La Marguerite Postcard #3 – My Tho and Embarking La Marguerite

After a good night’s sleep and a small lie in this morning we eventually went down to breakfast. The food has been very good at the hotel and the breakfast is no exception.
A walk round the block proceeded where we picked up a data SIM for the WiFi dongle, 178,000 Dong (£6.41) for 9GB. It lasts for 30 days and will prove very useful if the boats WiFi isn’t up to much.

Our case’s needed to be outside the room by 10:00am so they could be collected in readiness for our trip to My Tho port. We have been separated into 3 groups for the duration of the trip and each has been named after a colour, orange, blue and green. We are in blue group and were given blue ribbons to attach to our case’s so that they could travel with us on the same bus. We have 25 in our group which is mainly British but there are a few Aussies to make up the numbers.
We also completed our health questionnaire which was handed in along with our passports. These will be returned to is at the end of the cruise with APT taking care of all the formalities on our behalf, such as the Cambodian visas when we cross the border.

We departed from the hotel at midday and reached the port of My Tho at a little after 1:40. Embarkation was swift to say the least and we were straight into a welcome aboard buffet lunch. A good choice was available and Nicole was able to eat reasonable well once the initial understanding of her diet was explained.
From there we were able to get into our cabin which is really cosy, a lot more compact than the hotel but still very comfortable. Here are some photos of the cabin for you to peruse.

We set sail at about 3:30 but were busy unpacking to go up and experience it from the upper deck.

5:00pm was the muster drill and that’s where we are are this time. Dinner is at 7:00 and tomorrow is another day.

La Marguerite Postcard #2 – Cu Chi Tunnels & Reunification Palace

Last night we were all bused to nearby restaurant called The Chopsticks for a welcome meal, the evening was great fun, food was good and it was nice to finally meet all our travel companions for the next week or so. Back at the hotel it was bliss to get back into a comfortable bed again.
We booked a 5:30 alarm call for the morning so we could get up for an early breakfast, reason being we had to be on the road for 7:30 for our morning trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The drive from the hotel took about an hour and 45 minutes and it was astonishing to see all the scooters out during the Monday morning rush hour, there are approximately 8½ million of them in Ho Chi Minh City alone and they certainly slowed our journey up this morning.

A young lady by the name of Tang was our specialist guide, she was provided by APT to show us around the tunnel site and travelled with us from the hotel, the journey time gave her ample time to fill in all the background information concerning the history from around the time the tunnels were constructed and in use.
Some of it being quite dark and it just highlights how hideous war can make people behave. I didn’t take too many photos as all the time I was there I kept thinking this sort of thing should not be endorsed or glorified in any way.

It’s good we should know about it and maybe do our best to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. The tour lasted about 1¾ hours and the return journey taking slightly less time due to the improved traffic conditions.

Back at the hotel we immediately indulged ourselves in a spot of lunch and soon afterwards we set off on foot to visit the Reunification Palace, it was only a ten minute walk and it provided another impression of a different element of the same time frame of this mornings tour.

The palace is virtually untouched since the day the North Vietnamese tanks entered the grounds signalling the end of the war. We spent a good two hours wandering around the palace and grounds, absolutely fascinating and well worth the effort.

Today’s activities have been really thought provoking and upon reflection it does make you wonder how an earth these things are allowed to escalate to the stage where peoples lives are changed and not always for the better. The Vietnamese people were basically used as pawns by the USSR and USA. So sad because we have discovered some amazing people in the two days we been here and it is plain to see how the results of the conflict have made an impact on their lives even today. They are now moving forward and are proving to be very successful at it too.

Back at the hotel we decided to take some time out and relax a bit tonight. After all, it’s only day two and it feels a hell of a lot longer.

Tomorrow we set off to join the boat, it will be sad to leave Saigon but at the same time we feel enriched having had the chance to come here and meet the people.

La Marguerite Postcard #1 – The Journey to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

The beginning of our journey started with a 2¼ drive from home to Heathrow. While Nicole snoozed I enjoyed the radio commentary of what was a better day for England the last test match of the Ashes series. With the car parked in the long stay we made our way to our overnight accommodation at the Hilton T4. We spent a lovely evening in the hotel bar with a friend who lives locally before retiring to bed for the night. Cheers Jan!
Morning soon arrived and after checking out of the hotel we made our way to the check in desks for our Vietnam Airlines flight to Chi Minh City. I had previously enquired about an upgrade but the cost was far more than I was prepared to pay, so when we were offered the same upgrade for £150 each we jumped at chance. Before we knew it, we were on the plane and making our way to Vietnam, the extra legroom and a comfortable seat made it worth every penny.

