Mekong cruise

Country profile

Multifaceted, colourful Vietnam is full of contrasts and surprises. From the architecture of its cosmopolitan cities, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - ranging from awe-inspiring ancient temples to French colonialist masterpieces - to its stunning and varied natual beauty and delectable food specialties, the countlry abounds with rewarding opportunities for exploration.

In Ha Long Bay, 1,600 islets and islands - including limestone pillars up to 330 feet tall - jut from the water, creating a dramatic mountainous seascape And while you're on the Vietnamese coast, the local seafood is a treat worth seeking out. Restaurants here offer very fresh, healthful fare. In fact, if you visit a fish market, the catch is typically just a few hours old - so fresh you won't even detect a wafting fishy ordour in the air.

Mekong Delta

 The Mekong Delta -  a maze of approximately 15,000 square miles that begins in Cambodia where the Mekong River meets the Tonle Sapo channel and the Bassac River. There, the Mekong divides into six main channels and the Bassac into three to form the "nine dragons" that stretch down into the out delta in Vietnam and out to the South China Sea. The region also includes the island of Phuquoc, fringed with white-sand beaches and laced with empty dirt roads.

Since ancient times, the Mekong Delta has acted like a sponge, storing water during the monsoons and then releasing it. Not only is the land irrigated, but it is refreshed with rich soil, making it so naturally fertile that Vietnam has become one the world's leading exporters of rice.

The delta is also one of Vietnam's most densely populated regions; its 15 million inhabitants, predominantly ethnic Viet, also include a large population of Khmers. Serveral movies have been filmed in the Mekong Delta that feature the region, including The Floating Lives (2010), Buffalo Boy (2004) and Francis Ford Coppola's epic war file Apocalypse now (1979).

Badly damaged during the war, the delta forests were where the Viet Cong concealed their bases. Now, 50 years later, they have been replanted and rare animals, thought to be extinct, have recovered. The only sounds you hear today in this typical jungle are the call of birds, rustling palm fronds and small boats crossing the currents. It feels like a place suspended in time - rich, delicate and almost perfect.

Vietnam's cyclos

The rickshaw, invented in Japan in 1869 initiated an explosion of personal mobility in Asia in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Around the same time, modern, chain-driven, pedal-powered bicycles were rolling off assembly lines, and enterprising rickshaw-pullers were cutting up bicycles and attaching them to their rickshaws. These three-wheeled bicycle taxis appeared in Vietnam during the French colonial period and were called"cyclos".

Generally pedal driven by a driver sitting behind you with a double seat supported by two front wheels, cyclos are used for carrying awkward loads and as an entertaining form of transportation for tourists and locals. Some are almost luxurious. With no fossil fuel emissions, they have a hugh environmental benefit and can be quicker than other forms of transportation if congestion is heavy. However, they are banned from major thoroughfares for being a traffic hazard.

Cyclos reign supreme if you want to see street scenes that you that you can't any other way, such as in Hanoi's Old Quarter - teeming with life, shops and interesting people. Not only can traveling by cyclo show you more than you could cover on foot without becomeing exhausted, the're also a nice way to relax after a long hot day of sightseeing.

If you want to hire a cyclo, it;s a good idea to negotiate the fare in advance. Cyclo drivers, who tend to beiebe that all foreigners and afford to be generous, may ask for an exorbitant price. This is especially true in Ho Chi Minh City. Generally speaking, offer about a third of their quoted price and bargain up to no more than half. Walking away also will turn an unacceptable price into an agreed-upon sum. And before you take off, remember to have your camera in hand to snap the unilikely loads that cyclos carry - everything from bedroom furniture to live pigs.

River portrait:The Mekong

As with the Yangtze and the Ganges Rivers, the Mekong begins in Lasagongma Spring on Mount Guozongmucha in the Tibetan Plateau - the largest source of freshwater outside the polar ice caps. On its 3,000 mile journey, the Mekong wends through China - where it is protected by the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve; then it forms the international borders of China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand in what is called the "Golden Triangle".  However, its most dramatic dizzying drop occurs right before the triangle when the rolling waters plunge almost 15,000 feet. After that, it straightens itself out and continues another 1,600 miles through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before splintering off into a richly fertile delta and flowing into the voluminous South China Sea.

