Cruising Indochina's present & past

We were on a week-long Viking cruise along the Mekong river, taking in Vietnam and Cambodia, with a week's land arrangements tacked on to the end and the beginning. From Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)we joined our small ship (fewer than 60 passengers)and cruised slowly across the border into Cambodia, where we moored at Phnom Penh, the capital. After disembarking, we were driven to Siem Reap for a three-night stay featuring the magnificent centuries-old temples in and around Angkor Wat. Then we flew to Hanoi for two more days before returning home. Some of the Americans among the passengers were returning to Vietnam for the first time after serving in the American army there in the sixties and seventies, which added an extra dimension to the trip. The mainly Cambodian crew gave impeccable service throughout and the food - a judicious mixture of eastern and western cuisines - was magnificent.