Sightseeing
na Sea off the islands of Côn Đảo about 100 miles from Vũng Tàu , Vietnam . The wreck was of a lorcha boat — a Chinese vessel with Portuguese influences , that has been dated to about 1690 . It was found by a fisherman who had picked up numerous pieces of porcelain from the wreck while fishing . Sverker Hallstrom identified the wreck and its cargo in 1990 . Australian diver Michael Flecker took charge of the archaeological aspect of the excavation . An analysis of its cargo deduced that the ship was bound from China to Jakarta , Indonesia , where the porcelain would have been purchased by the Dutch East India Company for trans-shipment to Holland . A total of 48,288 items of fine Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from Jingdezhen and other artifacts were recovered . These included bamboo combs , inkwells , tweezers , dice , and dishes . Christie ’ s , the British auction house , selected 28,000 pieces of porcelain for auction in Amsterdam in 1992 . The auction house sold the porcelain for a total of USD 7.3 million . The Vũng Tàu Museum in Vietnam houses a representative
sample of all the artifacts . The remainder of the ceramics were divided between Hallstrom and the Vietnamese government .
Onto our next destination , the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus Statue . Our Lady of Bai Dau Shrine - Vung Tau , Vietnam . Entry was free . This is a famous Catholic church in Vung Tau , Vietnam , where there is one of the largest statues of the mother Mary and baby Jesus on the mountain top . It is a good place to walk around , pray , meditate and enjoy the beautiful scenery . Maria Statue was established by Bishop Joseph Le Van An on May 15 , 1969 . Today Bai Dau Maria Statue has become a wonderful tourist attraction and a place of worship for the domestic and international visitors . Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary standing on the side of
a hill , 28 meters above sea level . The left slope of the Marian shine was rebuilt on March 19 , 1994 with 49 meters length and 38 meters width in the shape of a sail . The 27.5 metre high tower seems to be solid mast symbolically keeping the boats going out to sea and coming back safely . On one side of St Mary you will find 14 statues of Jesus carrying the cross .
Back on the bike again , we traveled through the fishing village until we came to Hem 444 Tran Phu , the old French colonial military road which winds up the back of Big Mountain . Please see our cover story for more information about the canons there . It is a popular place for locals to take an evening walk .
Your tour can end here , but I opted to try some lunch at the fishing village with Bing doing the ordering . First we started with Crispy fried Squid , followed by Sour Soup Fish and finishing with clay pot fish . The meals where large and delicious .
The cost of the tour was 200,000vnd for 2 hours . If you wish to see more attractions the cost is only 100,000vnd an hour .
I chose to leave the other attractions for another day . The cost of the meal is not included . Wear good walking shoes and take bottled water for the tour .
The MAG Vung Tau 23