Vung Tau on a Sunday day trip

Vung Tau is a small city on the northern point of the estuary of the massive delta made by the Mekong and Dong Nai Rivers. It is the centre for the offshore oil and gas industry in Vietnam. It was originally a fishing village, but it became popular with the French as a retreat from Saigon, which is about 100kms from Saigon by road, although only about 30 kms as the crow flies. The French called it Cape St Jacques.

It is on a peninsular which protrudes into the northern end of the very large estuary, and which defines the end of the delta. After the war it was a major departure place for refugees.

You can drive there from Saigon in about 3 hours, but it can also be reached by ferry, a pleasant trip down the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers which takes an hour and a quarter. The trip would be much more pleasant if it was not spent on one of the Vung Tau ferries, which are hydrofoils built by the Russians 20 years ago.

The hydrofoils have an unnerving habit of breaking down. A couple of months ago one ran aground on a sand and mud bank and was stuck at night in the rain, with all 50 passengers still on board, for 3 hours. Recent accidents have involved one crashing into a metal buoy and 79 passengers had to be rescued and several were injured; one where 2 hydrofoils crashed into each other injuring 8 people; another where the steering failed and the boat sped towards the mangroves; and one where the engines failed and the ferry drifted in the middle of the very busy river. There were only 10 life jackets for 75 passengers.

A new ferry, the Dong Duong, has started operating. It is not well-publicised but it looks far more reliable and comfortable.

There is a trick on Sundays. At the wharf in Saigon you can only buy single tickets, but in Vung Tau you are told that all ferries on that Sunday are fully booked. The response is one word – “outside”. When you go outside you can buy your return tickets from the scalpers for double the normal price. Everyone pays.

Vung Tau was the base for the Australian operations during the War. It was the destination for the troop carrier, the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney, which was nicknamed the “Vung Tau Ferry”. Vung Tau was also the destination for much R&R for Australian and American troops. The Grand Hotel, opposite Front Beach, became particularly well-known. Redgum made it famous for a younger generation in “I Was Only Nineteen”.

Vung Tau is a strip of land. On the mainland side, facing into the bay, is Front Beach, a narrow strip of sand which was the original playground. The effects of the greatly increased harbour traffic resulting from oil and gas and fishing boats as well as tourism have left it somewhat tacky although it is still the area where the best hotels and restaurants are found.

On the ocean side is the 10 km long Back Beach, which is where thousands of Vietnamese day-trippers from Saigon go. Back Beach is where all the extensive property development of hotels and apartments are sprouting. Fot those of us who were raised on the beaches of Australia, seeing thousands upon thousands of Vietnamese at a beach with no waves and murky water is an unusual sight, to put it mildly. Almost none of them can swim, and the lifesavers pay almost no attention to what is happening in the water, but everyone is has a great time. For a few hours it’s an escape from the chaotic reality of their daily lives. Some of the scenes are the same – children playing ball, parents building sand castles for kids who’ve wandered off, teenagers flirting and playing courtship games. grandparents sitting on the sand watching their granchildren, and everyone with big smiles from the simple delights of a day at the beach.

The 2 beaches are separated by the town and 2 small mountains at either end. The smaller one, innovatively called “Small Mountain”, is at the end of the peninsular and features a very large white Jesus with outstretched arms. An unusual sight in a Buddhist country.

A pleasant spot for a few hours, but not one to drag you back there time and again.