Advertisement

French Riviera in Vietnam

Basket boats on a sandy beach near Vung Tau in southern Vietnam / Picture: Hoang Tran Minh

Like Kota Kinabalu in Borneo, Vung Tau in southern Vietnam is a seaside city that remains a largely unheralded paradise, particularly for West Australians.

Boasting a thriving nightlife and a quality beachfront, with close proximity to the Long Tan battlefield - a significant part of Australia's wartime history - there's a lot to like.

Australia's Consul-General in Vietnam John McAnulty, who has been at his post based in Ho Chi Minh City for the past two years, says the ever-strengthening bond between the two countries is also significantly improving travel safety in the region.

Mr McAnulty says the local Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee has developed a healthy respect for Australians, mostly because of the charitable contributions of Vietnam veterans who have returned to the city. Their work has included building the Vung Tau Orphanage, which is home to 110 children, while the Vung Tau children's charity recently completed the construction of a fifth school in the area.

Several Vietnam War veterans also run restaurants and bars in the city. The people's committee gives veterans approval to hold memorial services each year at the Long Tan Cross on Anzac Day and Vietnam Veterans Day in August.

"Vung Tau is a wonderful place," Mr McAnulty says.

"It doesn't have the surf that we're used to but the beach, by standards in Vietnam, is pretty good. The Vung Tau story is a good story to tell and the relationship between Australian and Vietnam is getting closer.

"They like us, there is a large Vietnamese community in Australia which is highly respected, Australia has been very good to Vietnam in terms of development assistance, education scholarships and the businesses here and 320,000 Australian tourists come to Vietnam each year. So there's a bond and the one thing that has struck me since I've been here is that Vietnamese and Australians have a very similar sense of humour . . . there's a bit of cheek and they like to take the micky out of one another."

Glenn Nolan, an expat Australian who runs the popular Tommy's Bar in Vung Tau, says tourist numbers to the city have grown from 4.2 million visitors four years ago to 7.55 million last year - and the bulk of them are Vietnamese travellers. Other than battlefield tours, Mr Nolan says the beach and the Worldwide Arms Museum are quality attractions.

"I think Vung Tau is an underrated seaside town . . . nobody promotes it," Mr Nolan says. "You've got places all up the coast like Mui Ne, Hoi An, Da Nang and Nha Trang. They're all tourist places and Vung Tau's been left off the map. You go to every tourist agency in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and they've got every other tourist destination in Vietnam except Vung Tau.

"It's a beautiful little place where you can do day walks and there are all these French cannons through the hills and around at the back beach, it's a beautiful place for swimming. It's got some of the best restaurants around with great seafood, it's only an hour and 40 minutes by car (from Ho Chi Minh City) and it's got great accommodation and it's cheap. It's Saigon's French Riviera."

· In Saturday Travel in _The Weekend West _, we head to northern Vietnam with Grant Taylor for a walking and cycling

adventure to remote villages and kayaking around Halong Bay.

For a sneak peak of the trip,

see Grant Taylor's video at thewest.com.au/travel