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164 For complete itinerary details and videos, visit vikingcruises.com.au MAGNIFICENT MEKONG 15 day cruise/tour with 14 guided tours in 2 countries Day 1 Hanoi, Vietnam Fly to Hanoi, former capital of French Indochina, then transfer to your hotel. Check in for a two night stay, then relax or take a walk to stretch your legs and get acquainted with the city. Day 2 Hanoi, Vietnam After breakfast, tour this unique, thousand-year-old Asian capital where old and new combine in a lush setting of parks and lakes. Then tour the notorious "Hanoi Hilton," the Hỏa Lò Prison where American POWs were held captive during the Vietnam War. (B, D) Day 3 Hanoi, Vietnam Take a leisurely ride through Hanoi's Old Quarter by "green" electric car. Enjoy free time before your short afternoon flight to Siem Reap. Check in to your hotel for a three night stay; tonight's dinner is accompanied by a traditional Apsara dance show. (B, D) Day 4 Angkor Wat, Cambodia Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Today, visit one of Angkor's largest Khmer temples, Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century AD. (B, D) Day 5 Angkor Wat, Cambodia Today, ride to the spectacular 10th-century Hindu temple Banteay Srei ("Citadel of Women") to see magnificent carvings of Shiva and Vishnu. Then, journey to Ta Prohm, one of the most popular of the Temples of Angkor. (B, D) Day 6 Kampong Cham, Cambodia Begin your coach tour through the Cambodian countryside, which brings you to your ship in Kampong Cham, via the provincial capital of Kampong Thom. This afternoon, board your ship. After you get settled in, meet the ship's officers over a welcome cocktail. (B, L, D) Day 7 Kampong Cham, Cambodia This morning visit the Twin Holy Mountains of Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey with their many temples and pagodas, still used during traditional Khmer festivals. After, visit a Kampong Cham orphanage where students create beautiful paintings that are available to purchase. (B, L, D) Day 8 Phnom Penh, Cambodia This morning's excursion takes you through a Cambodian village. After, take a short ride to Udon Monastery to receive a blessing by the monks. Then continue to the next village, famous for its silversmiths. (B, L, D) Day 9 Phnom Penh, Cambodia Disembark in Cambodia's lovely waterfront capital and explore the city in style, in a cyclo. After lunch, join an excursion to the sobering memorial in the Tuol Sleng detention centre, a former high school in which thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge died, and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, or explore the city's maze of small alleys, markets and busy streets on your own. (B, L, D) Day 10 Mekong River Sail down the Mekong, one of the world's great rivers, toward the Vietnamese border. The Mekong is truly the "Mother River of Southeast Asia," sustaining civilizations through the centuries. Pass by some of the Mekong rice fields. (B, L, D) Day 11 Tân Châu, Vietnam Begin your morning with a ride on a traditional rickshaw in Tân Châu. Observe the making of floor mats from sedge and slippers from uzu. Afterward, visit the floating fish farm by wooden sampan, then take a boat ride to Vinh Hoa, known as "Evergreen Island." (B, L, D) Day 12 Sa Đéc, Vietnam This morning, board a sampan to explore the backwaters and canals of the Delta. Stop in Sa Ðéc and see the house of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, the protagonist in best-selling author Marguerite Duras's autobiographical novel, l'Amant (The Lover). (B, L, D) Day 13 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Disembark in Mỹ Tho, a busy river port not far from the capital of South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. On your way to Ho Chi Minh City, you'll tour the Cu Chi tunnels, mysterious, once-secret tunnels used as supply routes, hospitals and living quarters by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. (B, D) Day 14 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Take a stroll along Dong Khoi Street, the main shopping boulevard in the old colonial heart. See the grand City Hall, Reunification Palace, the old Opera House with its soaring arched entryway, the Chinatown area and a lacquer factory. (B, D) Day 15 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam After breakfast, check out of your hotel and proceed to the airport for your return flight. Or, continue your Southeast Asia adventure with a three night stay in Bangkok, Thailand's exciting capital. (B) A N G K O R WAT