Vung Tau is a city located southeast of Ho Chi Minh City (HCM) with a population of roughly 500k. I hadn’t heard of it until I connected with someone there on a dating app. As my time in HCM was coming to an end, I thought it made sense to visit, especially since it was so close. So, the day before my departure back north, I decided to take a spontaneous day trip to Vung Tau.
Riding on the delta | 11.09.2024
Interestingly, there’s not just a limousine or bus service connecting HCM to Vung Tau, but also a boat service. The boat ride takes about two hours and isn’t much more expensive or time-consuming than the bus. So, I decided to do both—taking the boat to Vung Tau and planning to return by limousine. With that plan in mind, I set off from the port at noon, ready for the adventure ahead!
Arriving there, I was greeted with diligent taxi drivers, who wanted to offer me overpriced rides. After some bargaining, I managed to strike an acceptable deal with one driver who agreed to take me around for the rest of the day. Now, according to TripAdvisor, the sightseeing spots in Vung Tau are pretty straightforward. Our first stop was a hilltop lighthouse.
I noticed many local tourists around, and as someone who enjoys taking pictures, I saw a group of elderly aunties struggling with their photos. I offered to help, which was fun at first. But as more people noticed my willingness, more aunties started asking—some almost demanding—that I take their pictures too. Reluctantly, I obliged before finally getting back to my own shots. Later, the original group of aunties came back, jokingly asking if I had a girlfriend and whether I’d be interested in marrying one of their daughters or a girl who was still single that they coincidentally knew of. A classic scenario, where you need to be witty enough to dodge the question without embarrassing or offending anyone. They even tried to give me some money for my help, which I kindly declined. In the end, they offered me a drink instead, which was a nice gesture I happily accepted.
Our next stop was, quite literally, Jesus. We drove along the west coast, and I did notice how beautifully maintained and clean the road was. I later actually learned that many wealthy people live in this area. At the top of a mountain stands a large statue of Jesus. To reach it, you have to climb about 800 steps, but the stairs are shallow enough that you can often take two at a time, making the ascent not too exhausting. The path was decorated with scenes from the Bible, some of which even I recognized.
Arriving at the statue didn’t offer much of a view across the area, so I almost left disappointed. But then a friendly uncle mentioned that I could actually enter the statue and climb up from inside. The panorama from there was absolutely magnificent and breathtaking—not just because of the strong wind blowing. Here I was literally standing on the shoulders of Jesus, able to oversee the entire Vung Tau area.
I also spotted a beach area, slightly separate from the main beach across the road. When I descended to the base of the mountain, I nicely asked my driver to wait a bit while I checked out that spot too. It seemed like many locals come here to just hang out and watch the sunset. Gotta say, I’m a bit jealous that they have such a beautiful beach right at their doorstep.
Now to be honest, the day was not as exhausting as other days I’ve experienced so far, still I got a bit tired already. Since I was there, I figured I still should check out the Upside Down House that was recommended on TripAdvisor. The interior was really fun, and the staff were very helpful—they even took photos for me and gave tips on how to position myself to make the best out of each of the different floors.
Finally, it was time to take the bus (actually a minivan with LEDs, which they call a limousine) back to HCM. I almost missed it, though, as it left earlier than scheduled because “no one was waiting anymore” (duh). Luckily, my Grab driver knew the service staff and managed to get them to call the limousine back.
Unfortunately in the end, I wasn’t able to meet my friend. There were also plenty of interesting mountain hiking trails that I didn’t get to explore—maybe for a next time.
