Signature Aviation Spring 2025

elite traveler SPRING 2025 131

Left Aqua Expedition’s Aqua Mekong vessel

In southern Cambodia and Vietnam, the waterways are more than a way of life — they are life itself. The Mekong is the second-largest river delta in the world — beaten only by the Ganges — and is considered the breadbasket, or rather rice bowl, of Vietnam. Here, the fertile soil combined with the network of canals ensures multiple rice harvests a year, and so the region has thrived. The importance of these bodies of water can’t be overstated, and a trip to this corner of the world should certainly be on any budding traveler’s radar. However, it’s not quite that simple. While it’s the water that makes this region so unique, it also makes getting around far from a walk in the park. Hotels remain few and far between, particularly if you value an elevated level of luxury, and the lack of tourists to this region ensures the language barrier remains a constant hurdle. But there are solutions. Aqua Expeditions began traversing the world’s remote waterways with its trips along the Amazon in 2007. In October 2014, the company launched Aqua Mekong , a purpose-built vessel designed to make exploring this part of the world possible. With a capacity of only 40 guests, there’s a one-to-one guest-to-crew ratio, ensuring service across the vessel’s three decks remains on par with some of the fi nest hotels anywhere in the world. Dining on board continues the trend, with breakfast, lunch and dinner served in the ship’s well appointed dining room acting as the punctuation between mornings and afternoons of sightseeing. Chef David Thompson (best known for London’s Nahm, which became the fi rst Thai restaurant to earn a Michelin star) designed the exceptionally authentic menu with local dishes prepared from fresh, seasonal ingredients, highlighting the culinary di ff erences between Cambodia and Vietnam. Entering its 11th year on the Mekong, Aqua Expeditions continues to deliver impressive luxury experiences to a region where travel is far from a paddle down the river. DAY1 The fi rst day of the trip is centered around boarding Aqua Mekong , the impressive vessel where I’ll be spending much of the next eight days. Thanks to Angkor Wat, visitors to this corner of Cambodia are not short of luxury options: Park Hyatt Siem Reap (our meeting point), Ra ffl es Grand Hotel d’Angkor and Anantara Angkor Resort and Spa, in addition to a host of private villa options, mean luxurious stays are plentiful. From the Park Hyatt we take a short bus ride to the dock, where we board a series of ski ff s that take everyone to Aqua Mekong . Over the next few days, we get well acquainted with these ski ff s. Most stops are exceptionally remote and lack the infrastructure to dock a large vessel, so the ski ff s are essential for getting travelers to and from Aqua Mekong at eachstop.