{"id":25,"date":"2009-11-29T23:25:59","date_gmt":"2009-11-29T12:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2010-01-31T17:47:35","modified_gmt":"2010-01-31T06:47:35","slug":"battle-of-the-mekong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/battle-of-the-mekong\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle of the Mekong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-5161388013621688\";\ngoogle_alternate_ad_url = \"http:\/\/travography.com\/showsell.html\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\ngoogle_ad_format = \"468x60_as\";\ngoogle_ad_type = \"text_image\";\n\/\/2007-02-08: Traveloscopy Story Banner 468\ngoogle_ad_channel = \"8406711044\";\ngoogle_color_border = \"FFFFFF\";\ngoogle_color_bg = \"FFFFFF\";\ngoogle_color_link = \"063E3F\";\ngoogle_color_text = \"6F6F6F\";\ngoogle_color_url = \"78B749\";\n\/\/--><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>\nIf you believe the industry hype, river cruising is riding the rocket of small ship and adventure products in a rapidly growing cruise market. I tend to agree. The anecdotal evidence points to more travellers seeking out products away from the traditional sea and coastal routes and looking inland to the great waterways.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 195px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pandaw.com\/mekong-c-23.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Floating Village Mekong\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pandaw.com\/images\/gallery\/Mekong%20Scenic\/Floating%20Village.jpg\" alt=\"Floating Village Mekong\" width=\"185\" height=\"185\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Floating Village Mekong<\/p><\/div>\n<p>One of the most famous Asian rivers, the Mekong, is set to stage a great showdown as operators from all over the globe take on locals in their own \u201cwarships\u201d in an attempt to outdo each other for market share.<\/p>\n<p>For those who didn\u2019t get an A in geography, the Mekong is the 10th longest river in the world and stretches 4350km through Indochina. Working backwards from the massive delta at the bottom of Vietnam, it cuts a swathe through Cambodia, forms virtually the entire western border of Laos with Thailand and Burma before disappearing onto the Tibetan Plateau through China\u2019s Yunnan Province.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately the entire length is not navigable due to modern dams, rapids and shallows and most cruising is reserved to the lower reaches and Cambodia\u2019s Tonle Sap.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe French had a good crack at it though,\u201d Trevor Lake of Discover Asia reminds me, \u201cbut like so many European adventurers, they were hopelessly under-equipped and it really was a comedy of errors.\u201d (Read \u2018River Road to China\u2019 by Milton Osborne)<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 274px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Trevor Lake on the Mekong in Laos\" src=\"http:\/\/photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net\/hphotos-ak-snc1\/hs009.snc1\/4450_1081587400024_1236505948_30290020_7439970_n.jpg\" alt=\"Trevor Lake on the Mekong in Laos\" width=\"264\" height=\"197\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trevor Lake on the Mekong in Laos<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Trevor, by the look of him, has been travelling in Asia since forever and he makes several important observations about choosing a Mekong river cruise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith so many vessels and styles to choose from, and new ones launching all the time, travellers really need to discuss their plans with an experienced agent. It\u2019s absolutely imperative that you find the right vessel to match your expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His company represents all the major cruise lines, many of the tiny ones too, and is one of the handful of agents able to speak independently for all products.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Fletcher of Active Travel is another expert agency operating for over 25 years across the major lines who believes the Mekong cruise market is about to reach a defining moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRiver cruising is a sound product and will remain so unless the Battle for the Mekong leads to ridiculous discounting and dilution of the concept and quality. I think 'The Battle' is on the brink - either the Mekong cruise market stays as a fairly exclusive experience with relatively high standards or it is reduced to a mass market, low cost, low service exercise with bums in berths as the driving force.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The major players are:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 430px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"La Marguerite\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lotussiatravel.com\/imgs\/111ae7651340dc9125a3bf437c43ca83-la-marguerite-1.jpg\" alt=\"La Marguerite\" width=\"420\" height=\"283\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">La Marguerite<\/p><\/div>\n<p>La Marguerite, a brand new 46-cabin luxury cruiser, built locally to luxury standards and decorated to reflect the colonial elegance, although externally she resembles many modern river cruisers. Still some teething issues, but shows great promise.<\/p>\n<p>Heritage Line\u2019s opulent Jayavarman is certainly one of the most anticipated vessels claiming \u201ca marriage of avant-garde French colonial design with enchanting Indochine architecture\u201d. The launch date has been revised from September to November and its itineraries boast Angkor Wat and Mekong Delta explorations.<\/p>\n<p>The well-known Pandaw cruise line operates two vessels, the RV Tonle Pandaw and the RV Mekong Pandaw. While they rate a more modest 3.5 stars, they offer a rustic elegance that is in perfect harmony with the surroundings.<\/p>\n<p>Trevor\u2019s tip however may not suit all types, but challenges how we view river cruising.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just adore the Toum Tiou vessels from Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong (CFMekong.com). In my opinion they are the perfect way to experience the Mekong, compact, personal and thoroughly authentic. My other favourite would be to take a luxury private sampan \u2013 just the two of you \u2013 and travel undetected through the floating markets and villages. Brilliant!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Richard and Trevor seem to be saying the same thing: choose carefully, consult an expert and avoid the cheaper alternatives. Meanwhile the \u2018battle\u2019 rages.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nActive Travel<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.activetravel.com.au\">www.activetravel.com.au<\/a><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nDiscover Asia<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.discoverasia.com.au\">www.discoverasia.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you believe the industry hype, river cruising is riding the rocket of small ship and adventure products in a rapidly growing cruise market. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-cruising","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monolith.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}