ASEAN Forum
Southeast Asia boasts some of the world’s most magnificent and underexplored waterways. With river cruises expanding in Cambodia and Vietnam, tourists now have unique access to the countries’ interiors.
BY JOANNA MAYHEW
CF Mekong River Cruises is not only the most experienced cruising company on the Mekong but the biggest. Six years as the Asian Director of the largest luxury river cruise company in Cambodia, UK born Naidah Yazdani has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Mekong river and the cruise industry.
Naidah, you have been operating since many years successful cruises up the Mekong River and you must have witnessed a tremendous amount of development in the region. What makes this cruise so special?
Phnom Penh Post
Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong was the first business to offer cruises from Siem Reap to Saigon on the Mekong river aboard a converted barge in 2002. Nine years later, the company has a fleet of four ships with 10 to 24 cabins, bringing in revenue of about US$3 million each year.
The company – which charters it's French colonial-style boats to cruise companies throughout the world – was the brainchild of a Paris-based tour operator who specialised in small cruise adventure trips in exotic global locations. ownership has been since been transferred to British and French investors.
Beth Habian
Features Editor
A cycle built for not just two races past the ruins of Angkor Wat.
When traveling to a new destination, I try to take in my surroundings with all of my senses, but sometimes I create a particular sensory association with a country that, when triggered, can transport me immediately back to that place.
When I smell the controlled burn of a field, it reminds me of India; tasting the nutty, sweet tang of an imported Parmigiano-Reggiano brings back memories of amazing meals in Italy, and experiencing the thundering crash of a waterfall makes me think of Iceland's incredible natural beauty. But not until my October '11 visit to Southeast Asia did a trip come with a soundtrack.
Author: Susannah Birkwood
Asian Venture Capital Journal | 23 Jul 2012 | 13:55
UK private equity firm TLG Capital is reportedly planning to establish a company that will operate cruises in Myanmar, investing via its holding in Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong, one of Cambodia's oldest river cruise businesses.
By: Louise Roddon
Published: Sat, November 22, 2014
Ref: Express
The majority of my river and canal cruises have been in Europe – which makes sense, as it’s the world’s most popular river cruise destination. Recently, I floated much further afield, along the lesser-traveled waters of Cambodia and Vietnam aboard the 48-passenger, colonial-style Indochine owned by CroisiVoyages, part of French-owned CroisiEurope. The eight-night cruise took in part of the 2,710-mile Mekong (or Mother) River – Southeast Asia’s longest river – and Tonle Sap, the region’s largest freshwater lake.
Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong, founded by Terre Voyages, a travel company based in Paris, was the first cruise company to operate in Cambodia. The idea was to take visitors to the celebrated temples near Siem Reap while also showing them parts of the countryside where most Western travelers have never set foot.