My new favourite beach

I've been to Back Beach in the afternoons on days off a few times (though not since I moved house to Phan Chu Trinh Street) just to keep the incredulous people satisfied.

"You live in a beach town, that close to the beach! And you never go there?!"

About a month ago Phil (Phuong), a friend from HCMC came down to stay with me for a night (Sunday through to Monday). Phil is self-employed as a management trainer and so has some flexibility in his working life, which means he was able to match up to my strange working life without a problem. He was very keen to head off to the beach while he was here (Phil is one of the incredulous by the way!), and suggested going to a small beach, below a restaurant, below the Jesus statue. I never even knew it was there!

It's now my favourite beach. The water is cleaner and generally safer than at Back Beach, where there are currents at work all the time. It seems to be known only to a few regular visitors and so it is much quieter. Sometimes there are small waves good for body-surfing. I am the only person in Vung Tau who body-surfs by the way. The Vietnamese idea of playing in the sea is to jump over the waves. And when the water is calm it's a good place to swim some strokes because the beach is in a little bay between a headland and some rocks. I try and go at least once a week now.