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The Mekong Serenity is a new five-star luxury ship on the Mekong that’s part of APT’s Vietnam and Cambodia itineraries.
In August, Cherone from House of Travel Howick had the pleasure of spending seven nights sailing from Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap in Cambodia.
APT itineraries can also include Vietnam and time in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
With the time change on day two I was awake early and up on the sun deck as the sun rose, sipping coffee and enjoying a freshly baked pastry.
We were anchored in the heart of the river and I savoured the peaceful moment, watching as life along the riverbanks slowly came to life.
The Mekong River flows from Tibet through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia into Vietnam.
Its banks are lined with local villages, some no more than a collection of bamboo structures providing shelter for farmers and fishermen.
The daily excursions varied with visits to colourful markets, a tuk-tuk ride through a farming community, small boat cruises along the tributaries, temples, pagodas, and walks through local farming villages.
On day four, again at sunrise, I was on the sun deck as we cruised into Phnom Penh, the largest city on the Mekong.
Phnom Penh offers a vibrant contrast to the peaceful river journey.
Here we had Freedom of Choice Sightseeing options: City tour, the National Museum of Cambodia, or visit to the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum.
Each experience provided an insight into the local people and what they experienced during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
On our last morning we disembarked to travel by coach to Siem Reap.
Upon arrival to the APT hotel, our tour concluded.
Many continued their stay with APT, but we’d made our own arrangements to stay and explore independently.
Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor Wat temples and we really enjoyed our time here.
There’s something very unique and special about Siem Reap, and we felt very safe wandering through the markets and food stalls along the riverbank and backstreets, which come to life at night, with locals and tourists.
We arose very early to take in the sunrise at Angkor Wat.
It’s a must-do experience in Cambodia and something we’d wanted to “tick off our bucket list”.
The Angkor Archaeological Park covers 400 square kilometres and is the home of more than 50 ancient Khmer Empire temples.
Going early beats the crowd and the heat of the day and by mid-morning we were ready to return to the hotel pool to cool down, relax and have a snooze.
We thoroughly enjoyed the ease of travel with APT on the Mekong Serentiy.
With unpacking once, we were then able to relax and unwind while enjoying the luxury of being completely taken care of throughout the journey.
