6-Day Mekong Discovery Trail

8:00am-8:30 am hotel pick-up time depending on location. Your private driver will pick you and hit the road to the bustling provincial city of Kompong Cham. En route, there is the chance to pause at Skuon, affectionately known as ‘Spiderville’, where it is possible to sample the local delicacy of the deep-fried tarantula. We arrive in Kompong Cham and enjoy a local lunch in Kompong Cham. During the dry season (Jan-May), we can visit the bamboo bridge built across the mighty Mekong River connecting the mainland to Koh Pen Island. Our road journey continues on the eastern side along the Mekong passing through rural villages, farms, fishing spots, pagodas, and beautiful sceneries. There is a lot of chance to photograph. We then reach Kratie and check in a comfortable hotel for the night.

+ O/N: in Kratie (2nts)

[Guided Tour] 8:30 AM, Today, you will meet your English-speaking guide and learn about local lifestyles of the Kratie. Our visit includes a walk through the central Market of Kratie where you will see the local trades and see some of the old colonial building which remain from the French colony. Visit Wat Rokakandal which has a unique wooden carving about 400 years of age. And opportunities to learn about local productions including mushroom farm, rice wish key making, brick factory, bamboo sticky rice and rice noodle production. Lunch break at Kampi.

The highlight of our day is a visit to one of the many deep pools where the rare river dolphins gather to feed. We board a local boat and cruise out into the mighty Mekong for a chance encounter with these gentle mammals. Viewing is guaranteed.
+ O/N: in Kratie

[Guided Tour] In the morning, we take a local ferry across the Mekong River to Koh Trong, a beautiful island of market garden and famous sweet grapefruits. We cycle 9 km around the island where we will observe the bats (will be interesting for Gilbert). We will see a farm of famous grapefruit and other seasonal fruit and vegetable, as well as the floating village. After a lunch break in Kratie, we journey towards Stung Treng before we cross the river by bridge to Tala Borivath and continue north to Preah Rumkel.

+ O/N: Homestay at Preah Rumkel Community (2nts)

+ Included meal: Dinner.

Homestay: Wooden bungalow with nice river view overlooking to Lao; bathroom is outside and shared; mattress with attached mosquito net with a fan; experience bucket shower like Khmer people, hot water can be arranged upon request. Alternatively, we can put you in at guesthouse with private bathroom, A/C, hot shower (but the water come out slow for shower)

[Guided Tour] After breakfast prepared by the family, we stay with, we journey with community boat up the rapid to survey Sopheakmet Waterfall; that thwarted the grand designs of French imperialists (and which now mark the Lao border). It depends on the water level in order to see the waterfall. During the dry season, we can access to the unexplored falls by boat whereas, during the wet season, we have to stop the boat and continue by a walk through forests and road for about 3.5km in return to visit the mighty Mekong falls. In the afternoon, we will take the boat across the river to visit Hang Khone, which is the southernmost tip of Laos. The French used this as a ferry port where goods were then transferred back to the ferry by train before they continued their travel by river.

+ O/N: Homestay at Preah Rumkel Community

+ Included meal: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner.

[Guided Tour] After breakfast at homestay, it’s time to say goodbye to the family. Then, we enjoy a short boat trip down to O’Svay where we will start our paddling tours to explore the Ramsar Wetlands area. It stretches south along the Mekong River from the border with Laos to Stung Treng. Only accessible by boat, it is a haven for critically endangered mammals, birds and fish and a unique riverine flooded forest system that is a photographer’s dream. With only birdcalls announcing our presence, we maneuvered our way leisurely downstream for a couple of hours. Our paddling tour of the forest continue until one point that you feel enough, then we return back to O’Svay by boat before we travel by road to the provincial capital of Stung Treng. We check in to a comfortable local hotel for the night.

+ O/N: in Stung Treng.

+ Included meal: Breakfast & Lunch.

Before leaving behind the remote Stung Treng, we might visit Stung Treng Women’s Development Center (open Monday to Friday). STWC or Mekong Blue is where the project focuses on developing life skills that assist in breaking the cycle of poverty and illiteracy for vulnerable people, especially women in their region. You will learn about Cambodian silk weaving and their production, which allows not only preservation but also the cultivation of the hundred-year-old tradition of silk-weaving. In the end, you can shop for souvenirs. We can either drip you in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap for your next destination.