Depart From: Depart US for flight to Cambodia.

In Transit: Overnight flight to Cambodia.

Arrive To: Arrive to Siem Reap International Airport. Transfer to the hotel for check in.

Afternoon: Convene at the hotel with other participants for the Program Orientation.

Dinner: 'Welcome Dinner' featuring a taste of local food.

Lodging: Tara Angkor Hotel

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Free morning to explore on your own.

Lunch: Lunch on own.

Afternoon: Depart for the Toum Teave after lunch. Enjoy as the Toum Teave cruises along the Tonle Sap Lake. (The Captain and crew will give you a safety briefing shortly after boarding).

Dinner: Welcome drink and dinner.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Note: Must be comfortable climbing up and down the barage ladder. Will require that participants get in and out of small wodden boats. Must be able to be active between sitting and standing for at least 4 hours a day.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Almost entirely overlooked by visitors because of its remoteness and difficult access, the Chnok Tru village is completely self-sufficient. The village has a floating school, factories to make ice for fish preservation, church, pagoda, service stations, pigsty, stores, boat and television repair shops, video club, karaoke bar, police station... everything is on the water. Everyone, from children to grandparents, goes by boat through the network of canals that cross the little town.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: A great day awaits you in Kampong Chhnang village, or Pottery Village, where villagers still produce pottery using traditional methods. Located some 56 miles from Phnom Penh, the town of Kampong Chhnang is one of the largest fishing ports on the Tonlé Sap. Fish farming is also widely practiced in the area. The area is famous for its pottery ware, unchanged in style for centuries, which is produced in sufficient quantities to supply the entire country. Other village products are not to be overlooked, such as the Thnot tree (sugar palm – a real national symbol) that abounds in the area, a mellow tasting, caramel-colored sugar sold in large cakes, and palm wine.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Arrive at Kampong Tralach to visit its wonderful Vihara belonging to Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda. To get to it, we will approach Kampong Tralach Krom village along a small road perpendicular to the river, crossing some stretches of emerald rice paddy. The Vihara dates back to early last century. It was probably built on an older site, as indicated by the latérite foundations. The Vihara is home to some outstanding mural paintings; however they are starting to suffer from weathering. They remain some of the last survivors of cultural destruction that continues unabated due to widespread indifference. Standing by itself in the middle of rice fields, it is a modest pagoda that receives very few visitors. Its isolation may well be its undoing, as was the case for Wat Tani Pagoda in the province of Kampot.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: Step back into time, as you arrive to Phnom Penh - renowned for its French influenced architecture. Begin the afternoon by attending an expert lecture on Khmer Culture and Cambodian History, and then take explore Phnom Penh on your own. Visit one of the local markets, walk the city streets, or just relax.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Will need to be able to walk and stand on and off for at least 3 to 4 hours minium. Heat and humidity needs to be taken into account.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Explore Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where thousands of Cambodians were executed for unwarrented crimes. Then return to town to visit the the S-21 (Tuol Sleng) Interrogation Center, where Cambodians were tortured and forced to confess to crimes they did not commit. Through these visits, you will hopefully gain a better understanding of the recent tragic period in Cambodian history, the scars it left, and how it affects both social and economic development in the country today.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: This afternnon, discover the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, and finish the afternoon at the National Museum. The National Museum in Phnom Penh is the most significant public repository of Khmer artifacts in the country, displaying many important Angkorian artifacts and rare pieces from later periods.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Evening: Enjoy an 'Apsara Dance' preformance danced by a group of local artist that are working to preserve the traditional Cambodian classical arts. As evidenced in part by the innumerable apsaras (celestial dancers) that adorn the walls of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian temples, this dance has been a part of Khmer culture for more than a millennium.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Navigation towards Kaam Samnaar - the Cambodian Border.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: Depart for the Vietnamese Cambodian border. Arrival at Kaam Samnaar check-point in Cambodia. Enjoy a lecture by your Study Leader on the Economic Development along the Mekong Delta. The ship leaves the border and proceeds toward Chau Doc.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Evening: Overnight near Chau Doc.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Must be able to comfortably walk anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 miles in the morning.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: In the morning, take a tour of this little city. Take a field trip to Sam Mountain, the highest elevation on the Mekong provides a spectacular view of the region's Rice Paddies and canal system and the Cambodian border. Stop at a few spots to look at some of the temples such as Tay An Pagoda, the Temple of Lady Xu and the Tomb of Thoai Ngoc Hau.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: This afternoon, arrive in Sa Dec. Continue to Kien An Cung Pagoda. Stroll around Sa Dec Market along the Sa Dec River bank. Sa Dec is a small city of 30,000 inhabitants is fascinating in its unspoiled authenticity and undisturbed by visitors. It provides a glimpse of the delta where a few colonial houses still remain, including the "Chinaman's house" (from Duras' novel "The Lover", also made into a movie). Return to the boat with stopover at a nursery of flower and bonsai trees. Famous for its horticulture (it has many varieties of fabulously exotic flowers) Sa Dec was known as the "Garden of Cochin Chine" during colonial times.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: This will be an active day. Though there won't be a lot of walking, participants must be able to easily climb ladders on the side of the barge. Participants must also be comfortable getting in and out small wooden boats at least 3 to 4 times a day.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: This morning arrive in Vinh Long and explore the brick and pottery factory, the Binh Hoa Phuoc Islet Nursery of fruit trees as well as a typical house and a show room of traditional farming tools. Vinh Long, which translates as "Majestic Dragon", is right in the middle of the delta, between two arms of the Mekong. The soil of Vinh Long is enriched by silt deposits, making it ideal for growing mandarins and other citrus fruits. Life is organized around the water. Houses on stilts, hawkers on boats, hundreds of small crafts crisscross in all directions. Then continue to Cai Be floating market.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: This afternoon arrive in My Tho and depart for Vinh Trang Pagoda with a view of My Tho town. On the banks of a northern arm of the Mekong, My Tho, which translates as "fragrant herb", is where vistors come to discover the beauty of the delta. It's a quiet, prosperous city of about 100,000 inhabitants, famous for its many fruit orchards, gardens and the huge rice fields that surround it. The surrounding countryside is home to one of the most luxuriant gardens of Vietnam, with its coconut palms, banana and mango trees.

Dinner: Captain's farewell dinner on board the boat.

Lodging: Toum Tiou, Mekong River Boat

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Cruise towards Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) / City Orientation / Family-hosted dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Arrive at Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) in the morning. The vibrant city of Saigon is a thriving metropolis reflecting Vietnam's contentious past as well as its fast-forwarding future. Clear port authorities and transfer to hotel.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon: Led by an expert historian, begin the afternoon learning about the history of Vietnam. Then visit some of the main sites in Saigon including the Rex Hotel, the People’s Committee Building which was built as the Hotel D’Ville by the French in 1908, Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office.

Dinner: Enjoy a family-hosted dinner.

Lodging: Grand Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Take an excursion to Reunification Hall (the former Presidential Palace) built as a modern administrative center. Then continue to the War Remnants Museum, which holds a large collection of weapons, machinery, artifacts and photographs illustrating the War.

Lunch: For lunch enjoy the taste of Vietnam as you sample Pho - a local favorite!

Afternoon: Free afternoon to explore Saigon on your own.

Dinner: Convene for a farewell dinner and program wrap-up.

Lodging: Grand Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Transfer to the airport for return flight home.

Meals Included: Breakfast