Top Australian chef David Thompson will be hosting special gastronomic cruises on the Mekong River on the luxurious Aqua Mekong.

Guests booking on June and August departures can get up to 30 per cent off on four-night cruises from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh.

The cruise includes exclusive workshops and classes with David, who has been Consulting Chef with Aqua Mekong since its inaugural cruise in October 2014, including:

 

  • Customised Market Tours – Travel with David to local markets to learn about locally grown and harvested ingredients, so essential to the freshness of Aqua Mekong’s dishes.
  • Master Cooking Class – Attend a cooking class or kitchen tour hosted by David as he walks guests through his secrets of recipe planning, preparation and execution.
  • Interactive Q&A with the Chef – Find out how the dynamic international food scene is transforming the way David designs his latest visions of culinary creativity.

 

Lead-in rate for the 4-night cruise is USD$3,780 which is a 30% saving on normal Aqua Mekong cruises of this duration.

Guests will experience the green Summer season and vibrant culture, history and cuisine of Southeast Asia aboard the sustainably crafted Aqua Mekong, a five-star floating hotel with 20 designer suites, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Mekong River, a 1:1 staff to guest ratio and twice daily shore excursions by high-powered skiff.

Aqua Mekong has a fully-equipped gym, screening room, outdoor cinema, observation deck and an upper-deck pool.

Guests will dine on stunning dishes created by David Thompson and board the Mekong’s only private tenders for expert guided short excursions to serene Buddhist temples and stilted villages or exploration by bicycle and kayak.

David previously owned the hatted restaurant Sailor’s Thai in The Rocks in Sydney. He then opened Nahm in London, the first Thai restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star.

In 2010, David brought Nahm to Bangkok, where he uses ingredients from his farm in the Ratchaburi Province. He has also expanded his restaurant empire to Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Go into the running to win an Aqua Mekong cruise here.