+64 9 444 2298
reservations@fathomasia.co.nz

4 Nights

Low Water
High Water
Low Water

Low Water Itinerary

Phnom Penh (PNH) (From December to August)

DAY 1
Friday: MEKONG RIVER – PHNOM PENH – CAMBODIA

We meet you at the Phnom Penh TS1 Port for check-in to your 3-story, five star Mekong abode. Welcome aboard. We’ll leave you to settle into your floating retreat, with its window wall conferring an endlessly captivating panorama. Enjoy these private Mekong moments on your California king bed, terrace or daybed. Together we celebrate the onward journey towards the heart of this mighty river with a Khmer Apsara performance, an indigenous tradition memorialized on the temple walls at Angkor Wat.

DAY 2
Saturday: TONLE SAP RIVER – KOH CHEN – KAMPONG PRASAT – CAMBODIA

In the silversmith village of Koh Chen, we watch artisans producing the magnificent silverware favored by Khmer royalty. We continue to Udong, the royal capital from the 17-19th centuries, where we learn about a uniquely challenging Buddhist practice at the Vipassana Dhura Mandala, a meditation center.  In the afternoon, a walking tour of Kampong Prasat offers a close up perspective on local lives and their riverside environment.

DAY 3
Sunday: TONLE SAP RIVER – KAMPONG CHHNANG – KAMPONG TRALACH – CAMBODIA

In the cooler hours, we head into the lush countryside to visit traditional potters and palm-sugar producers, astride mountain bikes or chauffeured by shaded tuk-tuk. Into the rice paddies we pedal to watch wizened masters scale sky-piercing palms towering over us. Cruise across the glassy water and disembark among the lotuses for an ox-cart ride along the Tonle Sap riverbanks, past lacquered wooden houses where during these dry months residents take refuge in the relative cool of these outdoor impromptu living rooms.

DAY 4
Monday: MEKONG RIVER – KOH OKNHA TEY – PREAH PROSOP – CAMBODIA

On this river of time we admire dexterous Khmer artisans dyeing and weaving kroma, the ubiquitous item no Khmer lives without. Explore the riverbank on two wheels if you wish, past Buddhist temples and thatch houses perched on spindly wooden stilts while white oxen wade just offshore. After lunch, we board our marine-grade aluminum skiffs and head towards the tamarind trees of Preah Prosop, a remote village little changed over several lifetimes.

DAY 5
Tuesday: MEKONG RIVER – PHNOM PENH – CAMBODIA

We show off the Cambodian capital to our passengers by motorized tuk-tuk, the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum of Cambodia, home to the world’s largest collection of Khmer art. For those who wish, we visit the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide or choose to shop at the Russian Market. We bid farewell to 4-night guests who are disembarking in Phnom Penh.

All itineraries are subject to change, due to weather and other conditions.

High Water

High Water Itinerary

Downriver: Siem Reap(REP) to Phnom Penh(PNH) (From August to November)

DAY 1
Friday: TONLE SAP LAKE – SIEM REAP – CAMBODIA

Gather at our Siem Reap meeting point then board our air-conditioned bus for the scenic 45-minute countryside ride to the dock on the Tonle Sap Lake for check-in to your 3-story, five star Mekong abode. Settle into your floating retreat, with its window wall conferring an endlessly captivating panorama. Enjoy these private Mekong moments on your California king bed, terrace or daybed.

DAY 2
Saturday: TONLE SAP LAKE – PREK TOAL – MOAT KHLA – CAMBODIA

Set off by skiff into the 22,000-hectare Prek Toal Core Bird Reserve, one of the largest freshwater bodies in Asia and the last refuge in Southeast Asia for large waterbirds like the spot-billed pelicans, milky stork, black-headed ibis and the elusive masked finfoot. After lunch, we visit the floating village of Moat Khla, accessible only by water, and attend a Buddhist blessing ceremony in this isolated community.

DAY 3
Sunday: TONLE SAP LAKE – CHHNOK TRU – KAMPONG CHHNANG – CAMBODIA

Explore remote villages around the Tonle Sap Lake, designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997. In Chhnok Tru, we “slide” into an ice factory and learn from locals what it’s like to live in a town where schools, churches, pagodas, and even the karaoke bar and police station all float. We continue learning about Khmer riverside life in Kampong Chhnang, the ‘Port of Pottery’ so called because archaeological findings here date to the 6th century.

DAY 4
Monday: TONLE SAP AND MEKONG RIVER – KOH CHEN – KOH OKNHA TEY – CAMBODIA

This morning, we visit Koh Chen, a silversmith village known for its fine craftsmanship. Keep an eye out for their famous silver bowls, regularly chosen by Cambodia’s king as gifts for visiting dignitaries. In the afternoon, we set off for the Mekong’s ‘silk islands’ where renowned weavers allow us to wander freely, admiring their intricate craftsmanship. Biking is optional for those who wish to explore deeper into the island.

DAY 5
Tuesday: MEKONG RIVER – PHNOM PENH – CAMBODIA

We show off the Cambodian capital to our passengers by motorized tuk-tuk, the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum of Cambodia, home to the world’s largest collection of Khmer art. For those who wish, we visit the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide or choose to shop at the Russian Market. Disembark in Phnom Penh.

All itineraries are subject to change, due to weather and other conditions

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