We departed Heathrow at 11:30am Saturday with the flight taking a little over 11½ hours and with a time difference of 7 hours, we eventually landed just after 5:00am Sunday morning. I just wish we could afford to fly like this every time we do long haul. After meeting up with the APT rep we made the 30 minute drive to the hotel where not surprisingly at 6:15 in the morning no rooms were ready. We were prepared for this and had planned a tour on foot around some of the local sites. The only problem we encountered was nothing was open at 7:00 on a Sunday morning so it was just a case of doing some walking and getting our bearings.

Our first port of call was the Saigon Skydeck at the Bitexco Financial Tower were from the 49th floor we were able to get a great view of the city and pick out the locations of places we wanted to check out.

Today’s hit list included the Opera House, City Hall, Central Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon.

They are building a new metro system which has resulted in lots of hoarding all over the city, this made some of the photo opportunities a little awkward but I managed okay in the end.
We were told that rooms might be ready from 11:00 so we headed back at 11:30 only to be told that they still weren’t ready. So a spot of lunch and a couple of cold beers helped pass some time. Eventually just after 2:00 we were given our room key, the wait was worth it. The room is amazing, spacious and really well furnished, not to forget the bath either. It’s just a shame we only have 2 nights here.

We are going out for a welcome meal tonight and I do wonder how we are going to cope given the long days we have all had.

La Marguerite Mekong Cruise Preamble

We thoroughly enjoyed our first river cruise along the Nile, so much so upon on our return we immediately started to investigate other river itinerary’s. One such trip that caught our eye was along the Mekong and having read some really inspiring trip reports about cruises along this river and the surrounding area, we decided that now would be a good time to indulge ourselves in river trip number two. Having just missed out on a free flight offer with AmaWaterwaterways on the AmaDara I decided to investigate alternative trips that were within our budget and after some solid research found APT’s Essential Vietnam and Cambodia, its labelled as a 14 day trip which is a little misleading as 2 of those nights are actually taken up by long haul flights but the itinerary still is still much the same as the Ama one albeit different boat and hotels either end of the cruise. We booked direct with APT and found the process very straight forward and the agent was very efficient, even providing the option of adding 2 extra nights at Siem Reap for just £70. The original return flights were showing a £65 per person surcharge so when the extra nights were priced at £100 each and with no surcharge for the flights back to the UK 2 days later it was a no brainer for us.
The boat itself (La Marguerite) will be 10 years old later this year and has recently under gone a soft refurb in 2018, and all the reviews I have managed to find suggest she is in good order and when complimented with a great crew (2:1 ratio) I think we are in for a real treat.
Because of the close proximity of the trip from booking we were fortunate to grab the last available A Grade cabin and were actually able to secure the cabin number this time, so for 7 nights we will be in cabin 204 on the upper deck (Saigon).

As I mentioned previously, 6 nights of this trip will be hotel stays which I have included in the itinerary list while the map lower down will also give you our locations along the way. The itinerary is available going in the opposite direction but we wanted to end with Siam Reap which is where our two extra days are. We wanted the trip to build as we headed towards Angkor Archaeological Park where we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the ancient temples.

Date Location Arrival Departure
Sunday, September 15, 2019 Hotel Stay, Fusion Suites, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Monday, September 16, 2019 Hotel Stay, Fusion Suites, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 My Tho, Vietnam Embark La Marguerite
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 Cai Be & Cao Dai Temple, Vietnam
Thursday, September 19, 2019 Tan Chau, Border Crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia
Friday, September 20, 2019 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Saturday, September 21, 2019 Phnom Penh, Koh Chen, Cambodia
Sunday, September 22, 2019 Oudong, Kampong Tralach, Cambodia
Monday, September 23, 2019 Kampong Chnnang, Cambodia
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 Hotel Stay, Shinta Mani Resort, Siam Reap, Cambodia Disembark La Marguerite
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 Hotel Stay, Shinta Mani Resort, Siam Reap, Cambodia
Thursday, September 26, 2019 Hotel Stay, Shinta Mani Resort, Siam Reap, Cambodia
Friday, September 27, 2019 Hotel Stay, Shinta Mani Resort, Siam Reap, Cambodia
Saturday, September 28, 2019 Hotel Stay, Shinta Mani Resort, Siam Reap, Cambodia Overnight flight back to UK

