From Ben Thanh Market, we took a tour around the city by motorbikes to enjoy the sightseeing. Then, we stopped at a ticket office to purchase bus tickets for four of us to go to a beautiful resort town called Vung Tau. They did not allow us to pay for the tickets. We were very thankful to have such good friends like them. Her husband even specially asked for five days off just to accompany us. What good friends they really were!!! The next morning we departed early in the morning and headed to the meeting point. We waited for the van to come and pick us up. We boarded into the car and got ready for the three-hour journey. Along the journey, the driver played Vietnamese songs and we could not keep ourselves from laughing because the sound of the language was funny to us. My husband teased our friends and we were all laughing. They were really kind-hearted and did not get offended by our jokes at all.
As soon as we arrived at the city, we walked for about 500 meters to find a guesthouse where we would stay for one night. We chose the one close to the beach. After some discussion, we decided to rent just one big room for four of us. The guesthouse also provides motorbikes rent, so we rented two motorbikes to tour around the city. After we put our luggage in the guesthouse, we went to have lunch in one of the local restaurants there. Our friends introduced us to some Vietnamese foods. All the foods were tasty and delicious. I like Vietnamese food because it is much more the same like Chinese food.
We visited this beach. Though I’m not sure the name of the beach, but I think it is the Front Beach where you can find a line of restaurants, kiosks and hotels nearby.
Honestly I was very surprised to see the natural beauty of Vietnam. The waters in this beach though not the best of Vietnam are pristine enough with the blue sky as its backdrop. No wonder its beauty has successfully attracted thousands of visitors to this resort. 
This is the restaurant where we had our lunch. I totally had no idea of the written language there. 
We and our friend, Yen Linh, taking picture together in front of the restaurant’s board. Situated in the south of Vietnam at the tip of a small peninsula and located in the province of Ba Ria about 128 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau city is a popular weekend getaway for the locals because of its easy access from Ho Chi Minh City and its extensive beaches. The city resort has become a retreat for the city dwellers who long to soak themselves into nature and relax from the city’s frenzy activities. It is reachable from the main city within three hours drive. Generally, visitors go there by motorbikes. Another alternative is riding the inter-provincial air-conditioned bus service that operates from the bus depot in Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau. The good thing about traveling by bus is you can rest during the journey and you are free from the blazing sun.
In the past, the city was referred to as Tam Thang which means Three Boats in memory of the first 3 villages in this area: Thang Nhat, Thang Nhi and Thang Tam. It was under the province of Bien Hoa during the Nguyen dynasty. Separated from the mainland by a gulf river called Co May River, the city was originally a swamp where European trading ships visited regularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. It was a significantly important port. The name Vung Tau, which means “anchorage” (“Vung” means “Puddle” and “Tau” means “ships”) was inspired from the ships’ activities. The Portuguese sailors passed by the city and named it St. Jacques to commemorate their saint patron. Then later after the French invaded in 1890, they called it Cap St. Jacques. In 1901, the city was populated by 5,690 people, among 2000 were immigrants from North Vietnam who mostly earned a living from fishing industry. In 1929, Cap Saint Jacques became a province and on 12 August 1991, the city was officially named Vung Tau.
Sprawling over an area of 110 square kilometers with an average temperature of 28°C, Vung Tau is a commercialized beautiful coastline. However, despite its popularity among the locals, foreign tourists prefer to travel to another beach like Mui Ne or Nha Trang because the waters in Vung Tau are not the best of Vietnam due to the oil drilling industry there. Nowadays, the city no longer functions as a port but instead plays an important role in offshore oil industry. Oil tankers mark the azure horizon of the city. Crude oil and gas exploitation dominate the city’s economy and contribute to Vietnam’s budget and export volume. Out of 210,000 of the city population, 1250 are Russians who work as specialists in the oil industry.
