The Mekong is the lifeblood of South-East Asia — a river so vast and so central to the lives of the 70 million people who live along its banks that it has been called the ‘mother of all rivers’ in the local languages of the region. A Mekong river cruise — typically between Siem Reap in Cambodia and Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, or focusing on the upper Mekong between Thailand and Laos — is one of the most immersive and culturally rich river cruise experiences in the world. The Cambodian section of the cruise begins near Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Wat — arguably the greatest archaeological complex on earth, a 400-square-kilometre city of temples built by the Khmer Empire in the 12th century and now one of the world’s most visited UNESCO sites. The cruise then proceeds to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, where the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the deeply sobering Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Killing Fields memorial are essential visits that provide crucial context for the country’s recent history. Crossing into Vietnam, the Mekong Delta is a landscape of extraordinary fertility and activity — a web of waterways, floating markets, fruit orchards and fishing villages where traditional Vietnamese rural life unfolds at river pace. The floating markets at Cai Rang and Cai Be are among the most photographed scenes in Vietnam. The upper Mekong between Chiang Rai in Thailand and Luang Prabang in Laos — accessible by local slow boat — passes through remote limestone gorges, hill tribe villages and the extraordinary UNESCO-listed temple town of Luang Prabang itself. The Mekong region is best visited November to April during the dry season.