Vung Tau

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Vung Tau

After a few days in Saigon it's good to escape to somewhere a little less frenetic. The two ferry companies operating to Vung Tau come to the rescue. Vung Tau is 125km from Saigon sitting on the South China Sea and although it's not an island, it has isolated island feel to it.

The main town has a laid-back charm to it and has many attractive French colonial buildings. The market has a fish section which is one of the most impressive Monk has seen in Vietnam, probably as a result of the hundreds of small fishing boats moored offshore.

There are beaches, including in the town, however, the main beach called the 'back beach' is on the other side of the peninsular - just a 5-minute taxi ride from town. It's a fairly bland beach resort but probably revs up at the weekend.

Monk and Saavas decided to climb the hill to the statue of Christ which looks out to sea. It's quite a long, hot climb but the views from the top are worth it.

The hydrofoils go every half hour and take an hour and a quarter. The journey itself is worth the ticket price of $18 and Monk stayed on the tiny observation deck for the entire journey. The route goes down the Saigon river, passing through the outlying industrial areas and past some seriously heavy cargo shipping. Further out, it becomes very rural with thick wooded forests coming down to mangroves at the river's edge.

On the way back, the heavens opened but by the time the boat docked in the twilight by the Saigon riverside, the rain had thankfully stopped.

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