A day on Big Mountain!

Today (4 April) is a national holiday in Vietnam, so ILA is shut and I get to have a Saturday off work! Woo-hoo!!

The event is the Hung Kings anniversary. You can find a bit more about this on wikipedia, but briefly Hung Vuong is considered the first king of Vietnam or Văn Lang/Lạc Việt as the country was known at the time. He founded the Hồng Bàng Dynasty which ruled for more than 2,000 years. Like Easter it's a moveable feast - the anniversary occurs on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month of the year. The historic place to commemmorate the Hung Kings is on Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain, Cổ Tích village, Hy Cương commune, Phong Châu district, Phú Tho province. There is a modern temple in Ho Chi Minh City as well, at the entrance to the botanic gardens and zoo, and opposite the History Museum.

Today the sun is shining and the strong winds that we've had for the last week have died down a lot, so I went for a ride up Big Mountain. The first part is all sealed road and the climb is manageable. Half-way up there is a military post and some houses and cafes. Then the road gets very steep and broken. I managed to ride a little way but in the end had to walk most of the way, with several hairpin bends. It was a very hot climb, and I had no idea what to expect at the top ( or even if there was a 'top'). I had vague ideas that the road would take me to the cable car station (long overdue for completion), but at the point I thought this was definitely where I would end up the road doubled back and went much higher.

It ends on the summit at the old radar dishes (war-time). These are a landmark in Vung Tau city. Now I've discovered they are not in service - very dilapidated with one badly damaged by wind?

The area on the summit is being developed as a garden. And of course it has some great views as well because it is pretty much the highest spot in Vung Tau. If you have a motor bike it is quite accessible and there were a lot of young people up there having picnics. I spent more than an hour up here walking around. There are a couple of little reservoirs that are being turned into water features, including some man-made stalagmites and stalactites (looking a bit like a dragon's mouth?).


Of course there are great views out over Vung Tau city, Front Beach/Small Mountain, and the fishing villages and ports, and the sea. But as well you can see across the bay to the southern shore and get a real feel for how the waterways around Vung Tau are laid out.