Precious Memories: Phu My, Vietnam

Phu My, Vietnam -- November 29, 2016

First port in Vietnam.

Our ship was suppose to dock at 6:00 this morning but we were an hour late getting into port. I went up to deck 3 to watch the sailing in which was quite interesting to see how much work they had to put into just to get us in port.

Early morning in Phu My.

Local fishing boats

Buses, taxis, and the immigration booths out and ready.

We would have to get our landing passes stamped at the booths. This reminded me so much of St. Petersburg, Russia.

The ship behind us was already busy getting new cars off at the port. Quite a sight to see!

Pushing the gangway up to the ship.

After we had our room service breakfast and met up with our CC friends who would be joining Roger's group for the day, we got off the ship as soon as the gangway was opened. Our tour was with Dung Zoom Tour. Had our passes stamped and then walked out to the port gate to meet our guide/driver. It was about a 15-minute walk and we found our driver with no hassle.

That was the huge auto-transporting ship (sorry that I don't know what the official name of that kind of vessel is called.)

Walking towards the port gate.

Port with lots of containers and new cars.

Out of the port gate.

Into the van with the driver for the day. We had nine people on this tour that day and the cost was $45pp. Most people would use Phu My to get to Ho Chi Minh City for the day but we had been there about 10 years ago and would rather see something else close by instead.

Random shots along the highway as we drove from port to Ba Ria.

I think I have seen the most churches in this area of Vietnam.

Very nice and clean.

We stopped at this mall and waited for our guide to show up. As we were waiting, we spent that 20 minutes walking around the mall and used their restroom facilities before getting on our way.

This bookstore sells a lot of workbooks for kids to learn English.

Our guide, Ping, finally showed up.

Long Phuoc Tunnel

We went to Cuchi Tunnel the last time we were in Vietnam and thought that it would be interesting to see Long Phuoc Tunnel here. Long Phuoc is much smaller than Cuchi and easier to access. If I remember correctly, Cuchi was way far out in the jungle. Long Phuoc tunnels were originally dug for use against the French and were extended for use in the Vietnam War.

Entrance to the temple and the tunnel.

It was actually pretty quiet.

Beautiful grounds of the temple.

Steps up to the temple which was not opened that day.

Then we walked to the back of the temple to the tunnel.

There is a small souvenir store here.

Entrance to the tunnel. For some reasons we were not going in from this entrance instead we came back out from here.

Jack fruits

After walking a little we went down through this entrance.

Just imagine how the guerrilla worked and lived underground during the wars. There was suppose to be a life-size hospital there but I did not see or recognize anything as such.

Finally out!

Gun hole

After a few more photos we were on our way out.

On our way to the old Australian base, we past by some rubber tree farms.

The old Australian Military base where this used to be an air strip, now it's a highway.

Ping showed us the old photos of the air strip in comparison.

and photos of the base

old photos of the heli-pad

Then we drove a little further to the heli-pad.

We also visited a memorial for the Australian and Vietnamese soldiers. Ping recited a piece of memorial and lead us on a 1-minute silence to remember those who lost their lives here.

Showing us the sesame seeds plants near the memorial.

Vung Tau

From Long Phuoc, the tour continues to Vung Tau, which is a favourite weekend beach escape for family vacationing from Ho Chi Minh City. It was also know as Cap Saint-Jacques under French occupation and was a popular beach resort for French, Australian and American service personnel.

Many new hotel buildings popping up near the beach.

Nui Nho (Nho Mount) Statue of Jesus

Standing at 32m in height with 18.3m long arms, this statue serves as an excellent vantage point to admire the whole city and shoreline. But to go up to the statue, it involves approximately 900 steps, which our guide had no intention of taking us up there. Fortunately, we had been up before, so no great lost. And I was definitely much younger then to climb those steps.

We still got a good glimpse of the statue from underneath, albeit only half of it.

I think this island would be reachable during low tide, similar to the Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, California.

There is a temple on this tiny island off the shore.

Niet Ban Tinh Xa (Nivana Pagoda)

We were dropped off at the bottom of the hill and walked up a little to this temple with statue of a recumbent Buddha. It is hidden in a residential area and has a very nice environment and view.

Reclining Buddha

The huge Mercy of Goddess statue looking out at the sea who is suppose to keep the fishermen safe.

Front entrance of the temple.

Walking back to our van down hill after our visits.

Whale Temple (Thang Tam)

This is a temple which worships the remains of a whale washed up onto the Vung Tau shore over 100 years ago.

Lunch -- Quan Tre Bamboo Restaurant

Our guide took us to this restaurant which is both expensive and not very good. It cost us $50 for our lunch and with the terrible exchange rate that our guide gave us (1:20,000 instead of 1:22,000), we figured that she made enough money off of us that she did not need extra tips at the end of the tour.

We were sat at the rooftop patio at this restaurant for lunch.

Everything cost extra, even those little snacking beans in the purple bowl and the moist towelletes.

Food was just passable, nothing incredible.

Fried rice was so dry and hard, it was barely edible.

Fried noodle was a little better.

Egg rolls good.

They messed up the orders and had this plate out with no one claiming it, so we took this also but that had a lot of fatty meat in.

My suggestion, try to avoid this restaurant at all cost.

After lunch we were brought here to the shore for a little walk and some photo shoots.

Many fishing boats.

And sculptures in the park.

Vung Tau Lighthouse

With its peak located 170 meters above sea level, the lighthouse offers panoramic views of the city and the surrounding areas.

We could even see the Statue of Jesus from the back.

Beautiful!

White Villa (Bach Dinh)

Our last stop for the day was the White Villa which was once the weekend retreat of French Govenor Paul Doumer (late French President). The villa is a beautiful colonial-era residence with extensive gardens. Inside the villa there houses a collection of china that was found from a sunken ship nearby.

All the treasures from the sunken ship.

Hallway on the second floor of the residence.

We had covered everything on the itinerary for the day. At the end of the tour, we dropped Ping off at the same mall and we were taken back to port with much time to spare. Our ship won't leave port until 6:00 that evening.