National Day trip

2 September is the National Day of Vietnam and commemorates the date in 1945 when Vietnam declared its independence, forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The new nation almost immediately had a shaky start and ultimately its territory was constrained to the area known as North Vietnam (1954 to 1975).

This year National Day also coincided with 15 July in the Buddhist/Lunar calendar, which is an important day for remembering people who have died. For the teachers at ILA though it was principally a cherished paid-day off, the last one for the rest of 2009. Many of us spent it on a trip organised by the ILA centre to nearby Long Son Island in the immense Ganh Rai Bay, behind the Vung Tau peninsula and at the mouth of the Saigon River and the northern most mouth of Cuu Long (the Mekong).

As the crow flies our destination was very close - just across from our point of embarkation in Rach Dua ward. But the actual route - taken by a former navy vessel - brought us along the shipyards lining the bay towards Big Mountain and then out into the waters of the bay. In all it took us between 1 1/2 and 2 hours each for the outward and homeward journeys.

We did not depart from a particularly well-used or maintained wharf . It was low tide when we left and even lower when we returned. To reach our sturdy vessel we had to climb/jump down from the wharf onto one boat and then cross several others, then step down from the last one onto the railing of our own boat. A nightmare for our British former OHS officer!

Our destination was a floating seafood restaurant opposite the island (incidentally you can actually drive there - how prosaic!). Here we dined on crab, numerous large oysters, and fish steamboat. Being a holiday the restaurant was packed and diners were continually coming and going well into the late afternoon.

Kayaking (50,000 VND) and jetsky (sic - 700,000 VND) were available for hire by the hour, and a few budding whitewater sailors (including complete novices) took to the water for a time. All too soon, though, it was time to return. It was an enjoyable day out and we got to see the industrial side of Vung Tau, on which much of its wealth is built, but which is generally invisible to us.