Off to the seaside

Rediscovering Vung Tau
Despite a reputation for rip-off services, beaches covered in plastic bags and Heineken cans, and the abundant provision of dodgy services “for men only”, my friends and I decide to hit the coastal city of Vung Tau for the weekend. Initially, our main reason is proximity. Vung Tau is less than two hours by hydrofoil from Ho Chi Minh City and we need to escape the noise, the crowds and above all else the flooded streets – urgently! So after preparing our bucket and spade, we head for the hydrofoil, which, be warned, is tough to get tickets for if it’s the weekend.
When we arrive at Bach Dang Wharf for the 10am hyrdofoil, we are informed first that there are no tickets left. The salesgirl suggests buying tickets for 12pm before telling us there actually are tickets for 10am available. “Standing tickets only,” she says. It’s quite possible on another day I would have scoff at the idea of paying to stand all the way to Vung Tau for VND160,000. But we have been buzzing all morning at the thought of getting out of town and it would seem like an anticlimax, if were now to sit around for two hours. So we decide to cough up and run on board just before the hydrofoil sets off. (Lesson learnt: book tickets in advance).
The hydrofoil is fully occupied, but fairly comfortable. We find plastic chairs in an AC carriage so we can cool off and rest our legs. Smokers are the first to wander outside but soon we follow to enjoy the strong breeze blowing through our hair. Above our heads the sky is clear and blue. There’s a wonderful view of mangroves forests and fishing boats in the distance. It’s perfect. I enjoy it so much that I’m surprised when we arrive – much earlier than I expected. Apparently the whole trip took an hour and 15 minutes, which is exactly what the company promises on their website!
Hungry travellers
As soon as we arrive the first thing I think of is food. We decide to head to Ned Kelly Pub, craving a big burger and a cold beer. Right opposite the wharf it’s easy to find and it serves exactly what we want for now: large portions of chips, hamburgers and chicken fillet burgers. After filling our stomach we saunter around the bar.
I notice a few photos of the owners, a Vietnamese woman and her Australian husband, who apparently was stationed at an Australian Army Logistic Support Base in Ba Ria province 35 years ago. Today, many Australian veterans return to Vietnam, many of whom end up in Ned Kelly Pub. Hanging on the wall a certificate from the Australian General Consulate acknowledges the owner’s contribution to accommodating Australian veterans.
Dock of the bay
Vung Tau literally means “the dock” in Vietnamese. Fishing boats used to sail into the quay (Ben Dinh) or front beach to seek shelter from storms raging at sea. According to the official website of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, in 1822 King Minh Mang dispatched three generals to the south in a bid to reclaim the land where Vung Tau is today. A fishing village there was called Tam Thang, a name derived from “tam thoan” or “tam thuyen” citing the three boats of the generals. Later, the French renamed the port town Cap Saint Jacques.
In the early 20th century, Cap Saint Jacques, or O Cap as the locals called it, became a vacation town for French officials and Vietnamese mandarins. The notorious General Governor of French Indochina Paul Doumer (1857- 1932), who later went to become the president of France, used Cap Saint Jacques as a base for administrating the infamous prisons on Con Dao island, where Vietnamese revolutionaries were imprisoned. In the middle of 20th century, the name Cap Saint Jacques was changed to Vung Tau. For years it remained very much an easy going seaside town.
It wasn’t until Vietsovpetro (a joint venture belonging to PetroVietnam and Russian venture Zarubejneft), exploited crude oil in 1986 that the province started a new chapter in terms of socio-economic development. To date, about seven million tonnes of crude oil have been exploited. As a result Vung Tau has also become a logistic base for the growing crude oil exploitation industry of Vietnam. This lucrative industry means the city contributes about 20 per cent of the national state budget annually.
Around town
Strolling around the well manicured streets of Vung Tau where there is minimal traffic is a pleasure. The only problem is the city’s paved road system is so good that on occasion it apparently entices young men from Ho Chi Minh City to race down here. Traditionally seen as a land for “everyone from everywhere”, the city’s cultural features are perhaps not surprisingly varied. Economic growth has seen a sudden rise in rather tasteless architecture.
It is not uncommon, for example, to see an orange-painted house with a mosque-style dome shaped roof and blue Grecian columns. Streets are filled with the Lego-deco style architecture – box-shaped houses painted pink or chocolate-brown – that is common in Vietnam’s rapidly expanding urban areas Along the Front Beach there is a rather controversial marble pavement. According to the provincial people’s committee, nearly VND30 billion (about $1.8 million) was spent on building and paving more than 6km of sidewalks with marble.
On rainy days the pavements are a liability as people slip and slide across the surface. If you insist on making the most out of the city’s investment, I suggest you go bare foot! There are a few exceptions to the tacky architecture. The whitewashed houses, built by the French since early 1900s, leaning on the side of Nui Nho (Small Mountain) that lead to the Vung Tau lighthouse are wonderful with wide balconies and large windows. Further along you will find the White Palace, built by the French from 1898 to 1916 as a holiday house for the Governor General Paul Doumer. The building is said to have been named Villa Blanche after his favourite daughter.
The beach is that way!
Then there are the beaches. Front Beach (Bai Truoc) and Back Beach (Bai Sau) are popular for sunbathing and swimming while Dau Beach (Bai Dau) and Dua Beach (Bai Dua) are where people chill out drinking or eating. Front Beach faces Ho Chi Minh City and turns its back to the Eastern Sea. First-time visitors may not realise the strip along Ha Long and Tran Phu Street in Vung Tau’s Ward 1 is a beach as there is such a thin strip of sand.
Locals like to amble down here early in the morning or after the sun has eased off in the late afternoon. You can also find a couple of smaller, quieter beaches – Dau Beach on Tran Phu Street and Dua Beach on Ha Long Street are too rocky to swim but wonderfully picturesque. Cute cafe gardens nested up on the rocky hill offer stunning views of the sea. You will also find family-run cozy hotels as well as mouthwatering seafood restaurants. Back Beach, which directly faces the Eastern Sea, is long and blessed with soft sand. But by virtue of the fact that it is the most popular beach spot, it is also the most annoying.
Vendors are everywhere flogging Vung Tau T-shirts, beach hats and snacks. The more ignorant of beach goers leave plastic bags, containers, glass bottles and Heineken cans behind them. In my opinion it’s better to head to the more recently developed beaches further down from Back Beach, such as Paradise Beach, Dong Hai Beach and Chi Linh Beach. Here, far from the madding crowd, beaches are well-kept, free of litter and refreshingly quiet. You can also find food and drink as well as shower facilities, lie-lows and parasols.
After a day in the sun we don’t have the energy to explore the nightlife much. Be warned Vung Tau does have a bit of a reputation for stag parties, but there are a number of laid back bars around. The main strip is along Front Beach but we only manage to get as far as Beach Bar in Bien Dong Ocean Park on the Back Beach. But that’s perfect. We order a well-deserved cocktail to cool off while gazing up at the star-filled sky.