The average Thai-Indian is a big fan of luxury i.e. hi-end, haa-daw, hiso luxury. It’s all about fancy goods, fine dining and yes, lavish holidays. Now, if I were to tell you that I’m going to make you stay in a 4x4 room on a rice barge that would cruise along the Mekong River from Vietnam to Cambodia, you’ll probably squint your eyebrows, wrinkle your nose and raise your hand to perform, what we like to call, the “what is this” motion. Yes, most Indians would say, na ji na to a cruise that doesn’t involve a 24/7 sushi buffet and an open bar. But this is exactly why we, the Masala team, have made it a point to venture out of the desi box to bring you something totally unique and entirely different like the Pandaw Cruise.



The four-day upstream extravaganza begins in Ho Chi Minh City. We suggest you fly into Vietnam in the morning: that way you get a nice day and night tour of the bustling metropolis. Just a word of caution, stick to the hara cabs! They are the best, as we learnt from experience, and won’t try to charge you some ridiculous B400 for a 10-minute drive. Another word of caution: brace yourselves for a highly mindboggling traffic scene. You think we have it bad here in Bangkok, oh pra ji, you’re in for a ride!
For location, comfort and a view, we decided to spend our only night in Vietnam in the Renaissance Hotel. Make sure you book a room that has a river view. They boast the best, most breathtaking views of the Saigon River and we certainly vouch for that.
Once you’ve freshened up and unwound your airplane-induced back knots on your comfy king-size bed, pack your cash and head out to the nearest and most happening spot—the Ben Thanh Market. Oh balle! It’s shopping time! For those of you who spend your weekends in Pratunam or JJ Market, you’ll feel right at home because at Ben Thanh, you’ll get everything from local souvenirs and art pieces to clothing and food! The market itself closes at 6 pm but stick around because all they do is shift themselves outside for a night cycle.
For dinner, we headed to the Vietnam House, recommended by our hotel’s reception staff. The two-storey Victorian home is a busy spot serving all kinds of authentic and traditional Vietnamese food. Some of our favourites? Definitely try the fresh spring rolls and the Vietnam House appetiser sampler (stuffed with fried goodness)—it goes perfectly with a bottle of Saigon Beer. The place looks upscale and is packed with locals and foreigners so you’d think you would end up paying a pretty hefty bill, but we were


pleasantly surprised as most dishes rounded off to about B150-300. Well, technically we did pay quite an amount—how’s 2 million for a hefty dining bill for the night? Take our heed, our desi friends, stick to your green money. Dealing in Vietnamese dong is a sir pir.

You wake up the next morning to a partially blue sky and the glittering waters of the Saigon River. The Pandaw Cruise arranges a tour bus for all its travellers that picks everyone up at 9 am from the Sofitel—another 5-star property close by. We indulged in our international buffet for breakfast and discovered the wonders of double roti in Vietnam—yes, we call it the perks of being colonised.

We get to the Sofitel and enter a lobby full of our other fellow passengers, mostly farang couples from all parts of the globe—Germany, Australia, the US and Britain. There was of course the odd Asian person and then there was us. The Pandaw guides were quick to gather their troops onto the coaches. Our guide, the Colgate-smiled Vietnamese named Twice (who we later discovered knew how to play the guitar, sing Thai songs and teach tai chi), did a great job acquainting us with Ho Chi Minh City, as we drove over bridges, into one town after another. After a little over two hours, we made it to the pier.

The Pandaw Cruise stood still, barely affected by the waves of the Mekong River. It looked welcoming with its long open-air corridors. My eyes instantly fell on the sundeck—our temporary residence for the next few days, I thought to myself… all I really need is a tall glass of fruit punch, a bag of met kuay chee and my (long neglected) book, which literally sprang off the shelf and dusted itself when I told it that we were going on a trip.

We were all welcomed by our ship’s purser, Mr Mew from Burma, who enlightened us with the ship’s safety regulations, our programmed excursions for the day as well as our

dining plans—breakfast and lunch were buffets whilst dinners were four-course sit-down meals. We were always told it was time to eat by the ringing of the gong! Classic huh?

Your days on the Pandaw basically follow the same schedule. You wake up at 7am, shower in your private bathroom and head down to breakfast which usually consists of an array of scrumptious bread (the whole-wheat is a must try) plus the usual—sausages, ham, bacon, waffles/pancakes depending on the day, jugs of freshly squeezed juice and an egg station. Definitely stock up, as your daily tours will leave you hungry.

The morning tours deferred from day to day as we travelled upstream along the Mekong. But for the most part, we hopped on board smaller boats which took us off to nearby towns and villages for a good look at local life. Sorry my ladies, no shopping malls, just local markets selling everyday necessities like clothes and fresh produce. Yes, when was the last time you took a stroll down a fresh market in Bangkok?

Most of the time we gallivanted around the small towns on foot, sometimes we hopped on cyclos—rickshaw-like things fit for one person. You grab a seat up front as the driver “pushes” you through traffic. Be nice and wave to the bache log—they’re adorable!

Post your morning tours, you’re usually given a good three to four hours before the afternoon excursions begin. In that time, you eat lunch and are free to do what you want. That’s when the sundeck comes into play. Climb up a flight of stairs to a wide

open-air wooden deck lined with sofas and sun beds all along both the sides. The breeze is amazing, making it really hard not to run around with your chunni flying in the air singing a song like, “yeh hawayein zulfon mein teri gum ho jaye…” Grab a sun bed, set your seat level at a nice 45-degree angle and just soak it all up… save the antakshari playing and staring off into space by the railing for nighttime. You also have a choice of shooting some pool, making full use of the bar or even working out! Yes they are equipped with both an olliptical and a treadmill for the over-achieving gym freaks who can’t do a few days without their rounds of cardio. Ahem ahem, you know who you are.

Of course, the best part about travelling is always the people you end up meeting—be it the on-board crew who would bend over backwards to serve you to the max or our fellow passengers. All I know is at the close of day four, we were ready to sing the Indian friendship anthem aka the Amitabh-Dharmendar jam—yeh dosti, hum nahin chorenge!

The thing about going on a trip like this is that it really does put things into perspective. Visiting fish farms, brick factories, local temples, churches and masjids might not be on a Thai-Indian’s travel agenda, but it’s a trip that really gives us a good feel of what life is like outside the big bad city. More importantly, it forces you to relax. You and I both know that the longest time you’ve gone without your BlackBerry or your iPhone was on the first day you got it because you had to leave it charging for eight hours. So, here’s a little challenge. Try 96 hours. Give those neurons a rest as you appreciate life, in Bangkok as it was decades ago… a time when people still went about their daily chores with no complaints and huge smiles across their faces. The truth is, as we spend our days waging war with our laptops, life in its most beautiful and simplest form still exists right across the border.