The city is surrounded by two famous mountains Nui Lon (Truong Ky) and Nui Nho (Tao Phung) or Large mountain and Small mountain, and four beaches that include Front Beach (or Bai Truoc), Back Beach (or Bai Sau), Pineapple Beach (or Bai Dua) and Foreigners' Beach (or Bai Dau). Most sightseeing activity is done at Front Beach while swimming at Back Beach. Front Beach is located between the Big and Small mountains. Restaurants, kiosks and hotels are located close to the beach. For this reason, it becomes a tourist center and many come here to view the sunset. Tourists prefer to swim at the Back Beach because the waters are more pristine and the beach is filled with fine sand over 10 km. No admission fee is required to enter any of the beaches in Vung Tau city. However, tourists who swim at the beach are mostly foreigners because the Vietnamese do not like to do sunbathing under the blazing sun for their beauty standard is white skin so they try to avoid the sun as far as possible.
After finished with our lunch, we continued our journey to Jesus’ mountain - that’s how my friend addressed it. She was very excited to take us to meet the statue of Jesus for she knew that we are devoted Christians. She said in Chinese “I’ll bring you to meet Jesus.” We were very joyous to hear this kind of statement from a Buddhist Vietnamese girl. She was just innocent and sincere. We have been praying for her and her family that they can believe in Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord.
On top of the mount Tao Phung stands the statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms. This view is taken from outside the restaurant. 
Yeng Linh said, “I will take you to meet your Jesus up there.” We were very surprised to hear that. I was very shocked to see the statue of Jesus Christ in that size in a Buddhist country like Vietnam, but I heard there are about 6 million Vietnamese people who assert their belief in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. There will be more and more of them. Amen!!!One of the top tourist attractions in Vung Tau city is the giant statue of Jesus Christ, which is a replica of the statue Christ the Redeemer in in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. No trip to Vung Tau is complete without a visit to see the statue that is located on top of the 179 meters Nui Nho or Small mountain. Many Catholics and Christians pay a visit to this park and climb the mountain to view the amazing statue of Jesus Christ. They go there as a form of pilgrimage to pray, meditate and rest. Standing as high as 32 meters on a 10 meter high platform with two outstretched arms spanning 18.4 m, the statue overlooks the southern point of the peninsula and faces the South China Sea. Believed to be the largest statue of Christ in the world, the statue was built in 1971 by Vietnam’s Catholic minority in the area and finished in 1993. At the beginning, they only planned to construct a 10 meters high statue placed on a 5 meters height pedestal on the tip of Nghinh Phong, but the construction was interrupted in 1973. Soon after the interruption, they moved the site and reconstructed the statue to become 32 meters high on top of the current place, Mount Tao Phung, in an area of 10 hectares square. With outstretched arms, the statue of Jesus Christ looks like as if Jesus himself welcomes His children with open wide arms ready to embrace us in His presence.
The starting point to climb to the top of the mountain. The pathway to the top of the mountain only needs 30 minutes to hike and while climbing, visitors can enjoy the panoramic view along the way. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and bring a lot of water for it is really really hot there. Here our pilgrimage to climb Jesus’ mountain starts. 
The pathways are decorated with beautiful flowers, plants and statues depicting angels and some characters from the Bible. 
There are also benches made of white granite on which names of the benefactors who donated their money to support the construction of the park and the statue are inscribed. 
There is also a kiosk that sells various Christian ornaments and books. This is the best place to buy Christian souvenirs with Vietnamese verses for gifts. 
The statue of angels
All the statues along the pathway and on top of the mountain are in white which contrast to their earthly surroundings, making them appear from the other world. 
The view of the beach from the mountain. I was so excited to see this panoramic view. It is so beautiful.
When I reached this hiking point, suddenly the picture of Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary (the skull mountain) came across my mind. Although I have not been to Israel, I could imagine that the mountain Jesus climbed was rocky and dry. I got the same impression for this mountain I was climbing. Then I realized how much Jesus loved the world that He willingly took up the cross and climbed to the top of the mountain only to be crucified for the sin of the world. 
The statue of old, sorrowful-looking Abram obediently took his only beloved son to the mountain where God directed him to go to sacrifice him there. Abram obtained favor from the Lord for he obeyed His commandment more than anything in this world (Genesis 22). I really want to have a faith like Abram’s. 
The statues of the twelve disciples of Jesus. I wonder which one Judas is.
The list of books in the Old Testament written in Vietnamese language.
