Vũng Tàu – What’s There To Be Explored? (P1)

Vũng Tàu city has been early recognized as the perfect spot of travelling, especially for the Saigonese. Its reputation, however, are causing bad influence on the real quality. With this series, it is the author’s hope to ameliorate Vũng Tàu by showing the good and need-to-be-improved side. Thus, the city could be brought back to its prime time.

*Note:

1/ This series only focuses on sights. Cuisine exploration will have its own series.

2/ Please excuse my bad English writing 🙂

Vũng Tàu, June 11-14th, 2018

My trip by motorcycle to Vũng Tàu went on well. It’s a three-hour-ish ride from Sài Gòn to Cát Lái ferry, then to 51th National highway, then to Vũng Tàu.

Years before, Vũng Tàu to me was simply a relaxing place, with expensive food and luxury seaside resorts. Travelling experience was barely there also. Now, it is my mission to track down recommended places, both historical and places with good view.

#1: Jesus Christ Statue

13 o’clock, June 11th, sunny weather. The amount of tourist was scarce, since it was Monday.

It is free to enter. However, making a donation for reservation is recommended.

The statue of Jesus Christ on Mount Nhỏ (Tao Phùng mountain) is one the most popular sights in Vũng Tàu. With its sacred destination, as well as the beauty it brings, the statue is considered the symbol of Vũng Tàu. In 2012, it was recognized as the biggest statue of Jesus in Asia.

To “conquer” the place, you have to finish the 811-step stairway from the ground, then another 133-step circular stairway inside the statue to reach the observation deck at both arms.

Direction board; looks easy, but getting to the statue requires lots of effort

The scenery of Nhỏ mount is quite beautiful, with smaller altars and statues like this

However, by not having an affordable fund to reserve, as well as the poor cleaning force, the sight are going down in quality. Mosquitoes and garbage dumps can be seen throughout your way.

You can find a good view of the city, when standing on the Jesus’ arms

And please pay attention that the Jesus Christ statue is a holy place, so in order to get into it, you will have to obey a number or regulations, including putting all of your backpacks outside and wearing semi-formal clothes.

Getting a good view of the city is often difficult and tiresome, but worth the effort

And one last thing: remember to remain patient, since other people also have to walk up there like you do. Similarly, please mind the duration of you standing at the balcony.

A really good view of the city you can see

You can see the lighthouse on the opposite mountain

#2: Nghinh Phong Cliff

An overview of the Cliff (taken from the Jesus Christ statue)

After getting back on the road, we quickly moved to Nghinh Phong cliff – a hot “check-in” spot – locates on just opposite the street.

In short, my experience to this place was like this:

Like its name (Nghinh Phong: receiving winds), it was really windy out there.
Beautiful? It has a wide range of view and that’s all. The surroundings are not impressive.
Experience? Not quite.

The buildings around the cliff have been abandoned and are in bad shape

“Sun Gate”, or the nearby wall, cannot look cool unless putting in a lot of effort

The furthest spot of the cliff is now situating a big abandoned government construction

Overall, if you are looking for a place to check-in, then Nghinh Phong cliff, like any other places, can be helpful. But if your purpose is to find the beauty of the landscape, I will not recommend this spot since it has nothing to discover, and the messiness of the construction nearby can even be hazardous.

#3: Con Heo Hill (Piggy Hill)

Recently, many travelling websites are recommending the Piggy Hill, the “perfect” observation spot of the city. For its nearby location, we decided to have a look at the place.

To reach the Piggy Hill, you just need to reach the 220 alley of Phan Chu Trinh St., then go all the way to the top of the hill.

The view from the Piggy Hill

One more time, I highly oppose the idea of getting here, unless you want to have check-in pictures, which can be done everywhere. I was disappointed after getting up there. More details:

The route was too bad: after a while, big rocks and holes will occur 80% of your route to the Piggy Hill. You can easily have your motorbike damaged after the trip.

Poor-condition road

Unpleasant scenery: Piles of trash and odor, as well as the messed-up neighborhood nearby, has decreased the beauty of this place, if it ever has one.

Trash can be found everywhere

Boring spot: The view was not that interesting. There was nobody to manage the place neither. All you can see are trash and doodles on the barrier and the cliff.

Many tourists are willing to climb out of the barrier for some good photos

#4: Hòn Bà

An isolated Hòn Bà (taken from the Jesus Christ statue)

An amusing fact about Hòn Bà is that: when the water go down, which barely happens, a hidden road lead to the island will appear from the sea.

Luckily, we saw that magical road right after going back from the disappointing Piggy Hill.

The hidden road appeared, which attracted a lot of tourist to explore

Built in 1881, Hòn Bà Shrine is famous for its holiness. It is believed to bless the sailors when they travel on the ocean. Thus, for religious people, this location is a must-go destination once they’ve reached Vũng Tàu.

A note for anyone who wants to walk on this road: DO NOT wear sneakers. Slippery and sharp rocks will severely damage your sneakers.

The route is super slippery, so watch your step!