Many of Southeast Asia's largest cities lie on the banks of the Mekong, including Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam. But if you're  heading downriver, you will see the scenery change rather quickly. Shiny new skyscrapers and casinos give way to banana trees and fields of rice and corn. This is the delta, where the majority of people live in the countryside and where there is not much choice when it comes to earning a living: you either farm or fish. But not for just any fish.

Second only to the Amazon River in terms of biodiversity, at least 1,100 freshwater species swim the waters along the Siamese crocodile and some of the last remaining lrrawaddty dolphins. A river with this many different types of fish would also naturally support giant-size species, which explains the giant ibis, carp, stingray (weighing in at 1,300 pounds) and catfish up to 10 feet long. The Mekong basin has one of the wold's largest and most productive inland fisheries, too, yielding about 2.5 million tons of fish and aquatic products annually with an economic value of $7 billion a year, 

People have lived in the Greater Mekong requion for more than 4,000 years, and during that time, the Mekong River has been an important thoroughfare for people marketing their goods. Trade in small boats between floating villages continues today. Mainly populated by Vietnamese, these communities are also self-contained - a world where children are born, raised and sometimes die without every setting foot on land; where local farmers display their chickens or crops, steer their narrow handmade boats through floating markets.

The Mekong is capable of producing 4.5 million tons of fish a year, making it the most productive river in the world. And although the Mekong is still a wild river and navigation contitions vary greatly along its length, it is also becoming an importnat link in international trade routes, connecting the six Mekong countriies to each other, and also to the rest of the world.

Floating markets of the Mekong

In the floating markets of the Mekong, there are so many interesting goods for sale that you can look, smell, taste and buy your way through this veritable cornucopia. The tradition of selling products from boat to boat goes back more than 100 years, and the delta has hundreds of markets.

Trading begins before dawn, and by sunrise, the waterways are clogged with an army of sampans. Painted bright yellow, red and blue, they twist and turn, jockeying for position as pineapples, pumpkins and pomelos, plus a heap of turtles, a box of snakes and even a pot-bellied pig quickly change hands, along with crumpled Vietnamese dong bills.

Wholesalers moor here, each specializing in one or a few types of fruit or vegetables. Bigger boats snap up everything by the bushel and resell it in the big cities. Vendors of smaller items hoist a sample of their wares on a bamboo pole so their goods can be seen from a distance and they don't have to cry out. Their cries wouldn't be heard anyway in vastness of the river and with the noise of boat engines. Some vendors not only sell on the river, but live there too, their lives linked to boats for generations.

Shoppers come by land and water, jumping from boat to boat. Many of them are women in colourful clothing and dressy hats driving their little boats by the large sampans. The single to buy is only whistling or waving hand.

The markets are a great opportunity to see real trading going on. With more and more transportation moving to newly built roads, this could be the last chance to capture a bit of the old boat to boat trading atmosphere on the Mekong. You'll get a real sense of the river's significance to Southeast Asia.

A bit of history

It would be a mistake to define the spirit of Cambodia strictly by the soulful, soaring glory of Angkor Wat, by the meandering Mekong or by the heady mix of ancient and modern in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Beyond these calling cards, Cambodia rolls out a green carpet of agrarian wistfulness and dreamy landscapes unequalled anywhere. It is - remarkably, after its dark and recent past - a country at peace with itself. So what defines the spirit of Cambodia? Surely its people do, and your're likely never to forget them.

The story of Cambodia begins in 4000 BC with the first settlements. By the 13th century, it grew into a major power as the Khmer kingdom, with territory in today's Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Malay Peninsula. Of course, the 12th century Angkor Wat, built in the then - capital of Angkor, stands as the most impressive remnant of Khmer might. Its completion as a royal mausoleum punctuated a renaissance the likes of which Southesat Asia has never seen.

