A beautiful sunrise aboard Jahan was a welcome contrast to the bustling city streets which hum with activity on our final day in Cambodia. The avid photographers amongst us got off to an early start with Jennifer Davidson on an early morning photo walk around the Phnom Penh waterfront. As we enjoy another fine breakfast the Jahan crew makes preparations to depart the capital.

While heading south down the Mekong towards the Vietnam border we are treated to our special guest lecturer, the very informative and entertaining expert on modern Cambodian history Jean Michel Phillipi. While Jean Michel is a linguist and specialises in recording the languages of ethnic minorities, he is an authority on the complicated and tumultuous period which is post-independence Cambodia.

While we laid anchor waiting for border control, Jahan’s general manager Voant took us down below the decks for a “back of house” tour of the ship and the bridge. Afterwards Jennifer gave us an introduction to smartphone photography, highlighting their many strengths and capabilities. With our immigration paperwork taken care of and the Jahan once again underway, we take to the observation deck for our first look at Vietnam. It is immediately obvious how different Vietnam is from the activity and development along the waterways, with ships, barges and fishing boats much more common south of the national border.

At around 5p.m. Jahan maneuvers into the Tan Chau canal where we begin heading west to make our way across to the Bassac River. While the Bassac does indeed begin at Phnom Penh, numerous places along its course in Cambodia are too shallow and not navigable by a ship of our size. The Tan Chau canal is quite narrow and both banks are up close and personal as we cruise through the numerous villages and towns which run along its course. We are also treated to a magnificent sunset aligned perfectly with the ships heading. When we finally arrive at Chau Doc we finish the day with an introduction to our new Vietnamese guides who will be leading us through the Delta for the next few days.