NEW YEAR'S EVE IN VUNG TAU

29th Dec - 2nd Jan 2025

The 'High Speed' ferry from HCMC to Vung Tau.

The river/sea  route to Vung Tau used to be serviced by a very fast and exhilarating Hydrofoil and the journey took one hour, but it appears to have been replaced by a twin-hulled 'High Speed' boat which takes over two hours. Perhaps the hydrofoil became a little too exhilarating…or expensive to run.

Left: The route, initially down the Saigon River and then the short sea cossing to Vung Tau. 

Vung Tau is on a peninsular which is bordered all the way around by long sandy beaches. It is a (supposedly) popular weekend venue for Ho Chi Minners who come to enjoy lazing around by the sea. There are also many western tourists, mostly Australians as far as I could see, who come for the same reason and to noisily populate the ex-pat bars on the western harbour area.

Right: One of the many typical and elegantly decorated fellow tourists boarding the ferry.

I was to be in Vung Tau from 29th December until 2nd January 2025.

Left: All passengers sat inside (no going on deck as was allowed on the old hydrofoil). It was perfectly comfortable and with a large TV screen at the front broadcasting, after the initial ferry company blurb, some rather amusing 'comedy' films. Just as well because there was not much of interest to see out of the windows….just the river banks and quays and other moored ships.

I had booked, on spec, a cheap hotel (£20 pn) hotel, the Plus Vung Tau Hotel, which was situated in a small street just off the eastern beach. It was very clean with helpful staff and comfortable with all mod cons in the bedroom. With hindsight I would have chosen a hotel on the western, harbour side. The peninsular is surrounded by sandy beaches divided into the eastern 'Back Beach', around the south 'Dua Beach' and on the west 'Front Beach' with a further 'Dau Beach' north of the harbour.

Right: Part of the long eastern 'Back Beach'. All the beaches seemed rather deserted with no cafés or other facilities that I noticed. Among the few sunbathers and swimmers were some surfers making use of the waves. I am not really 'into' paddling, swimming or lying on a sunbed so found it rather dull, frankly. 

Wandering around and through the town I was amazed by the sheer number, literally hundreds, of hotels. Some streets were virtually all hotels of varying size and luxury. There didn't appear to be many people around and on wandering into some of the larger hotels (out of curiosity) they seemed bereft of customers! Being a holiday period I found this strange. Even some of the many Vietnamese restaurants were peculiarly deserted. 

Right: One of the larger roads through the town. Even they were comparatively free of traffic. It was all in surprising contrast to the merry mayhem in Saigon!

I did a lot of walking and eventually discovered that the 'touristy' and more vibrant 'social' part of town was around the harbour area on the west side.

Left: I found this establishment near the harbour sea front; the Ned Kelly bar. As you are no doubt aware Ned Kelly was a notorious 19th century Australian bandit. 

It is owned by a Vietnamese lady, and her Australian husband, They were away in Australia. The husband must have served in the Australian army during the Vietnam war as these old photos (right) from the early 1970s were proudly on display. It would have been interesting to meet him.

Left: There was a Pool table and, as a staunch member of our local 'Geriatrics Pool Society', it would have been amusing to have found someone to have had a game with, but I didn't.

It was always well patronised by crowds of rather loud and what I might tactfully call 'unsophisticated' Aussies who used this as their regular haunt. Cricket matches (Australia v India at the time) were constantly shown on the pub TV.

I visited this place on several occasions. It served good food. I bought one of their splendid mugs (left).

I did a 'recce' of the area to find a suitable place at which to 'celebrate' New Year's Eve. Right: I found this towering hotel, The Fusion, which is again near the harbour and has a rooftop terrace and swimming pool on the 19th and 20th floors. For a reasonable price they offered a NYE buffet and hospitality up there. I took up the offer.

Left: The Fusion's swimming pool on the top 20th floor.

Right: A view over the top of the harbour area.

Left: ….and at night on New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve. There were two 'functions' going on up on top of the Fusion. On the 20th (swimming pool) floor, guests had paid for a sumptuous meal and drinks and not sure what else. I had paid for a lesser function of the 19th floor for snacks and unlimited drinks! We were welcomed by these delectable maidens (right). I think they had been 'performing' for the 20th floor customers.

Seated on chairs and beanbags we, the 19th floor plebs, assembled from 9.00pm onwards and were generously served with drink (red wine in my case) and snacks. I think I got my money's worth. Nothing much happened until just before midnight. I had been expecting to see fireworks going off from the park area below. But no, some boxes of fireworks had been placed at the corners of the terrace. We were told to stand back. After a countdown to midnight they were lit. The result was somewhat alarming. There were loud whooshes and bangs and an incredible amount flying sparks, debris and smoke. More smoke than light ensued. I think there were only minor casualties amongst the cowering spectators. Babies were present. They keep them up late here, hardening them to artillery fire.

