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Southeast Asia cruises will take you along the Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese costs.
Southeast Asia cruises will sail you to many different and interesting places. The distances in Southeast Asia are big, and usually these cruises therefore last from 10 to 18 days.
Destinations on a Southeast Asia cruise often include Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. Popular destinations also include Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Redang and Tioman in Malaysia, as well as Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui and Bangkok in Thailand. Further, there are several cruises every year to Borneo (Malaysia), Sihnanoukville (Cambodia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). Some cruises will take you as far as China and Japan or to India.
There are some mighty rivers in Southeast Asia. Among the most popular for river cruises are the Mekong River, the Rajang River and the Irrawaddy River.
From the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong River runs through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea, at Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The most popular river boat cruise on the Mekong is between Siem Reap (Angkor) in Cambodia and My Tho, the port for Ho Chi Minh City. This cruise normally takes around 7 days and includes a visit to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on the way. On the cruise passengers will encounter temples, fishing villages and floating markets untouched by time. The Mekong basin is one of the richest areas of bio diverse in the world. More than 1200 species of fish have been identified and fishing is a very important part of the economic activities in the area.
The Rajang River is located in northwest of Borneo and has one of the most diverse eco systems on the planet. Its primary rain forest is home to a vast number of species of flora and fauna. There is little tourism here due to the river's remoteness and lack of facilities. The scenery is magnificent - a total jungle experience with the rain forest tumbling into the fast flowing river. The river flows some 560 km into the South China Sea, and is navigable for at least 250 km until the Pelagus Rapids, and further on its main tributary, the Baleh River. The biggest town on the river is Sibu, some 60 km upriver from its mouth. A typical Rajang River cruise will last for 8 days, and will give passengers a possibility to see how the Iban tribe lives along the river and to view their longhouse architecture.
The Irrawaddy River is the life-line of Myanmar; it flows almost down the very center of the country for almost 2,000 km (1,250 mi). It feeds the farmlands of the dry central zone and allows easy transportation of good up and down the country. It empties though a nine armed delta into the Andaman Sea. In colonial times, before railways and automobiles, the river was known as the "Road to Mandalay". A cruise on the Irrawaddy River will take you through ancient cities from past civilizations, plenty of pagodas and temples and towns like Mandalay and Pagan, an ancient Burmese capital, that was abandoned as capital seven hundred years ago. An Irrawaddy river cruise will normally last for around seven days.
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