As a seaside boy myself, my hometown being the beautiful Bournemouth, I adore the seaside and the lifestyle that goes with it. One thing you'll never see in Bournemouth however is people having a seafood breakfast at 7am on the beach!
Below, vendors selling bánh mì chiên tôm, or shrimp fried in breadcrumbs.
Driving to the top of the small hill with the old French built lighthouse was a worthwhile exploration. The view is spectacular. Here is the very tip of the Vũng Tàu peninsular, 'back beach' to the north and 'front beach' to the south.
Here, my wife tries to impersonate an old Italian women. She got halfway through the 'mamma mia' but couldn't keep a straight face any longer.
Descending, we pass the new ferry terminal (new some time in the last two years). No offence to the architect, but it looks like it was inspired by a loaf of bread. Plus it holds the very first Lotteria AND KFC in town. Fantastic!
Jesus! No really...it is.
Back at the hotel, we were never stuck for a ride.
In the evening we went to the popular Hải Sản Sống. It's located right on the rocks. I took this from our table.
Just to chase away those images for a second, the rocks in front were crawling with rats, some even had little chopsticks and were dashing up to the table trying to nab a prawn off my plate. I spotted one leaning on a small wire fence with his arms folded, just glaring at me. Most unnerving.
After dinner we bundle over to the dog track. A real touristy attraction, this was.
Inspect the mutts that will lose money for you.
And they're off.....sorry for the crapness of this shot, but I had one chance - I blew it.
To celebrate the arrival of a new bridge that cuts journey time to 30 minutes and distance to only about 20 km, we drove to Long Hải. Somehow we ended up in this small village halfway there. The seafront was totally undeveloped, people living in small houses right on the beach. What a place to live!
Here, my wife tries to impersonate an old Italian women. She got halfway through the 'mamma mia' but couldn't keep a straight face any longer.
Descending, we pass the new ferry terminal (new some time in the last two years). No offence to the architect, but it looks like it was inspired by a loaf of bread. Plus it holds the very first Lotteria AND KFC in town. Fantastic!
Jesus! No really...it is.
Back at the hotel, we were never stuck for a ride.
In the evening we went to the popular Hải Sản Sống. It's located right on the rocks. I took this from our table.
Just to chase away those images for a second, the rocks in front were crawling with rats, some even had little chopsticks and were dashing up to the table trying to nab a prawn off my plate. I spotted one leaning on a small wire fence with his arms folded, just glaring at me. Most unnerving.
After dinner we bundle over to the dog track. A real touristy attraction, this was.
Inspect the mutts that will lose money for you.
Into the traps....
And they're off.....sorry for the crapness of this shot, but I had one chance - I blew it.
To celebrate the arrival of a new bridge that cuts journey time to 30 minutes and distance to only about 20 km, we drove to Long Hải. Somehow we ended up in this small village halfway there. The seafront was totally undeveloped, people living in small houses right on the beach. What a place to live!
