After the adventurous start to our trip in Vietnam, I was looking forwards to a few relaxing beach days. I know many will think this side trip is ill-advised. There are many beautiful places to explore on Vietnam that probably trump Vung Tau. But for those who know me, they understand that my life revolves around the ocean. In times of high stress, the ocean brings me peace. As we didn't have a chance to take the 5ish hour trip to Mui Ne, we opted for the closest option.
Turns out, Vung Tau is basically a mini Australia. There were heaps of retired Aussie expats living/holidaying here. It was apparent of the Aussie influence as most restaurants catered to Australian foods and even the buildings reflected modern Australian architecture. As my Crohn's decided it wanted to say hello at this point of the journey, it was good to be able to eat familiar foods that were not going to hurt me in the long run.
Most of the trip was spent relaxing at the beach. While it was probably not the most glamorous of the Vietnamese beaches, there still were decent waves, beautiful sand, and warm ocean waters. The downside to coming to Vung Tau during the off season, we were met with a burst of rain around 2 pm each day. I'm not talking light sprinkles, I'm talking it's raining sideways, and I can no longer see the other side of the street rain. The positives, there weren't many tourists around which meant plenty of prime beach location.
We spent a lot of time walking around the island, hopping from one bar to the next. On our second day, we went to visit the enormous Jesus statue. Definitely, a must see in Vung Tau. From there we walked along the far side of the peninsula. It is clear that Vung Tau is an up and coming tourist area in Vietnam due to the massive amount of new hotels being built. While many new hotels are being built, I still feel like Vung Tau will hold onto its smaller town feel.
Can I live there please?
As per usual, we got stuck in the rain which meant popping into another Aussie bar to eat and drink until the storm died down (we were not too keen on cab drivers yet). It was on this day we noticed a massive shopping centre and what appeared to be an amusement park. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to explore these new discoveries.
I would be interested to see how different Vung Tau is outside of offseason. I feel like the locals may not be as aggressive towards the tourists regarding selling things. Before leaving, we made one more stop at Century Fish and Chips for their all you can eat buffet. For about $5AUD, it was definitely worth to eat ourselves sick before the long travel day we had that day. We took the bus back to Ho Chi Minh before catching a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Have you ever been to Vietnam? Share your favourite places in the comments below!