Exploring Cambodia and Vietnam
We strolled the dirt roads of a rustic Cambodian village passing houses built on stilts,

with cows tethered in front yards, as our Amawaterways guide pointed out the miniature gilded houses set on posts to honor ancestors and bring good luck. Welcomed into a local home, we saw how raising the homes protects them from flooding and provides a cool, shady understory space for daytime activities.
This was one of many immersive excursions my 30-year-old daughter and I enjoyed on a recent AmaWaterways’ one-week Mekong River cruise. We sailed on the luxurious 124-passenger AmaDara, traveling from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Expert guides took us to remote locales that would be hard to reach and interpret on our own and helped us appreciate the long history and rich cultures of Vietnam and Cambodia.
Each day brought extraordinary surprises. We rode through a rural area on oxcarts, helped school children practice their English, and boated and strolled through the Cajuput Forest and Bird Sanctuary, home to about 70 species of birds. And at a Buddhist monastery, monks chatted with us and then chanted a mesmerizing blessing that resounded through the temple.
We docked for two nights in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, where we saw the beauty of the city at the gilded Imperial Palace and the horror of the 1975-79 Cambodian genocide at the Killing Fields. We also had time to explore its markets, nightlife and neighborhoods. We were sad to leave our new “family” (as AmaWaterways calls its touring groups) in Siem Reap but excited about our next adventures.
Avanti Destinations, which works only through travel advisors, handled our pre- and post-travel and airport meet-and-greets. After a 26-hour journey from the U.S., just 15 minutes after de-planing in Ho Chi Minh City (with only carry-on luggage), we were delighted to find ourselves on our way to our hotel.
Touring Saigon
Enroute, our guide Phúc, available via WhatsApp throughout our stay, oriented us to the city. He waited while we checked in and then whisked us to Independence Palace, where tanks mark the 1975 fall of Saigon, the War Remnants Museum, where photos, artifacts, and news clippings illustrate the impact of the “American War” on Vietnam, and to a tailor to order a custom-made outfit, delivered the next day to our hotel (all for under $75). Later, when rain precluded our planned street food tour, he took us on a progressive dinner to sample traditional dishes.
Our hotel, the Sofitel Saigon Plaza, was within walking distance of key sites, including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, and Bến Thành Market, with its wide array of crafts, clothing and souvenirs. We loved the Sofitel’s large rooftop pool and the blend of French and Vietnamese influences in its decor, spa, restaurants and lounges. Our favorite was ST25 by Koto, known for its fine Vietnamese cuisine and sustainable mission of using local ingredients and uplifting disadvantaged youth with hospitality and life-skills training.
Avanti Destinations also handled our excursions in Siem Reap, where we spent two nights at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, an atmospheric property with a colonial vibe. Opened in 1932, it offers free history and art tours of the property, cultural activities including a Buddhist blessing, and off-site “Curated Journeys” including a bespoke candlelight dinner at Angkor Wat.
Across the street is the royal residence of King Norodom Sihamoni, a temple, and a lively public garden. Around the corner, the Angkor National Museum provides era-by-era insights into the once far-reaching civilization of the Khmer Empire. Also nearby is the lively nightlife area and night market.
Angkor Wat – The world’s largest temple complex
On our first morning, we set out with our guide at 4 a.m. for Angkor Wat. Watching the towers of the temples and walls, red-tinged by the sunrise, come into focus and reflect in the huge moat was worth losing sleep for. It’s the world’s largest temple complex, with structures dating to the 12th century, and our guide brought the early Hindu motifs to life as we explored the now-Buddhist religious site. We also toured several amazing nearby sites including the picturesque Ta Prohm Buddhist temple, a.k.a. “Tomb Raider Temple”, where giant trees are enveloping the stone structures, and Banteay Srei, with intricate carvings dating from the 10th century.
The next morning, we headed to Kulen Elephant Forest, a protected reserve where elephants that worked under harsh conditions at Angkor Wat now roam free. The elephants seemed to enjoy visitors, eating from our hands, “posing” as we rubbed their leathery skin, and checking us out by sniffing us with their trunks.
That evening, we flew to Hanoi, where John, our Avanti guide, (who also made himself available via WhatsApp during our stay), met our flight and took us to our hotel, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, which has hosted presidents and celebrities for over 123 years.
John had arranged for us to tour its historic bomb shelter—a haunting experience, especially as we listened to the song “Where are you now, my son” by Joan Baez in the place where she had sheltered during Vietnam war bombings. He also enriched our visits to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Confucian Temple of Literature and the Old Quarter, where we enjoyed a private shopping /cooking class.
The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, which recently completed a major renovation, reflects its French Colonial roots in its Heritage Wing decor, Paris-style sidewalk cafe and fine French cuisine. Our favorite meals were at Spice Garden, where we enjoyed live Vietnamese music and its acclaimed nouveau Vietnamese cuisine. The hotel also has a lovely garden pool and an excellent spa.
From the Sofitel, we could walk (or taxi) to most major sites including the “Hanoi Hilton”, where John McCain was a prisoner, and Dong Zuan Market. Each evening, we joined locals for a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake and the surrounding shops and night market.
As we flew home, we talked about the warmth of the people we’d met, how inexpensive everything was, and how we wished we could stay another week so we could take in Ha Long Bay, the ancient city of Hoi An and Hue Imperial City in Vietnam, the floating villages of Tonlé Sap Lake in Cambodia, and so much more.