Vung Tau
Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 11:47 pm
Finally found some time to put together some info / a trip report on Vung Tau as promised.
I suggested Vung Tau / Saigon as an easy trip from Phnom Penh on that other thread..
I'll start with some history from wikipedia:
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the cape that would become Vũng Tà u was a swamp which European trading ships visited regularly. The ships' activities inspired the name Vũng Tà u, which means "anchorage". The French Indochinese government named it Cap Saint-Jacques ("Cap Xanh Giắc", in Vietnamese). The cliff of Vũng Tà u is now called Mũi Nghinh Phong (literally meaning "Cape of breeze welcome").
VÅ©ng Tà u was originally referred to as Tam Thắng ("Three Boats") in memory of the first three villages in this area: Thắng Nhất, Thắng Nhị, Thắng Tam, within the province of Biên Hòa under the Nguyá»…n Dynasty. Under the reign of king Gia Long (1761–1820), when Malay pirates built a base here and subsequently became a danger to traders in Gia Äịnh city, the king sent his army to crack down on the pirates. The pirates were ousted and the troops were given the land as a reward. 10 February 1859 marked the first use of cannons by Nguyá»…n's army, when they fired at French battleships from the fortress of PhÆ°á»›c Thắng, located 100m from VÅ©ng Tà u's Front Beach. This marked an important period in Vietnam's war against French invaders in South Vietnam (then called Cochinchina). In 1876, according to a decree by the French colonialists, VÅ©ng Tà u was merged in Bà Rịa county per Saigon's administration. During the 1880s there talks about moving Saigon's port facilities to VÅ©ng Tà u, but this came to nothing due to Saigon's better infrastructure.
On 1 May 1895, the governor of Cochinchina established by decree that Cap Saint Jacques would thereafter be an autonomous town. In 1898, Cap Saint Jacques was merged with Bà Rịa county once again, but re-divided in 1899. In 1901, the population of Vũng Tà u was 5,690, of which 2,000 persons were immigrants from North Vietnam. Most of the town's population made their living in the fishing industry. On 4 April 1905, Cap Saint Jacques was made an administrative district of Bà Rịa province. In 1929, Cap Saint Jacques became a province, and in 1934 became a city (commune). The French governor of Indochina, Paul Doumer (who later became President of France), built a mansion in Vũng Tà u that is still a prominent landmark.
During the Vietnam War, the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group was headquartered in Vũng Tà u – as were various United States military units at different times. Vũng Tà u also became popular for R&R, amongst in-country US personnel.
After the war, VÅ©ng Tà u was a common launching place for the "Vietnamese boat people" fleeing the communists. On 30 May 1979, VÅ©ng Tà u town was made the capital of VÅ©ng Tà u-Côn Äảo Special Administrative Zone. On 12 August 1991, Bà Rịa–VÅ©ng Tà u Province was officially founded and VÅ©ng Tà u town officially became VÅ©ng Tà u City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C5%A9ng_T%C3%A0u
I've been to Vung Tau a couple of times and it's going to be a place I'll return to whenever I need a quick trip out of Cambodia to a quiet beach town.
I usually just book a ticket from one of the travel agencies on Pham Ngu Lao. This trip there were no hydrofoil boats due to a ban after an accident earlier this year, so I had to take the bus. This turned out to be a very good option as the new express way had recently been opened.. I bought a two-way ticket for $18.
I showed up at the travel agency 30 minutes before departure and had breakfast while waiting. When the bus arrived, on time, someone from the travel agency took me to the bus and took care of everything.
The bus trip took about 2 hours and the road was fantastic. On arrival in Vung Tau there was a minibus waiting to take people to their guesthouses for free.
I usually stay somewhere around the "back beach" area.. as it's the one of the two beaches that actually looks like a beach.
Front beach (Bãi Trước) - Bạch Dinh (Villa Blanche) can be seen next to the huge white building just left of the centre of the picture
Trash @ front beach - Like the beaches in Cambodia, some areas are riddled with trash.
Back beach (Bãi Sau) - I read somewhere that the sand was imported from Nha Trang(?)
There are plenty of taxi's around but I decided to rent a motorbike. Vung Tau is a little big to be walking everywhere IMO, but I guess a bicycle would do if that's your thing.
Most guesthouses and some pubs rent out motorbikes. From what I can understand, they rent from the same place. After a quick phone call a Vietnamese guy arrives on a motorbike (with a loan helmet), you hand over your passport + $10 (200.000 Dong) to the guesthouse owner/pub owner, and you have the bike for 24 hours.
to be continued..
I suggested Vung Tau / Saigon as an easy trip from Phnom Penh on that other thread..
And here's why..doktor_d wrote:An easy cheap out of country trip from Phnom Penh is Saigon. About 6 hours by bus. $14-19 one way. A decent room in a guesthouse in Saigon can be had for $12-20 a night w/air-con, fridge, hot water, tv..
