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