Once again I am anticipating there maybe connection issues while we are travelling, there is free Wi-Fi at both hotels but the 7 days on La Marguerite could be a problem. For example, its not available in all areas of the boat and even then much depends on our location. I will take my Mi-Fi gadget just in case as it may be useful even if it allows intermittent WhatsApp message to come through.

Jaz Royale Postcard #12 – Luxor & Karnak Temples

I was awake early this morning, I just can’t seem to sleep past 5:00 at the moment. The bed was really comfortable but I still found myself not being able to sleep on.
The room had to be vacated by noon and because this deadline could potentially happen while we were out everything was repacked and stored in the luggage room.

Our guide Eslam, arrived dead on time complete with driver and we were soon on our way to Karnak Temple. The site itself is vast and there are many impressive areas that we were shown round. Because there was just the two of us we were able to cover ground much quicker and our visit lasted for just over 1½ hours. I am again going to resort to selecting several photos rather than waffle on about things.

 

A 10 minute drive south brought us to our second stop, the Temple of Luxor which although not as big had plenty of things to keep us occupied for another 1½ hours. On the way in, we passed one end of the 3km Avenue of Sphinx’s which links up with Karnak and when full restored and open will be amazing.

Notably there are artefacts there not only of ancient Egyptian origin but Greek, Roman, Coptic Christian and even a mosque built on top of some of the ruins which is in use.
There is even an Alabaster statue of Tutankhamun and his wife, the first I have seen outside any of the museums.
On the way in there is currently one of the large statue’s in the process of being restored. It looks impressive now and will look even more so when completed.
We made it back in time to go and get changed into our swimming attire using the room then with the exception of a lunch break spent the last few hours out by the pool. Our transfer to the airport arrived at 4:10 with the journey taking around 20 minutes. Another 30 minutes to get through security and then a one hour wait for our flight back to Cairo which turned into 1 hour and 20 minutes. Our flight managed to claw back 10 minutes which was then wiped out with another 10 minute taxi to the terminal. The same Discover Egypt rep was there waiting to guide us to the hotel where check in was swiftly dealt with.

 

Our third bedroom in 3 nights at Le Meridian, Cairo Airport before we start our journey home tomorrow morning. It’s been a great trip that has inspired us to come back and see more. Luxor to Aswan & Lake Nasser along with the Grand Egyptian Museum when it eventually gets finished.

Jaz Royale Postcard #11 – Luxor & Westbank

This morning was the earliest start we have needed to make for tours, the set off time was 6:30 and it was done that way so we would avoid the heat later on. Our first item on the itinerary was a 10 minutes photo stop to see The Colossi of Memnon which are two huge statues that were part of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple.

A very short drive from there took us to the Valley of the Queens where we visited two tombs and with a photo permit costing LE300 I decided that just a visit would be enough on this occasion so no pictures.
No permit was required at the next stop so I took plenty. The Temple of Hatshepsut which has been restored is a breathtaking panorama. Built for the only female Pharaoh is set under a large rock face and does look spectacular on the approach to it. Our tour included the upper and lower terraces where we were able to view some really good coloured murals in the Chapel of Anubis. After seeing a program about this 2 weeks ago on the TV it was great to see it all in real life.

Unfortunately as is the norm with these types of tours the next stop was an Alabaster workshop where we were given a demonstration in the art of working the stone before a guided tour of the shop.
Not willing to part with any of my money I returned to wait on the bus while some of our party succumbed to the sales pitch. Our final stop was the eagerly anticipated Valley of the King’s where our ticket allowed for access to 3 of 6 open tombs and the photography permit wasn’t even given a second thought at this venue.  Because they rotate the ones that are open, today we visited the following, Rameses IV, Rameses III and Merneptah. All of which were absolutely fascinating and each quite different with their own unique key features. Probably best once again to show you some photos.

No sooner had we started our tour it felt like it was over and we were on our way back to the boat for our last lunch onboard. The boat has a completely different feel now there are a lot more people. In a way I glad we are getting off when we are but pleased the crew are now going to be nice a busy again.

