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VUNG TAU |
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With every passing day, a little more of the charm ebbs from VUNG
TAU , "The Bay of Boats", located some 125km southeast of Ho Chi Minh
City on a hammerheaded spit of land jutting into the mouth of the Saigon
River. Once a thriving riviera-style beach resort, the city is now a
shadow of its former, quaint self. Today, Western oil-workers nurturing
the city's burgeoning oil industry are a common sight around town, and a
slather of bars and massage parlours have sprung up to cater for them.
That said, as a retreat from the frenzy of Ho Chi Minh, Vung Tau is
worth considering.
Downtown Vung Tau nestles between two diminutive peaks, Nui Lon ("Big
Mountain") to the north, and Nui Nho ("Small Mountain") to the south.
Roads loop around both, and these circuits take in all of the city's
beaches - quiet, northerly Bai Dau, blustery Bai Dua, and Bai Sau, or
"Back Beach", which has the city's best sands. Between them runs Bai
Truoc ("Front Beach"), Vung Tau's skinny municipal beach. Many prefer to
push on to more intimate Long Hai, just 20km around the coast .
Around the Peninsula
The skinny strip of litter- and rubble-strewn town beach, Bai Truoc or
Front Beach is ribbed by souvenir shops, bars and restaurants and of
most interest at dawn and dusk when fishermen dredge its shallows.
Imposing late-nineteenth century Bach Dinh (daily 7am--5pm), on the
southern slope of Nui Lon above the northern extent of Quang Trung, has
long served as a holiday home to Vietnam's political players and now
exhibits "valuable antique items" excavated from a seventeenth-century
shipwreck, and Cambodian Buddhist statuary.
The foot of Quang Trung is the starting-block for the six-kilometre
circuit of Nui Nho . From there, the exposed coastal road, Ha Long,
loops around the southside of the mountain. Not far past the former post
office, a pretty pink villa marked "53/2 Ha Long" signposts the left
turn up to Vung Tau's lighthouse , which affords panoramic views of the
peninsula. The most noteworthy of several pagodas strung along this
stretch of coastline is Niet Ban Tinh Xa Pagoda (daily 7am-5pm), a
modern and multi-level complex fronted by a structure resembling a high-rise
dovecote. Bai Dua , south of the pagoda, is a composite of shingle, dark
sand and rocks, so if you want a swim or a sunbathe, hold on until you
round the promontory. Meanwhile, a gruelling fifteen-minute hike from
the southwestern tip of Nui Nho brings you to Vung Tau's own little
touch of Rio, its 33-metre-high Giant Jesus (daily 7.30-11.30am &
1.30-5pm). Climb the steps inside the statue and you'll enjoy giddying
views. Immediately around the headland is the sweet, sandy cove of Bai
Nghinh Phong , and beyond that, Hon Ba Temple marooned a little way out
to sea on a tiny islet, accessible only at low tide.
Despite its ugly block-buildings and proposed development, Bai Sau , or
Back Beach , is far and away Vung Tau's widest, longest (8km) and best
beach. Hoang Hoa Tham cuts around the north side of Nui Nho to reach the
city centre. En route, you might check out Lang Ca Ong , or Whale
Temple. According to Cham folklore, the whale was a sacred creature, and
protector of seafarers; three glass cabinets behind the altar are filled
with the bones of whales washed up on the shore.
North of Bach Dinh, sleepy Bai Dau is the most hassle-free of all Vung
Tau's beaches. Barring the odd restaurant, there's very little action
here, but heavy stone walls and blue-shuttered buildings lend it a
Mediterranean ambience. The actual beach is short, dark and slightly
pebbly, but still suitable for swimming. With a bicycle you could
continue north from Bai Dau to the leaf-roofed stilthouses of the
delightful fishing village of Sao Mai . Further clockwise, Sao Mai
blends into the busy quayside of bigger Ben Dinh .
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