With the Siamese insurgence of the 15th century, the capital was moved south to Phnom Penh. Angkor was abandoned and left to decay until French archaeologists, with the suport of the French protectorate that had moved in to oversee the country in 1863, began the long work of resurrection. The French ruled for 90 years until independence was gained in 1953. Entanglements with the North Vietnamese and the US culminated in the emergence of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The death of millions of Cambodians followed during on the most notorious genocides the world has seen; any hint of opposition to his government, including the pursuit of independent thought, led to execution. Vietnam soon intervened to depose Pol Pot; by 1991 they defeated him and peace returned.

Today's Cambodia is a rich tableau of green rice fields, rolling hills, cities with French colonial accents and the sinewy course of the magnificient Mekong. Most of all, it's a country of remarkable resilient people who are qick with a simile and a warm welome.

Angkor Wat: City of temples

The Mekong River was the lifeblood of Angkor, a city powered by an intricate hydro-engineering system. At the city's heart? A 12th century temple complex filled with intricate bas-relief carvings of deities. Built by King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat actually means "city of temples" in Khmer. While it started as a Hindu temple, this main attraction of the Khmer Empire switched its allegiance to Buddhism sometime within the first century after its construction. The complex has served as a main area attracrion for decades.

Angor Wat stood its ground against the slow creep of time (and the surrounding jungle), but while it remained empty for many years, the temple never fell into complete disrepair. Inscriptions from the 1600's testify that Japonese Buddhists had taken up residence. In 1860, French explorer Henri Mouhot stumbled upon what survived

of Angkor Wat, publishing drawings of these structures and stoking renewed interest in this lost civitization.

Angkor Wat has not surved without a few close calls War and the oppressive rule of the Khmer Rouge brought damage to the site. In the late 20th century, thieves began looting the complex, absconding with sculptures. Restoration and reconstruction work has preserved Angkor Wat.

The history of Angkor Wat is still being piece together. In late 2015, archaeologists from the Uiniversity of Sydney were among an intemational group of researchers who discovered that Angkor Wat was much larger than previously believed. The researchers said the complex was once crowned by a massive structure on its south side that "has no known equivalent in the Angkorian world."

But what of the vibrant city surrounding the temple complex? In 2012, researchers posted that climate change and the overuse of the area's soil led to the city's downfall. The reservoirs simply dried up, and residents abandoned the great city of Ankor, An additional theory: Insects, who thrived in stagnant irrigation systems, spread disease.

Whatever ultimately happened to the city itself, Angkor Wat remains as an enduring artifact of the Khmer Empire.

Phnom Penh

Legend has it that in 1373, landowner Madame Penh found four Buddha statues washed up from the Mekong River. She took this as a sign to erect a pagoda to house them, on a knoll that would be called Phnom Penh (Mount Penh). In 1432 it became the capital of Cambodia after the Khmer Empire lost to the Siamese.

For 70 years Phnom Penh was the center of Cambodia; then the royals abandaned the city in favor of other locales. For the next three and a half centuries, it remained a modest village in a beautiful riverside setting. Then, under the French protectorate, King Norodorn I returned the capital to Phnom Penh and constructed his glorious Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.

The Pearl of Asia

In just a matter of decades, Phnom Penh — with its lovely location at the conflux of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonte Sap Rivers - emerged as one of the prettiest French-built cities in Indochina. "The Pearl of Asia," it was called as the 1920s arrived. Now, with its many French colonial buildings, elegant Buddhist temples and glimmering royal complex gracing the city, the moniker lives on. 

"The Pearl suffered some tarnish in the late 20th century. Strained relations with neighbouring Vietnam and the US led to the rise of Pol Pot, the revolutionary leader of the Khmer Rouge who wanted to transford the county into a Communist-peasant farming society, What followed stands as one of Cambodia's darkest hours. Today the scars remain, but a spirit of life once again illuminates Phnom Penh's tree-lined streets, stylish restaurants and thriving markets-luring celebrities from around the world. Business is buzzing as artisans revive the highly-coveted crafts of the Khmer Empire, such as silk weaving, stonemasonry, lacquering, wood carving and silverwork.

