
cruise past.
I've never been much of a fan of guided
tours, preferring to poke around cities, back
streets and museums on my own. But I'm a
convert now. Travelling with local guides who
have grown up in Cambodia and Vietnam,
whose parents and grandparents lived
through appalling atrocities and conflict, and
who know the history, the way of life,
traditions and local gossip of their
Jane Phare sails from Cambodia to Vietnam, discovering there is
much to see on the mighty Mekong.
"Photos in travel ads
don't quite do Angkor
Wat justice. Its scale, its
history and its age make
it quite breathtaking."
Kampong Cham
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