Vung Tau

Arriving to Vung Tau

This past weekend I finally made it to Vung Tau – the beach that’s about an hour and a half outside of Ho Chi Minh City.  Vung Tau has been a popular get away for people living in HCMC/Saigon for centuries – the French used it both as a port and a vacation spot, and Western troops frequented the beach for their in-country R&R during the Vietnam-American War.

Vung Tau Beach

Today, it continues to be a popular destination for people living in HCMC – it’s by far the closest tourist beach (the next-closest popular beach – Mui Ne is a six hour bus ride away).  The two cities are connected by a comfortable hydro-foil ferry – it’s an easy ride, you just need to make sure you book your tickets the day before due to the trip’s popularity.

Scary Water Warning Flags

Part of the reason it took me so long to make this short trip is that the beach has a reputation for being polluted and having dangerous swimming conditions.  I ended up being really pleasantly surprised!  We didn’t end up swimming in the water (the scary skull and cross-bones flags turned us off) – but the scenery was gorgeous and the beach itself was clean and nice to walk down (and lined with plenty of places to get food and drinks).

At the Pool

We knew the water isn’t the safest to swim in, so we booked a hotel that had a pool and overlooked ocean (seemed like a good alternative).  We spent the first half of the day swimming and enjoying the beautiful weather (it’s summer time in Vietnam right now – so it’s been around 95F/35C on average) – so the pool is about the best place to be!

Walk on the Beach!

After spending some time in the pool, we took a bit of a walk down the beach.  Vung Tau is primarily a Vietnamese get away (most Westerners hit the nicer beaches up north).  It’s really interesting seeing how differently the Vietnamese spend time at the beach than we do in Western countries.  The Vietnamese are very concerned about sun exposure, and in general dress more modestly at the beach – so many of the people in the water were swimming in clothes as opposed to swim suits.  Also, the beaches didn’t really start getting crowded until late afternoon (to avoid the sun).  We also noticed that almost everyone was in the water constantly – in the beaches at home, we’re more used to seeing people sun bathing or playing sports on the sand.

View from the Restaurant

At night time we went to a fantastic sea food restaurant (we ended up coming back the next day) recommended to us by one of our Vietnamese co-workers.  The food was really fresh and delicious (and inexpensive) – we ate oysters, shrimp, clams, sea food spring rolls, fried squid, and tons of other delicious dishes!  The food was made all the more better by the restaurants location – it was literally on top of the ocean – with the water breaking only a few feet from our table.

Hiking!

The next morning we woke up early (to beat the heat) to take a short hike to a bit of a unusual destination – the Vietnamese version of Christ the Redeemer.  The hike was lined with smaller statues on our way up – and the view of Vung Tau from the top of the mountain was absolutely incredible.  The only disappointing part of our hike is that we were “impolitely dressed” in our shorts, and were not ale to climb up the statue itself.

Our Hotel!

It was fantastic having a relaxing weekend at the beach – a much needed break to hold me over until my next trip!

Tags: Beach, Restaurants, Saigon, Teaching Abroad, Vietnam, Vietnamese Food