A Prideful Past

On the Sisowath Quay, motorbikes whiz past wafts of smoke from food stalls while saffron-robed monks stroll the grounds of ancient temples. It is quite common in Cambodia for young men to devote themseles to Buddha as a way to get an education. Many enjoy talking with visitors, offering insight into their lives while practicing their English. They gather on the grounds of Wat Botum, just south of the Royal Palace, where spiritual gatherings have been held since the 15th century.

In the red terra-cotta building of the National Museum, exquisite pre-Angkorean and Angkorean artifacts from archaeological sites across Cambodia are on display: and at sunset in the tranquil museum garden, young women in omate costumes and makeup perform folk dancing, contorting their hands and feet at amazing angles, while musicians provide the percussive music on traditional instruments.

To truly comprehend the resiliency of the Cambodian people, there's no escaping their current history. Tuol Sleng Museum, a former school that the Khmer Rouge transformed into Security Prison 21, or S-21, tastefully chronicles the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Still, the exhibit is very moving. There is a lesson to be learned from the resilient city - a way not to forget a recent painful past is by remembering an ancient proud past.

Zoom in: Phnom Penh

From the golden spires of the Royal Palace to the bright saffron robes of the monks, the exotic scents of street markets to the high-pitched hum of meandering motorcycles, Phnom Penh is a captivating cacophony of different sights, smells and sounds. Today, you can enjoy exploring the cultural side of this exciting city as we visit the Royal Palace with its spectacufar Silver Pogoda and the treasure-filled Natlonal Museum of Cambodia, packed with priceless Khmer art. If you wish, you can then venture out on your own to shop, see more temples or pick up a street snack and soak up the unique atmosphere. There is so much to see and do in the city, here are just a few ideas about how to make the most of your free time

Best for bargains: it you love to bag a bargain, you won't find a better place to shop for souvenirs and discounted western-brand clothing and accessories than at Psar Tual Tom Pong, or the Russian Market, so named because in the 1980s most of the foreigners in Cambodia were Russians. Not everything here may be as authentic as the label suggests, but if you choose carefully you can get genune goods, manufactured in local factories, for as little as 10% of the price you would expect to pay at home. The market also offers a large range of handicrafts including little Buddhas, wood carvings, betel-nut boxes, silks and jewelry. And whatever you do, don't forget to barter.

Best for exploring: Wat Phnom stands proudly atop the city's only hill. As the story goes, the very first pagoda built on this site was erected in 1373 to provide shelter for four statues of Buddha that were washed up by the Mekong River and found by Madame Penh. The main entrance to Wat Phnom is via the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and nage (mythical serpent) balustrades. You'll also find large troupes of macaques (Asian monkeys) hanging around the temple. Don't be misled by their cuteness, they can get pretty aggressive if you're carrying food.

Best for people watching: Phnom Penh's riverfront is in the center of eating and drinking. But before you take a seat at one of the bars and order an iced coffee or a cold beer, take a stroll along the river promenade. It's a great way to unwind on a hot Phnom Penh afternoon and observe the hustle and bustle of daily life happening all around you.

Fast facts: Cambodia

• The Cambodian fag is the only national flag that has an image of a building-the ancient, iconic Angkor Wat. Built by king Suryavarman II who reigned from 1131 to I150, It was discovered in the jungle by French explorers in the nineteenth century.
• Traditionally, birthdays are not celebrated in Cambodia. Older people might not even know their birthdays.
• In Cambodia, greeting is formally done by joining both the palms together in front at each other and then bowing. This is called Sompeah and is usually initiated by the younger or lower-ranked person.
• In recent times, the country's largest sources of income are tourism and the textile industry. However, 56 percent of the Cambodian population works in agriculture.
• In Cambodia, the head is regarded as the highest part of the body and shouldn't be touched even in the kindest manner.
• It's considered disrespectful to let your feet or soles point at people, so the feet must be tucked in when sitting.