A Short Getaway in Vung Tau & HCM

Just four weeks after our short trip to Ho Chi Minh, we went on another short trip back to Ho Chi Minh. But since we had five days this time, we also hopped on a minibus to nearby Vung Tau for a change of scenery, and only spent the last day in Ho Chi Minh.

We arrived in Vung Tau on a Friday afternoon after a 2.5-hour journey to a sleepy coastal town. Where was everyone? It was a bit unsettling to see so few people on the streets in what is known to be locals’ quick getaway from the city. That thought quickly went away when hordes of people arrived in the evening and descended on the beach over the weekend!

Where we went

Back Beach

We stayed at Ibis, and it was just across the road from Back Beach. Because there are no proper paths to the beach on the road nearby, we saw many locals run across with bare feet.

The stretch of sand is quite long, with some parts pristine and some parts quite dirty. Interestingly, we saw some ‘ponds’ of water further up shore that were somehow connected to the sea with tiny fish swimming inside. I’m not sure how they got there!

During the weekend, the Back Beach was teeming with people – mostly locals. Many of them go into the sea in their normal clothes without swimsuits, which is something we were not used to seeing.

Front Beach

We regretted staying at Back Beach when we went over to Front Beach! This seemed to be where all the action was – more food choices, people windsurfing and showing off their moves, and more lively in general.

There is also a ‘proper’ path along the beach and coast where you can stroll or rest your legs on one of the benches lining the walkway.

Jesus Christ Statue

At 32m tall, this is the largest Jesus Christ statue in Asia. We walked about 30 minutes from the edge of Back Beach, and another 811 steps up to the feet of the statue. We are embarrassingly out of shape after excessively lounging and snacking during COVID, so we were pretty winded from this ‘exercise’.

Along the climb up, there were swarms of dragonflies. I couldn’t capture them in pictures, but there were so many!

After reaching the feet of the statue, I was wearing shorts (it was hot!) and was not allowed to enter the statue. Don’t forget to bring a shawl to cover your legs or wear a long skirt or pants if you want to climb up to the shoulders of the Jesus Christ statue!

Xóm Lưới Seafood Market Street

There were lots of fresh seafood and many stores that cooked the seafood you picked. As we just had lunch, we didn’t try out the restaurants but just peered at what people were buying!

Night Markets

There were several small night markets in Vung Tau, and we tried our hand at archery at one of them. We didn’t manage to win anything, but it was still fun to try. We also happened on some locals playing something similar to bingo at a carnival. The host would pick the number and sing a song for the number she picked – it was quite funny!

Food in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh

WJ was excited to continue his quest to find the best hu tieu in Vietnam, but somehow we only managed to have two bowls this trip.

We discovered another variety of noodle dish that was delicious though – bun quay. You mix the dipping sauce the way you like it, and either mix the sauce into the noodles or dip the meat into the sauce for added flavour.

At Front Beach, we had a delicious seafood dinner at Ganh Hao 2 Seafood Restaurant with a spectacular sunset view. The only bad thing was that it was extremely windy then so our food got cold rather quickly!