Today, after breakfast, we bid farewell to APT’s La Marguerite and boarded an air-conditioned coach for a two-hour journey to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Driving through the countryside, watching rice fields being planted and observing the local towns and shops, was, as always, a pleasure (the roads, like most of the roads on our coach trips, were sealed and made for a comfortable journey).

Soon after leaving My Tho, we found ourselves on a multi-lane highway. There were signs of development everywhere and I got a strong impression that the standard of living is rising here.

Once arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, we were all dropped off at the 5-star Sheraton Hotel where the tour continued for a few more days, excursions in the city included.  We left the group at this stage, however, as we had other travel commitments.

Overall, this was a very informative and exciting tour. There is so much to learn about the Cambodian and Vietnamese way of life and, without exception, every local we met was friendly and went out of their way to help.

Cambodia and Vietnam are ‘must see’ countries and travelling them by river ship is definitely the way to go.

As the saying goes, “unpack once and enjoy your journey”.