Vietnam

Vung Tau is Saigon's closest beach resort, and is situated at the tip of a small peninsula. It has traditionally been a significant port, particularly during Vietnam's period of French rule. Today, the city's importance as a shipping port has diminished, but it still plays a significant role in Vietnam's off-shore oil industry. Vung Tau is the only petroleum base of Vietnam where crude oil and gas exploitation activities dominate the city's economy and contribute principal income to Vietnam's budget and export volume. It is about a little over 2 hours drive from the city. On the weekend Vung Tau is filled with folks from Saigon wanting to escape the hectic city life for a couple of days.

1- Bai Truoc (Front Beach), West of the city center, is not recommended for swimming. It is dirty and full of petroleum's.

2-Bai Sau (Rear Beach), is where all the nice hotels are located and it is convenient to just walk across the street to have access to the beach.

3- Bai Dua (Pineapple Beach ) in the southeast coast is the smallest in Vung Tau, but probably the beach with the cleanest waters. From here you can also see spectacular sunsets.

4- Bai Dau (Mulberry Beach) also known as Foreigner beach lies northwest of the town. This rocky beach is popular among tourists because of its calm waters.

We are in Bay Sau (Rear beach). We had to rent the umbrellas and the chairs.. We thought it was weird that the hotel did not provide to their customers the basics....

The beach is pretty long and the water is very shallow but the waves are huge.

If I remember correctly the beach is about 16 kilometer long...

Tram looking for sea shells. There are a lot of them washing up on the shore.

Chris and Alex relaxing in a little puddle of water.

No water sports for the boys because the waves are just too big and too dangerous to go out (the red flag was flying).

The last time Hoa visited Vung Tau was over 30 years ago. He remembered the old ship wreck on Bai Sau being a permanent fixture on the beach. The ship is now long gone. Bai Sau used to be a natural and untouched beach with only few huts selling food! Now it is completely a new town with hotels growing like mushrooms and the beach is totally commercialized.

Wreck of the "Adonis K" on Bai Sau (Rear Beach) after salvaged for Scrap. It is no longer there..

This is what Bai Sau originally looks like in the 70's.. No chairs nor umbrellas for rent. Nothing but just the Beach and the sun.

Vung Tau is totally developed and commercialized. The main road is newly paved with 3 lines on each side.

Most of the hotels are located on the right side of the road. People have to cross this road to have access to the beach.

Closer look at the road... There are no five stars hotel yet but we saw at least 2 or 3 under construction.

The side of the road are very nice too. Again pine trees, grass and plants are nicely kept. We saw mostly women re-shaping the pine tree by hand.