Tonight we disembarked at around 9:30 and transferred to the Sonesta St. George in Luxor for one night. The drive took 10 minutes and we were accompanied by a Discover Egypt rep who took care of the check in and gave us our timetable for the next day. In that short time we missed the Jaz Royale sailing past on its way to Aswan which is a shame as it would have been nice to see it sail away and get a photo from the bank.

On first impressions the Sonesta St. George is really lovely hotel and it’s just a shame we won’t be there longer.

Tomorrow we have a 9:00 start for our tour of Karnak and Luxor temples.

Jaz Royale Postcard #10 – A River Day to Luxor

One of the joys of this cruise for me has been seeing all the small children shouting and waving as we have passed by. Many of them will not have seen that many foreign people in their life time because of the recent security worries, so to see our pale faces floating down the river on a boat must be quite a spectacle for them. Back in Cairo, we were asked by youngsters on many occasions if we would mind having our photo taken with them on their mobile phones, a bit daunting at first and you immediately think they are after your money but it’s totally not the case, if you stop and consider the younger ones will not have come into contact with many foreign people in their life time it all sort of makes sense. Tourism seems to be on the increase here again so eventually the novelty will probably die off but for now it’s quite heart warming to get the attention and then see the happiness it generates.

So back to today, after passing through the swing bridge we tied up until around 4:00. We then started our journey to Luxor, I know it was around 4:00 because Mosque’s had all started their first daily call to prayer. I am saying nothing more on the subject!
After managing to drop back off to sleep I eventually came around at 6:30 and finished yesterday’s post.
The rest of the morning after breakfast was spent up on the top deck in the sun making the most of our last section of the cruise. Once we reach Luxor the boat will not move until we get off, it will continue on up to Aswan which is something we would like to come back and do another time.

The rest of the group disembarked at Karnak and we continued on to tie up just outside the Winter Palace Hotel. They were doing the temple tours today while we will be doing it on Monday morning.
Our afternoon consisted of a short walk and a Caleche ride round the town. I know we paid over the odds but it was rather fun and didn’t break the bank.

We have 36 Spanish passengers joining us today so it will be very interesting to see how it feels with more people onboard.
Tomorrow we have a much earlier start time of 6:30 for our tour to the West bank. It’s going to be a long day.

Jaz Royale Postcard #9 – Abydos & Denderah

After giving us the indication we would be taking an early bus from Sohag for today’s tours while at the same time they move the boat down river later without us onboard so to make things work a little swifter, I was surprised to see and hear it set off from Sohag at just after 4:00 this morning. Yet more lack of communication by all concerned! By all accounts we had to wait to go through a swing bridge which didn’t open until 4:00. This then impacted our tour timing and we didn’t actually get off the boat until we reached Al Balyana at 10:00.

We were very quickly on the road to the Temple at Abydos which took around 40 minutes. Once again we are accompanied by armed security and police all the while we were travelling and I am beginning to think is way over the top and more for show. Everyone we see just stops what they are doing and wave and smile, they all look as threatening as a gold fish!

The Temple at Abydos is quite simply amazing, lots of amazing preservation and colours, so rather than trying to explain I will just show a selection of photos.

Once we had finished our tour it was back on the road, this time to Dendara and another temple, the journey being somewhat longer at 1¾ hours across the desert highway. It was this one that I had been waiting to see from our middle section of the cruise and I wasn’t disappointed. The outside is amazing but the inside is out of this world with the quality of colours and preservation outstanding. Many areas of the inside have been cleaned and the colours are absolutely incredible, the ceiling being the stand out item. Rather than trying to explain once again I think photos will say more.

I

It has been a very memorable day even with more road time than we have done so far, as a result we eventually arrived back to the boat at 6:00 which evidently had still moved anyway to Nagaa Hammadi. So after a swift beer, it was then a quick shower before dinner. The trouble with busy days is it then doesn’t allow me much time to make a decent post.

We didn’t sail until gone 11:00 having to wait for another swing bridge to open and allow us through.

Jaz Royale Postcard #8 – A River Day to Sohag

Last night around 11:30 we passed through the new Assiut Barrage, there are 2 locks on this recently opened project on the River Nile. The transfer from one side to the other took less than ½ hour, we then continued for about another hour before stopping for the evening in Assiut itself.
The following photos show our progress through the lock.

