Vung Tau is a fitting name for the coastal town that invites people to pause and stay a while.
Translating to "anchorage" in English, the word aptly describes one of its main functions for the past few centuries. Before it became a convenient weekend getaway for 21st-century Saigoneers, it was a travel hub during the Champa Empire, home to some scurrilous pirates that Emperor Gia Long snuffed out after they had de-camped there, a trading hub for French and Portuguese merchants, and finally, a popular spot for American soldiers to go during R&R leave.
These photos come from the time when those military members and support staff made a stop in the sunny beach city. By 1967, the Vung Tau community had developed stores and restaurants to cater to the foreign day-trippers, alongside local markets and farms.
Have a skim of the scene below:
[Photos via Flickr user manhhai]
![[Photos] 13 Film Snapshots of a Sleepy Vung Tau in 1967](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/2020/10/21/vt/v6l.jpg)

























![[Photos] The Small-Town Charm of Vung Tau in the 1960s](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/2020/12/10/vungtau_SGNR1l.jpg)
![[Photos] A Walk on the Streets of Quaint 1966-1967 Da Nang](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/2020/06/26/da-nang/ron-holder0l.jpg)


![[Photos] A Day Trip to 1968 Vung Tau](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/2021/10/12/vt/7l.webp)


