Archaeological complex of Banteay Chhmar
$ 250
per person
Marguerite Duras, author of The Lover and The Sea Wall, screenwriter of Hiroshima mon amour, was born in Saigon, Indochina, in 1914. She spent her childhood and adolescence in this region which corresponds to present-day Vietnam and Cambodia. This passage through Indochina between the wars will forever mark her work.
You will find in HoChiMinh City (formerly Saigon), Sadec, Phnom Penh and Kampot many vestiges of that colonial era which has forever passed. The tour will take you to some of the mythical places which influenced and shaped the unique genius of Marguerite Duras: the Chinese district of Saigon, Cholon, where she secretly met her Chinese lover; her high school, in HoChiMinh City, where she passed the baccalaureate; the lover’s house in Sadec, in the Mekong Delta; the region of Kampot, in Cambodia, recounted in The Sea Wall.
The tour will allow you to feel the old-fashioned charm of Indochina while experiencing the feverish excitement of contemporary Vietnam and Cambodia, two countries in South-east Asia that are in the process of rapidly changing.
Visit to some centers of interest: Central Post Office with art deco architecture, cathedral, City Hall, colonial architecture. Sites frequented by Marguerite Duras.
Caravelle Hotel / Deluxe
The Chinese district of Cholon: the market, the pagodas, the typical small streets as described in the film The Lover
Travel by road from Ho Chi Minh Ville to My Tho. Embark the Jahan at My Tho.
Lunch aboard. Cruise the Mekong up to Cai Be. Dinner and night aboard.
After breakfast onboard, explore Cai Be’s vibrant floating market, onshore visit of a handicraft workshop. Return on board Jahan for lunch. In the early afternoon, cruise towards Sadec (Binh Thanh Island*) and Chau Doc. Dinner and overnight on board.
* could be replaced by visit of Sadec town and Marguerite Duras sites of interest
After breakfast, disembark Jahan and depart to the Cambodian border by speed boat, go through the customs formalities and continue your cruise to Phnom Penh arriving by early afternoon. Check in hotel.
Visit of the Royal Palace, Art Déco central market, observation of a training session of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. National Museum of Cambodia
Visit to the Silk Island (Koh Dach) on the Mekong, Toul Tom Poung Market in Phnom Penh. River dinner cruise on the Bassac in front of Phnom Penh
The city of Kampot with its many buildings dating from the colonial era, the governor’s palace. Reach the Bokor Hill Station about 40km west of Kampot which refers to a collection of French colonial buildings constructed as a temperate mountain luxury resort and retreat for colonial residents in the early 1920s
From Bokor, excursion to Prey Nup where Marguerite Duras’ mother had a concession (polder) by the sea. Remains of their house in a Cham village near Ream. Continue to Sihanoukville. Beach.
Flight from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap. City tour of Siem Reap and old market
Visit the main temples of the Angkor Wat complex. Visit to the Banteay Srei temple.
One-day tour from Siem Reap: Beng Mealea temple and Kampong Khleang fishing village.
Departure from Siem Reap International Airport.