It wasn’t a long overnight stop as we were back on our way again at 4:30 continuing on our way to Sohag.

Also yesterday evening just before dinner we found out from our onboard Egyptologist that as a result of recent itinerary adjustments, we were now set to be disembarking in Edfu and not Luxor on Monday 15th.
The new plan is for us to then drive 110km back to Luxor to catch our flight back to Cairo. We are not happy and do not want to spend the last day of our holiday doing something we do not want to do nor expected to be doing.

The itinerary has been continuously changing all cruise and until now we have gone along with the amendments. It was our belief that things were being adjusted so that more time could be made available at Luxor but now we have found out that this is not the case. Last night I sent an email to Discover Egypt and also Ian Warren in a bid to try and resolve our issues.

We are not very happy that the itinerary has evolved after we had already boarded. I think it is mightily unfair to do this without any real apparent reason to do so. Some were only minor changes but we could never really find out further than a day ahead how proceedings were being affected further into the cruise.
The boat and crew have been amazing but Travco’s organisational skills leave a lot to be desired. Other English speaking guests who are onboard are also very dissatisfied with the proceedings.

I am very happy to say that Discover Egypt have responded positively with the following revised arrangements for us:

I am sorry that you had to write to us about the change in sailing time from Luxor even before we were informed. Therefore, we will make the following change:

Saturday, 13 April

At leisure on board. (You will not visit the Temples of Karnak and Luxor this day.)

Sunday, 14 April

Excursion to the West Bank of the Nile as per itinerary.

Afternoon at leisure in Luxor.

Dinner on board and then transfer to the Sonesta St George Hotel

(The boat is sailing at approx. 10pm)

Monday, 15 April

After breakfast in hotel, our local guide will escort you on excursion to Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. (exact pick up time will be advised locally)

Lunch at Sonesta Hotel.

Afternoon at leisure.

Transfer to Luxor airport for flight to Cairo.(exact pick up time will be advised locally)

A great result from a company that cares!

Back to today, we arrived at Sohag just after 2:00 and we have tied up alongside another boat which has been converted into a floating hotel and bar. I suspect tonight is going to be noisy as they seem to be setting up for a party on the top deck.

Jaz Royale Postcard #7 – Tel El Amarna

We arrived at our next destination of Tel El Amarna just before sunset. There was another boat there and instead of tieing up side by side we tucked in behind. This place is much quieter and I’m really not sure of the reasons for the swift departure of Minya other than maybe a security issue. I am told it is easier to move on to our next stop from here even though we have to double back by road to view our historical sites today. As this is a new itinerary for this boat it seems that the itinerary is a work in progress.

Today, as with most tours it was an early start, we were again on the road just after 8:00 this morning and on our way to stop number one. It was around a 40 minute drive to get to Ashmunein where we had a 45 minute walking tour around the remains of the old city which included a brief photo stop at the 2 Baboon statues.

The ruins themselves were absolutely littered with ancient pottery and we found it quite disturbing to be walking and damaging all these artifacts while in contrast with Stonehenge you can’t get within 50 feet of the stones!

From there it was a short trip to Tuna Al Gebel to see 3 tombs, one of which housed a mummified baboon. We were there maybe for an hour and a half before hitting the road to the tomb of Akhenaten.

To get to it you come off the main road and drive for about 1½ miles before going into a valley and driving a similar distance to reach the tomb entrance itself. Absolutely miles away from anything and I felt it was a very privileged opportunity we were being given. Not a big tomb but cut very deep into the rock of the valley side and it is the location for me that made the trip worthwhile.

Next and last stop were 3 of 4 Northern Tombs of the Nobles at El Amarna. All of them are situated at the top of an escarpment, we visited the best of the 3 first which belonged to Meryra who was a high priest. The tomb had lots of scenes depicting the Arten Temple and were in a very good state of preservation. A horse and chariot being one of the stand out items.

We were back to the boat at 2:10 and it was swiftly on the way to our next stop where we are due to pass through a lock some time around midnight.

After lunch it was time for some relaxation and Nile life observations up on the sun deck. All the small children come running out to wave as we pass by, I have no idea what they are shouting but they are smiling so I’m sure it’s something positive.