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Published: July 29th 2005
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The coast is clear!
This view was caught while cruising along the roads next to the ocean. Across the street is a temple. Vung Tau Highlights
We visited my mom's hometown, Vung Tau, a coastal city south of Saigon that draws flocks of Saigonese to its shores on weekends. Vung Tau was such a change of pace from Bien Hoa that it was nice to soak in the ocean breeze and chill out along the boardwalk. Vung Tau lies along a peninsula so one can easily tour the city through motorbike while enjoying the coastal scenery. My uncle remarked that Vung Tau's coastal terrain reminded him of Monacoónot sure about that but it was scenic. The city itself takes 3 hours to get to from HCMC but it can be done in a day.
Here are some highlights we saw Saturday: Thic Ca Phat Dau One of Vung Tau's famous tourist attractions, it draws people to gawk at various Buddha statues in a hillside setting, the largest being a reclined Buddha that is so large, it's nearly impossible to frame in the viewfinder. Only exasperating thing is the slightly 'carnival' like atmosphere of a place dedicated to holy figures. Along the main strip to this particular statue are souvenier hawkers.
Quan An Phat Dai Temple This temple is housed in
Sleepy Buddha
Huge. If they can build it, they make it bigger. Vung Tau prides itself on how its Buddha is larger then many out of those in S.Vietnam a great location ñ directly across from the ocean, it's situated on top of a small hillside on a steep incline. Climbing its steps will induce exhertion. But the views are worth it. Gorgeous flowering trees (orchid? Jasmine?) line along the entrance arch and children are seen playing around the steps. My aunt attended service here and we stopped at this occasion to pay respects at her mother's wake. At the top balconies, if one cranes their neck, you can view the famous Jesus figure that's perched on Vung Tau's mountainside.
Vung Tau Boardwalk According to my cousin, last year the city finished the beautification project to build this beach boardwalk that includes a sea wall, paved sidewalks, landscaping, and a minipark setting. The boardwalk extends for awhile so its nice for a brisk walk. Lots of locals flock here to catch the sunset and its a prime hangout site for the young in the evening. Nice spot to do people-watching.
Girl Talk That following night, I hung out with my cousin and her friends. Between her translations, my funny hand movements, we all managed to get along smashingly. Cultural communication is very educational, they got to practice
Beachside temple
This temple would be a great workout place for anyone needing some aerobic exercise. their English and I got to learn some obscene hand gestures in Vietnamese. Well, that part occurred when we were talking about how some hand signals can mean different things in other places. Take for example, the universal ìO.K.î sign. In the U.S., its a visual sign of affirmation. In Brazil, its an obscenity gesturing for a sex act. Same thing goes for the Victory sign. Out of curiousity, I asked how did Vietnamese people flick somebody off, let's say, while in traffic? My cousin's friend pulled her index finger back with her ring finger, forming a slit. Gross, yet useful.
Because I was so informative to them, exchanging knowledge on obscenities, boyfriends, and English, they decided to show me around Vung Tau on scooter. On their treat, I tried some Vietnamese icecream. Must have been a fluke but I got the worst flavored vanilla ever. Imagine a vanilla-flavored mentos on sugar cone. But the thought was nice and I chased it down with some free iced tea.
Wake Up! On Sunday, I woke up to a rooster crowing in my aunt's neighborhood. So surreal. Confused, I kept thinking it was somebody's alarm clock (you know, those funny plastic
Jesus Christ!
The famous town figure of the holy man himself. ones that mimic banyard animals?) until more of them started pitching in to the general noise. Lovely. Wherever they were, I was staying the hell away from them due to the avian flu warning: "Stay away from flocks of poultry."
One of the most useful things I bought here in Vietnam, I got in Vung Tau. A paper fan!
You can not go outside without one. Want to cool off in the shade? Wave a van! Want to whisk some flies away from your food? Wave a fan! There's no A/C on that bus? Wave a fan! Somebody passed gas? Wave that fan! Stick it in your bag and you'll thank me later.
Travel Tip: Don't leave home without the bug spray. If you're like me and have sensitive reactions to any type of bug bites (be it ants, flies, etc.) for god's sake get some before you leave home. The bloodbiters singled me out from my family and every bite took days to recover from.
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Vivian
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Cool!
Looks Like You Had a Great Time! The pictures are pretty! :-)