Above: The resulting 'display'….and it reminded me of a disastrous military 'fire power' demonstration gone wrong. Anyway, I think all onlookers survived virtually  unscathed.

I walked back (a 35 minute hike) home and passed several bars and nightclubs which were still active. Right: These ladies had been singing and dancing and politely posed for me.

Left: It was by now about 1.30am and Vietnamese people, including children, were still eating at streetside tables. 

Right: Photos taken during the day and show a strange (to me) dining habit adopted here (not seen in Saigon). They discard all their empty cans and left-overs onto the floor….

Left: What a mess! But it seems the normal thing to do and the staff just uncomplainingly sweep it all up. 

I think it would be rather frowned upon in the Officers' Mess.

The next day I visited the 'Upside-down House' north of the harbour (right).

You have to realise that the 'top' is the upside-down ground floor and entrance. You might notice an upside-down car parked there beside the left-hand tree.

I was the only visitor. Where is everyone in this town I began to wonder (apart from in Ned Kelly's bar)?

Entry to this weird place was free to those over a certain age. I qualified, but still get a bit demoralised because nobody ever asks me to prove my age. I must look very old! I was taken around the rooms inside by a charming and most enthusiastic young lad. There were about ten rooms displaying different 'upside-down' themes. He got me to pose in all of them and took the photos.

Left: The bathroom. He took photos in both 'up' and 'down' orientations.

Right: The bedroom. I have many photos of similar in different domestic and fantasy settings but show just these to give you the idea.

Left: The other way up. Most confusing!

Right: The kitchen.

Left: At the controls of a spacecraft landing on a planet.

Right: A picturesque Roman Catholic church in Tran Hung Dao Square nearby.

Left: The 'crib' at the entrance.

Right: The baby Jesus in the crib looks about 10 yrs old!

Left: The statue of Tran Hung Dao, pointing at me rather aggressively, at the end of the Square. His statue features in many cities. There is a large one near the ferry quay in Saigon which has featured on previous blogs. His real name was Tran Quoc Tuan. He was a royal prince and military commander in the 13th century and was considered a saint after his death. He was responsible for repelling Mongol invasions amongst other military victories. He is a much revered figure in Vietnam.

Right: (not my photo). The enormous statue of Jesus Christ on top of the forested hill, Mount Nho, at the southern end of the peninsular. It is 118ft high with a 60ft wingspan and the largest Christian statue in Asia. It has become a major pilgrim destination for Christians across Vietnam…as well as tourists (although probably not the Aussies in the Ned Kelly bar).

That will do for Vung Tau….and now back to Saigon

A SPOT OF CULCHA - SAIGON

 21st - 25th Dec 2024

The Opera House, Lam Son Square, Saigon

The Opera House in the centre of town is a fine piece of architecture, as are many other 'French Colonial' era buildings in this city and countrywide. The French 'colonised' this part of the world (known as Indo-Chine) from 1887 until their disastrous defeat at the hands of Ho Chi Minh and his Việt Minh forces following the battles at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The Americans should have learnt something from this but, typically, didn't! Despite all the controversial, often brutal, treatment the French dished out to Vietnamese nationalists, they did at least leave behind not only some splendid buildings, but a lasting infrastructure of roads, railway, waterways and other urban facilities. Indeed the French were instrumental in forming the now common Vietnamese language; initiated by a French Jesuit missionary priest, Alexander de Rhodes, in the 18th century. Originally the area had a multitude of regional languages of Chinese, Khmer, Sanskrit origin all written with their individual 'characters'. Consequently, thanks to the French, Vietnamese is the only language in this part of the world written in 'Roman' script and features many words taken from French (ie. 'va li' for suitcase, bõ (pronounced buerre) for butter and 'ga' for railway station, amongst others). Although the words look easy to pronounce, they are not because little squiggles and diacritics above and below the letters alter the pronunciation and meaning, and it is a 'tonal' language. The word for 'chicken' is 'gà' and, as mentioned, for railway station is 'ga' but pronounced very slightly differently. I once had a devil of a job in a supermarket trying to find some chicken and was constantly being directed to the railway station despite desperately miming a chicken! They just laughed and thought I was mad. The Vietnamese would not be very good at the 'miming' game of Charades.

Anyway, I decided to go and see what was on at the Opera House. A performance of something called 'Ao' was  currently on show. I bought a ticket (cheap seats at the back of course...and they weren't that cheap) for the 6.00pm show. It was to be an extraordinary performance.