The statue of Moses carrying the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:4). However, if you see closely, the inscriptions on the tablets are written in Roman numerals from 1 to 10.
The statue of Jesus teaching the people about the Kingdom of God, which is known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7). 
This scene is taken from the Bible where Jesus talked to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:1 – 26). 
After quite a long and tiring hike, we finally almost reached the base of Jesus’ statue. 
Visitors are challenged to climb 1,000 stone steps to reach the summit. 
The statue of sorrowful-looking Mary the mother of Jesus painfully holding her own dead Son and Lord on her laps. 
The dead body of Jesus was just put down from the cross and Mary took him on her laps.
All the materials to build the statue, except the imported white cement, are taken from the nature of Vietnam.
On the wall base of the statue are inscribed the names of people who contributed significantly to the construction of this divine project.
At the back of the Mary’s statue is the statue of the resurrected Jesus, filled with the glory of the Father.
The statue’s body can accommodate up to hundreds of people. There are about 130 steps to the neck and shoulders of the statue. Each shoulder can hold four or five people standing to have a bird eye view of the city. Each hand is 2.2 meters wide, the middle finger is 1.1 meters long and each foot is 1.1 meters wide. 
The statue of Jesus Christ, the only true Lord and Savior of the world. Jesus with His outstretched arms welcomes the people of the world to come to Him. The heavenly glory graces his head depicted as a circle around His head. His face is benevolent and tolerant, a face full of love. 
The view of the city from the foot of the statue 
The statue of Mary holding the baby Jesus
The statue of an eagle, just like God who is our Eagle Mother hovering from above to save us. (Deuteronomy 32:11)
The bas-relief of the birth of Jesus Christ into the world (Matthew 1:18 – 24)
The bas-relief of Jesus entrusting Peter the key of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:17 – 19). This is also the entrance to the interior of the statue. The inside part of the statue has a spiral staircase of 130 steps leading all the way from the foot of the statue to its neck. Visitors can climb from the foot of the statue to the balconies on the two shoulders of the statue and be rewarded with breathtaking panoramic view of the city. Each shoulder can accommodate up to six people and from here you can enjoy the magnificent vistas of Vung Tau city and the surrounding landscape. Unfortunately, I could not enter the inner room for I was wearing short skirt and the gatekeeper did not allow me to enter that “holy” place. So I had to stay outside while my husband entered the room to help me take pictures of the inner part. I think they were exaggerating the statue. They treat it as a church where no shoes or tank tops are allowed. My husband told me there was nothing special inside the room but paintings of the life of Jesus Christ and he said people inside were holding incense to pray before the altar, which actually we think a totally wrong practice of worship to the Living God. If we use incense to worship statue in the altar, we are not different from the Buddhists who worship their gods the similar way. The room is illuminated by light from the six windows, each at the front and at the back. The windows are shaped like the Chinese character Tho which means longevity.
The bas-relief of Jesus eating the last supper with his 12 disciples (Matthew 26:17 – 30)
The bas-relief of Jesus in front of Pilate (Mark 15:1 - 15)
The bas-relief of the Lord’s supper is a replica of the painting ‘The party of separation’ by Leonardo da Vinci. 
Surprisingly, at the foot of the statue there are two cannons. What an unusual sight it is!!! The cannons were used by the French during the war period. At that time all mountains were fortified. The statue of Jesus Christ on top of Mount Tao Phung in Vietnam is indeed a masterpiece. I believe it was Jesus himself who inspired the Catholics to build the statue so that the world can see His greatness. However, we should not worship the statue for it is only a symbol not Jesus Himself. In one of the Ten Commandments, God clearly commanded us not to bow down before or worship any statue made in the form of anything in the heaven or earth. Lord Jesus is a powerful and living God who does not live in temples built by man (Acts 17:24). The statue of Christ in Vung Tau must be a reminder to all the Christ’s followers in Vietnam to remain united in faith and love to win over so many other Vietnamese who have not put their belief in Jesus Christ. I pray that they too will also receive Jesus as their personal Savior and be saved. Prayer from Indonesia. Amen!!!
Source:
Personal experience and additional information from other online articles
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