Vung
Tau
About a 110km to the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City is Vung
Tau, a Vietnamese resort and the centre of the country’s
offshore oil industry, but a grubby reputation acquired
during Vietnam’s black gold bonanza has dimmed. It’s a busy
city with a few poor beaches, an attractive summer palace,
a couple of interesting temples and other attractions and
not much else. Nevertheless, Vung Tau and its hinterland
have enough attractions to make a short visit worthwhile.
Vung Tau is also the place to board
a boat, plane or helicopter to visit the remote Con Dao
Archipelago, 180km away.
Vung
Tau’s history
Vung Tau has a long history. It’s believed that Portuguese
merchantmen anchored in the deep waters of the bay for shelter
and provisioning during the 15th century. In the 16th century,
it was used by the Kh’mer kings as a place to water their
elephants. The first settlements appeared during the reign
of Emperor Gia Long. At that time, Malay bandits and pirates
were active in the area region, threatening the nascent
trading centre.
Gia
Long deployed three garrisons of troops to deal with the
problem. In 1822, Emperor Ming Mang rewarded the three commanders
who had led the army to victory by assisting them to establish
three settlements in the area, which they became known as
Tam Thang (Three Wins). The modern name came later. The
geography in the area forms a natural bay where many merchant
ships sought shelter, hence Vung (puddle) Tau (ships).
The French began Vung Tau’s role
as a seaside resort by building several fine villas to provide
comfortable retreats for civil servants and officials from
Saigon, including the Governor General of Indochina. Later,
the last Emperor, Bao Dai, had a holiday palace built not
far away – today it’s a luxury resort hotel.
Vung
Tau’s attractions
These do not include the beaches in the city, all of which
are small, grubby and poor for swimming!
The most spectacular item of interest
is the ‘giant Jesus’, a 30m high figure along the lines
of the statue in Rio de Janeiro. It’s large enough to accommodate
six people on each of the viewing platforms on the arms.
Niet Ban Tinh Xa is a modern pagoda built ion the side of
a hill. Reputedly the largest in Vietnam, it boasts a half-tonne
bell and a 12m reclining Buddha.
A late afternoon walk to the lighthouse
on the top of Small Mountain will reward you with excellent
views.
In the town,
the Lang Ca Ong temple is dedicated to the whale. It is
one of a number of fishing areas where the little-understood
‘whale cult’ of Vietnam
is established. Inside are whale skeletons revered as votive
objects, and photographs of the rituals and ceremonies involved
in worshipping.
Probably Vung Tau’s best attraction
is the former residence of Paul Doumer, the Governor General
of Indochina (1897-1902), generally considered to have been
the architect of the colonial system in Vietnam. Although
the building and gardens are notable in their own right,
its main appeal is a selection of the exquisite Ching Dynasty
Chinese ceramics salvaged in 1990 from the Vung Tau shipwreck
off Con Dao Island at the end of the seventeenth century.
The bulk of the enormous hoard was auctioned in Amsterdam
but the villa contains some splendid pieces, some still
encrusted with coral.
Near
Vung Tau
Twenty kilometres from the city is Long Hai town, once a
fishing village and now a decent small resort popular with
Vietnamese people. During the American war, about seven
thousand Australian soldiers were stationed in the area.
Many former soldiers, and the families and friends of the
423 servicemen and technicians who died in Vietnam, return
to visit the battle grounds and graves.
