My latest visit to Vung Tau - 20-21 Nov 2010. If I have to go there again, it will definitely not be by road.
The road to Vung Tau
The worst trip to Vung Tau so far. Never remember the road being so bad, especially after National Highway 1A when we turn in Highway 51. The potholes, the roadworks or rather the lack of it makes travelling to Vung Tau a living nightmare, and to add to the woes, the bad roads of course give rise to those notorious Vietnamese traffic jams - 4 lanes of traffic converging onto one lonely lane ever so often. There must be a good reason for this - there's always a reason for everything.
And we finally found out why when we met a VN tour guide gathering his "sheep" and he thought we were one of his "lost sheep". He explained that the local authorities awarded the upgrading of the road to Vung Tau to SEVEN local companies which then sub-contracted the works to even smaller contractors. So any surprise that the road is still in a condition of dis-repair?? It was supposed to be up and running by Jan 2010 - and this is already end 2010 with no "end" in sight - forgive the pun.
Horrible road condition
So if you have a bad back, motion sickness, or allegy to traffic jams and bumpy rides, give the road trip a miss and take the hydrofoil. Not that the hydrofoil's a great sailing experience either, but it certainly is the much lesser of 2 evils.
The Hotel - Thuy Duong Hotel
This is a 2-star hotel just next to the 4-star Dic Star Hotel. The hotel looks like it serves mainly Vietnamese tourists. We were the only foreigners there. Anyway, no complaints about the hotel. It's neat and clean; toilet and aircon in working order (aircon is LG and looks new). The bed is firm enough but the bed cover did have a musty smell about it. No blankets though - so I guess we're expected to use the bed cover which we didn't, of course. The toilet is quite new and all in working order, including the heater. Hot water (for drinking) is supplied through traditional hot water flask which you have to ask from the reception - quaint! Actually, I think it's cool - haven't used that kind of flask for many years. Overall, the hotel fulfills the basic needs of a traveller and nothing more. That's something to be grateful for given the price we paid. So thumbs up for Thuy Duong.
Toilet is quite clean and new.
This is the suite that they have there. Good for groups that want to sleep together.
Facilities
There is a function room that doubles up as a karaoke room - or is it the other way round? The sofa's torn and in a bad condition. That's a minus. There are 2 bikes for hire - we're talking about those kind of bikes meant for 2 riders. A lonely single computer sits next to the staircase for guest use. The good thing is that there are toilets along the corridors which are convenient for use. The restaurant is a simple place. Breakfast (complimentary) is a bowl of pho or french loaf with egg. Iced coffee accompanies. Palatable and acceptable.
There is a massage parlour just next to the hotel. We found out too late that firstly, Dad was overcharged (200,000VND) vs the local price of 120,000VND, and secondly, that place was meant solely for "activities" other than a massage. Dad said the massage was pathetic, so did my teachers.
New Cable Car at Vung Tau
Saw a new cable car line that leads to the top of the hill. Doesn't look like there's anything up there so we didn't try it out. Checked the cable car out later and found this :
http://vungtau-city.com/?p=566
