Vung Tau | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Vung Tau South Vietnam coast

January 21, 2015 by David Herd

Put this on your bucket list

Vung Tau South Vietnam

Vung Tau South Vietnam coast is a 90 minute fast ferry ride from Saigon. One surprise certainly was the statue of Christ similar to Rio on a smaller scale. Wayne Morris, my friend from Sydney climbing the 811 stairs to reach the top. It was very hot and I had to rest 5 times on the way up. 🙂

A tough climb

This climb reminded me of El Castillo at Chitzen Itza, that one was more frightening but this one was far tougher. Lucky for me they have quite a few rest stations which I was happy to take advantage of. 🙂

Vung Tau South Vietnam

A you can see there is access to the very top of the statue, however it is closed between 11 and 1 pm.

Happy dragon

Halfway down the mountain this happy dragon appears.

Vung Tau South Vietnam ferry terminal

Only 90 minutes from Saigon in a fast ferry that costs just $10 usd.

Vung Tau fisherman

Vietnam of course specialise in seafood due the the incredibly long coastline.

Downtown Vung Tau

During 14th and 15th centuries, the cape that would become Vũng Tàu was a swamp which European trading ships visited regularly. The ships’ activities inspired the name Vũng Tàu, which means “anchorage”. The French Indochinese government named it Cap Saint-Jacques (“Cap Xanh Giắc”, in Vietnamese). The cliff of Vũng Tàu is now called Mũi Nghinh Phong (literally meaning “Cape of breeze welcome“) or (“Cape of greeting the wind“).

Enjoying the evening breeze

late afternoon and late into the evening people gather along the seaside to chat and enjoy the ocean breeze.

Escaping from the sun.

Most Asian ladies are very careful to stay out of the sun.

No clever remarks please

I realise some of my friends will not be able to resist the comparison between myself and the whale. 🙂

Green Hotel $40 pn

Good location and great value if you book through this AGODA link.

View from Green Hotel

Although this was a very good location if you like the beach, however next time I visit I’ll probably stay in the town.

Opposite Green Hotel

The long sandy beach was ideal for my regular morning walk.

Five Star Imperial Hotel

My friend was staying 800 meters from The Green Hotel at the five star Imperial Hotel. There is of course no comparison in the facilities, however there is a huge price difference. If you book through AGODA you will get a competitive rate of $230 to $300 aud, but that is a lot more than $40 for the Green hotel.

Imperial Hotel

An excellent upmarket hotel with a pool and bar right on the beach.

Very unfriendly place

This beer bar is part of the Imperial hotel, sadly the staff are quite rude and unfriendly. I wanted to have a drink while waiting for my friend to arrive, it was early and only about 4 customers in the whole place.

I wanted to sit near the window to keep an eye out for my friend, however they insisted I sit at the bar because I was alone. Because of their poor attitude I rang my friend and we had drinks elsewhere.

Lucy’s Sports Bar

This friendly bar is totally the opposite from Vuvuzela, great food and very friendly staff. It’s run by an Aussie called KJ who certainly makes you feel welcome.

Lucy’s Sports Bar

Here are the friendly girls at Lucy’s, nice food and a good atmosphere.

Scallop salad at Lucy’s sports bar

The extensive menu offers some great choices, I had a terrific seafood chowder and a great cheeseburger.

Aussie hamburger at Lucy’s

A bar run by an Aussie is always going to serve a great hamburger.

Sunset at Vung Tau South Vietnam

This is the view from Lucy’s bar overlooking the bay.

Hollywood night club

There is a reasonable selection of late night venues, many of them seem to focus on Karaoke.

Lan Rung

Good food here and even better beer which they brew themselves.

Shrimp and cauliflower at Lan Rung

Lan Rung restaurant, shrimp and cauliflower.

Fresh spring rolls, my favourite.

They were delicious, I remember a little Vietnamese restaurant on the Gold Coast beside the fire station near Monaco St, they had some of the best Summer rolls I have ever eaten.

Hoang Hoa Tham road Vung Tau South Vietnam

This road is a short cut from the beach to the town, about 30% lower taxi fare than going around the coast. You can guess which route the taxi drivers prefer. 🙂

French bakery

This is a very good French bakery and coffee shop in Hoang Hoa Tham road, it’s quite large so you can’t miss it. The address is 128 Hoàng Hoa Thám, Xa Vung Tau, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Vietnam 064. Here is the bakery on Google Earth.