Our first
impressions of Vung Tau were not good. It seemed motorbike-chaotic and a jumble
of random roads. But we've been walking miles the last two days and we're
warming up to it, just as the temp hits into the 30'sC or 90'sF. Vung Tau is full
of history with fishing/pirates/military/name changes: in the French
occupation, it was Cape St, Jacques! These days it is Vietnam's #1 offshore oil
drilling and loading port. Also huge exports of fish and seafood ----- main
customer, Germany. Oh, and several beaches, one of which is Vietnam's best
surfing. It's the getaway spot for expats and others down for the weekend from
Ho Chi Min City (aka Saigon). So there's money in town, and Russians in the oil
biz, and a lot of devout Catholics.
The main promenade
is along the shore around the bays, on marble sidewalks and parks with cute
dragons and cats. The usual oversupply of fishing vessels and nets. Women
chipping barnacles and shellfish off rocks at low tide, like prospecting for
gold. Night lights. Tsunami warnings.
Heavy-duty ships:
the one with the prominent crane on the bow is called the Wealthy Global,
apropos because it serves the offshore oil rigs. The reddish ship on the
horizon is oil-related, the fish nets in the foreground catch seafood, the two major
industries here. There are two historic symbols on display: the swastika was
and is Buddhist, long before and after the Hitler co-opted it. The Soviet
hammer-and-sickle is still used by the Viet Communists, even though it ended
with the Soviet Union in 1991!
Look at the women
washing the sidewalk ---- who's that sitting at the table in the background,
back to the camera in white top?
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