Left: Looking towards the stage. This was before the house filled up.

Right: Looking towards the rear and it was a full house by 'curtain up'. It is as elegant a building inside as it is outside. Vive La France, reluctantly.

The performance was incredible. I wish I could have taken some photos/videos but we were strongly warned against doing so and there were 'ushers' around who might have caught any 'transgressor' such as myself. Even I resisted the temptation for fear of being chucked out.

How to describe the show? It was a based on the rice harvest (I think) and involved a large cast (I counted 25 at the end line up) and many props including long heavy bamboo poles, ladders, enormous, and some small, rice baskets, flying discs and many other strange objects together with a twangy musical background from various instruments. It included spectacular juggling, acrobatics, contortionists, mime, dancing, gymnastics, balancing, magical illusions and a humorous sketch in the middle. It was a non-stop athletic performance, most intricately choreographed with impressive lighting effects and all quite breathtaking! It lasted just over an hour and made even me feel exhausted at by end. They had another performance to do later that evening! I was impressed, to say the least.

Left: The front of the Opera House as the audience was leaving.

Right: This kissing couple were being photographed (just after the show) as a pre-wedding photo which is a common convention in this country. There are many such seen around town daily! Who do they show them to I wondered? Probably just for the family album.

Left: A favourite watering hole of mine near the city centre is called The Refinery. It is in a courtyard off a main street. Its name originates from when (19th century?) it was an opium refinery and catered for the then fashionable habit of relaxing with an opium pipe. It now serves good food and drink but not, as far as I am aware, opium.

Right: I met the son of a British friend of mine there for lunch. He is an enterprising chap and has been in Vietnam for two years teaching English to Vietnamese students. 

Left: The (proposed) Ho Chi Minh City Metro Map. The city has been in the process of building an underground Metro system for at least ten years. It has been, I believe, backed by some Japanese finance. I thought they managed to get things done quickly here! Anyway, the first line, L1, from Lam Son Square, was indeed opened and operational earlier this month and shown in blue here (left). The many other 'planned' lines on this map will, maybe, follow in due course. I asked the info desk "when?" and received a non-committal shrug of the shoulders.

Right: The smart new entry to the platforms for Line 1 at Lam Son Square. Not many passengers yet, but I expect it will catch on.

It might, with luck, even take some of the cars and buses off the streets. The most important line, in my opinion, would be one to the airport, but maybe the taxis and buses will object strongly!

Left: The entry to the Metro at Lam Son Square. There is only this long steep three-stage staircase. There is no escalator or lift (that I could see). If you are in a wheelchair or cannot walk for any reason then, frankly, you are stuffed!

Right: Cockerels in cages along a street. They were making quite a noise. Why were they there? Are they on a menu? I don't think so……I will try to find out.

Left: Another streetside entrepreneur! This talented chap was making intricate models of flowers and creatures out of strips of bamboo. 

Right: On a visit to the city Post Office (another impressive piece of French architecture which I have shown and described on previous blogs) I was asked by this man to have my photo taken with him. He had been taking photos of his girlfriend holding those flags. She was infinitely more photogenic than me….so not quite sure why!

Following these snapshots of Saigon I am off next for a visit to the sprawling seaside town of Vung Tau, on the coast to the east. I've been there briefly before but thought I would spend New Year's Eve there to see what they make of it. I 'did' NYE in Saigon last year which was fun, but feel I need to branch out a bit! So, to you all:  CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI !!

A BRUSH WITH DEATH - SAIGON

 21st - 25th Dec 2024

A modern-day street scene in Saigon

The road traffic around this city has become a nightmare! When I first came here, about 18 years ago, 80% of the traffic was 'motos' (scooters), 15% push-bikes (bicycles) and 5% four-wheeled vehicles (cars, buses etc.). Now it is 50% motos and 50% cars (often large and expensive ones driven arrogantly!), buses etc. Rarely, if ever, do you see a bicycle. Back then there were few traffic lights and no marked pedestrian crossings. You could cross a street anywhere through a non-stop stream of motos by walking steadily across and the motos would just flow harmlessly around you without batting an eyelid. NOT NOW !!!!

There are now traffic and pedestrian crossing lights at all major street intersections. There are pedestrian crossings marked on the road; always four surrounding the main street crossings and others, at random, across streets elsewhere. Drivers pay absolutely no heed to pedestrian crossings! If you chose to adopt the old policy of walking steadily across a street the motos would avoid you but a car or bus would or could not.

Left: A 'random' pedestrian crossing which is not worth the cost of the paint. They are disregarded by all drivers.

