I still have dust in my hair from the highway, sore legs from climbing to the top of Jesus and a dead ass from 8+ hours of motorbiking. But in all, Vung Tau was quite a pleasant suprise.

It felt so good to get out of the city and out on the open road - until I hit a massive traffic jam. I had to drive though the dirt and over broken rocks to avoid it, a massive column of dirty trucks and buses that went on for about half an hour. Once I got off the national highway (A1...or is it 1A?), things got much better. Highway 51, the road to Vung Tau, was pretty much empty, so I could drive at my own pace and enjoy the ride. Can't say as much for the ride back, but I'll get to that later.

I was told by quite a few people that Vung Tau was a bit of a overhyped beachside hole, and to watch my stuff if I went there. But I found it to be quite a vibrant and picturesque seaside city, a great place for a drive with some interesting things to see. Vung Tau has some great winding roads that hug the coastline. I can't speak much for the beach though, since I didn't go in it. I didn't even bring a bag, just my camera and a book.

The weather was on my side and it remained sunny the whole day, even though its in the middle of rainy season, which usually means monsoonal rain every afternoon. Actually it was REALLY sunny. My hands were burning after about five minutes, and the glare was horrible. I ended up wearing my sunnies over the top of my prescription glasses which gathered a few odd looks.

Once I got there I pretty much just cruised around the city and coast. I knew that there was a 30-metre tall statue of Jesus on a cliff overlooking the city that you could climb. And that was just about the only thing I knew about Vung Tau, other than there were some large beaches full of tourists. Although it was certainly no Bondi, the the city had its charm.

Not only did I find Jesus, I also found giant Buddha and giant Mary, holding baby Jesus. The Vung Tau-ians seem to love it big. The view from Jesus' shoulders was pretty cool. But it was a bloody tiring climb to get there, with an oppressive sun that made it a lot worse, along with hoardes of curious Vietnamese tourists that I had to squeeze past to get a view from the tiny platform on Jesus' shoulder.

I saw a fun-looking road on the small mountain near Jesus, which I drove to. It let to a lighthouse, with was crowded with still more tourists, who seemed very suprised to see a young foreigner there on a motorbike. The sun was getting low, so I found some grub and took off home. No point in staying the night, I'd seen pretty much everything there was to see.

I was a bit worried about my Wave, if it broke down or anything I would be stranded. They don't have the best reputation. And fair enough, just after it was starting to get dark and I switched on the lights, the battery died on me. Its bad enough trying your luck on Highway 1A in broad daylight, with all the potholes, rocks and random things falling off trucks. But driving in the dark without being able to see the road is very stupid. I remembered a sack of flour that I saw on the way there. Not a good feeling...

It wasn't so bad at first. There were a lot of other motorbikes driving without lights too, and the traffic wasn't very heavy. But then there came these big stretches where there were no streetlights for like ten minutes at a time. I couldn't see the road at all, I had to tail a truck to just be able to see where I was going. In all, a very nerve-wracking drive. I was very very glad to get back in the city. Luckily nothing happened, but it could have easily been a different story.

Most people take about 3-4 hours to get to Vung Tau from Saigon. I did the way there in about 3, with a few short stops. But on the home I didn't stop at all, and sped the whole way. I was paranoid that the cops were gonna see me and pull me up, since my lights weren't on. I did it in only 2 hours, but it felt like double that. It was definitely the worst drive I've had, I was expecting death by truck-related injuries at any moment. Getting stuck behind one of those great big dirty things is not fun, they kick up a lot of dirt and little rocks which sting. Not to mention the deafeningly loud horns that they blast every three seconds...

Anyway, its good to be home. Pics to follow. Now I need dinner...