From Saigon, Vung Tau is only $8-10 per person / 1h 50m-2h 20m away with bus on the new express highway. Decent rooms can be had for a little as $7-12 a night. Beer is cheap. Food is cheap. There's a decent number of attractions in town. The beaches are ok.. Though in some areas you'll find just as much trash scattered around as on some Cambodian beaches. But the beach around Vung Tau surf club is pretty clean and decent looking.
Motos can be rented for $10 a day. If you drive regularly in Cambodia you'll have no problem driving there. No license needed but you have to wear a clownhat at all times or you will get stopped.
International drivers licenses are not valid in Vietnam, so driving a moto without a valid Vietnamese drivers license voids your insurance.
But hey, at least you have the choice of whether you want to take that risk or not. I'm all for the freedom of choice.
I'll start with some history from wikipedia:
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the cape that would become Vũng Tà u was a swamp which European trading ships visited regularly. The ships' activities inspired the name Vũng Tà u, which means "anchorage". The French Indochinese government named it Cap Saint-Jacques ("Cap Xanh Giắc", in Vietnamese). The cliff of Vũng Tà u is now called Mũi Nghinh Phong (literally meaning "Cape of breeze welcome").
VÅ©ng Tà u was originally referred to as Tam Thắng ("Three Boats") in memory of the first three villages in this area: Thắng Nhất, Thắng Nhị, Thắng Tam, within the province of Biên Hòa under the Nguyá»…n Dynasty. Under the reign of king Gia Long (1761–1820), when Malay pirates built a base here and subsequently became a danger to traders in Gia Äịnh city, the king sent his army to crack down on the pirates. The pirates were ousted and the troops were given the land as a reward. 10 February 1859 marked the first use of cannons by Nguyá»…n's army, when they fired at French battleships from the fortress of PhÆ°á»›c Thắng, located 100m from VÅ©ng Tà u's Front Beach. This marked an important period in Vietnam's war against French invaders in South Vietnam (then called Cochinchina). In 1876, according to a decree by the French colonialists, VÅ©ng Tà u was merged in Bà Rịa county per Saigon's administration. During the 1880s there talks about moving Saigon's port facilities to VÅ©ng Tà u, but this came to nothing due to Saigon's better infrastructure.
On 1 May 1895, the governor of Cochinchina established by decree that Cap Saint Jacques would thereafter be an autonomous town. In 1898, Cap Saint Jacques was merged with Bà Rịa county once again, but re-divided in 1899. In 1901, the population of Vũng Tà u was 5,690, of which 2,000 persons were immigrants from North Vietnam. Most of the town's population made their living in the fishing industry. On 4 April 1905, Cap Saint Jacques was made an administrative district of Bà Rịa province. In 1929, Cap Saint Jacques became a province, and in 1934 became a city (commune). The French governor of Indochina, Paul Doumer (who later became President of France), built a mansion in Vũng Tà u that is still a prominent landmark.
During the Vietnam War, the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group was headquartered in Vũng Tà u – as were various United States military units at different times. Vũng Tà u also became popular for R&R, amongst in-country US personnel.
After the war, VÅ©ng Tà u was a common launching place for the "Vietnamese boat people" fleeing the communists. On 30 May 1979, VÅ©ng Tà u town was made the capital of VÅ©ng Tà u-Côn Äảo Special Administrative Zone. On 12 August 1991, Bà Rịa–VÅ©ng Tà u Province was officially founded and VÅ©ng Tà u town officially became VÅ©ng Tà u City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C5%A9ng_T%C3%A0u
I've been to Vung Tau a couple of times and it's going to be a place I'll return to whenever I need a quick trip out of Cambodia to a quiet beach town.
I usually just book a ticket from one of the travel agencies on Pham Ngu Lao. This trip there were no hydrofoil boats due to a ban after an accident earlier this year, so I had to take the bus. This turned out to be a very good option as the new express way had recently been opened.. I bought a two-way ticket for $18.
I showed up at the travel agency 30 minutes before departure and had breakfast while waiting. When the bus arrived, on time, someone from the travel agency took me to the bus and took care of everything.
The bus trip took about 2 hours and the road was fantastic. On arrival in Vung Tau there was a minibus waiting to take people to their guesthouses for free.
I usually stay somewhere around the "back beach" area.. as it's the one of the two beaches that actually looks like a beach.
Front beach (Bãi Trước) - Bạch Dinh (Villa Blanche) can be seen next to the huge white building just left of the centre of the picture
Trash @ front beach - Like the beaches in Cambodia, some areas are riddled with trash.
Back beach (Bãi Sau) - I read somewhere that the sand was imported from Nha Trang(?)
There are plenty of taxi's around but I decided to rent a motorbike. Vung Tau is a little big to be walking everywhere IMO, but I guess a bicycle would do if that's your thing.
Most guesthouses and some pubs rent out motorbikes. From what I can understand, they rent from the same place. After a quick phone call a Vietnamese guy arrives on a motorbike (with a loan helmet), you hand over your passport + $10 (200.000 Dong) to the guesthouse owner/pub owner, and you have the bike for 24 hours.
to be continued..