Right: Just an example of a street junction, normally with traffic  and pedestrian lights. This one links two one way streets. I was crossing one of these, with lights (not this one) a few days ago. Note the black line on the right. This is to demonstrate my route, top to bottom, that I took when the traffic across the street to my front was held at red lights. The other street, top to bottom, was on 'green'. As I reached the middle of the crossing a bus (unseen by me) had come speeding down the left-hand lane from behind me and turned sharp left (roughly where that truck is in the photo). The front left side of the bus hit me with a bang! I was sent sprawling but my right foot went under the front wheel of the bus! I managed to get up, rather shaken and a bit stirred, with a painful right foot. The bus had stopped. Give him some credit, the bus driver got out, came around, apologised profusely and hoped that I was OK. I think he was panicking a bit and maybe expecting to find a corpse! Apart from a badly bruised foot and some scrapes on my arm and leg, I was relatively unscathed. On reflection the point made is two-fold: 1. If I had been a pace further on over the crossing I would have gone under the bus with undoubtedly much more serious, perhaps catastrophic, injuries, or worse! 2. If that had been the case what would have happened next? Presumably I would have been carted off to a hospital (and they do have excellent hospitals and doctors here) or a mortuary! Once there who would they contact and what then? I am travelling alone so there is nobody else with me to help. I was carrying my passport (and credit card and this laptop) so I assume they could get in touch with the British Embassy in Hanoi. Then what? I am insured but, lots of 'buts'......

Anyway, it was a salutary warning. I have travelled the world, mostly 'solo', over the past 14 years and have never suffered an occurrence involving illness or injury before this. Maybe I was getting complacent! This incident has given me much cause for thought.

Enough of my woes and misfortune. On with more jolly topics......

I decided, being of generous disposition, to pay a visit to two (respectable I hasten to add!) ladies who provided accommodation for me and other colleagues when I worked here, and take them a Christmas present.

I visited this shop, Annam Gourmet, in the city centre. It is Saigon's equivalent of London's Fortnum&Mason and does provide a vast array of upmarket Western style goods. I bought two boxes of expensive chocolates.

One visit was to a very smart restaurant in District 2 in the south of the city. The other to a large guesthouse in Tan Binh District to the north of the city. 

The restaurant is owned by Mme Phoung who, together with her late husband Giles, accommodated us in their most charming restaurant/guesthouse many years ago. Giles was a sommelier in a French restaurant before moving to Vietnam and marrying Phuong. He died about 5 years ago. Phuong now manages a 5 star establishment called 'Trois Gourmands'. Google it if you are interested!

The other lady, Mme Thu, operates the large guesthouse in Tan Binh district, and is/was married to a retired Colonel who served in the South Vietnamese army during the 'war', and then served time incarcerated as a result. Both these locations are about 3 miles from the city centre so involved transport.

I use two forms of transport, both excellent, to travel around town if it's not practical to walk. As mentioned before, I am allergic to taxis!

Right: The first is operated by a company called 'Grab' (similar to Uber) for which I have an 'App' on my phone. They provide both car and 'moto' (scooter) transport and can be called and get to you very promptly. I much prefer the 'moto' variety because they are remarkably cheap and whizz you (safely and efficiently so far) through the appalling traffic much quicker than a car; up on the pavements if necesary. Of course they would be banned in UK on Elf' n Safety grounds. Right: My recent Grab 'chauffeur'.

I also use the city buses. Once you have got the hang of the routes (and I have a route map) they are very regular and reliable (when not running over pedestrians that is!) and cheap (20 pence equiv. for most journeys within the large city area).

Left: First by Grab scooter to Mme Phuong's restaurant (I could never afford to eat there). Unfortunately she was not in, but a colleague of hers was, whom I knew from the old days, so I delivered the chocs and got a free glass of 'posh' wine in return. We recounted old times.

Next day to Mme Thu (right) in Tan Binh district by bus. She was, apparently, thrilled to see me after so many years and we reminisced about the time I, and some disreputable colleagues, lived there. The Vietnamese have remarkable memories and she reminded me about various 'episodes' which I had, probably with good reason, forgotten!

Left: My local hostelry near the Thien Hai Hotel. A very 'festive' place at this time of year. Waitresses all wearing Santa Claus hats!

Right: A typical 'al fresco' streetside restaurant which come alive late in the evenings. They are popular and provide delicious Vietnamese food at very affordable prices (no inside restaurant overheads I presume).

This is written, albeit not transmitted, on Christmas Day......and I'm off for a bit more entertainment this evening. Several other previous things to report on....stand-by!

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