Back in the Philippines, the annual height of the holy week would be at a minimum a 4-day holiday to give way to the spiritual celebration leading to Easter. As a working expat in Ho Chi Minh City, I don’t have that chance. I still work on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
I still find myself in a good position as there are several Catholic churches in the city. It had given me the chance to hear the mass last Holy Thursday, remembering the washing of the feet of the apostles, at Notredame Cathedral held at 5:30pm.
The Holy Thursday and Good Friday are strict no-meat days. For most Filipinos, it only meant not eating pork, chicken and beef. But since I have worked in Saigon, I have followed the Buddhist tradition of veggie days as synonymous to no-meat days. Veggie days exclude fish, seafood, pork, chicken and beef. And it was not difficult. Somehow, it gave me an excuse not to cook, instead make different kinds of garden salad using the local fruits and vegetables available here with my favorite Kewpie (roasted sesame) dressing. 
I am not sure if it was really a sacrifice because I enjoyed the salad I prepared with lettuce, tofu, slices of mango, tomato, cucumber and raisin. On a few occasions I added the Filipino Eden cheddar cheese.
I know back home my family would have at the very least an Easter lunch celebration. So I don’t want to feel so nostalgic as my family and I are all practical persons. I looked at the web, what to do and where to go. Then I remember and saw, there is the Giant Christ the King statue in Vung Tau, its arms stretching atop a hill. I decided to make a “go” to a self-retreat and Easter pilgrim to this place.
Here is my short Pilgrim stint:
Friday: Booked a limousine via Hoa Mai. I was assisted by an office mate.
Hoa Mai Limousine Services: HCMC to Vung Tau; Vung Tau to HCMC. The earliest trip is 6:00am. The passenger can book by calling their office booking numbers and submitting the mobile number. The passenger is required to arrive at the station 10 minutes before departure time
Office addresses and booking numbers:
Điện thoại đặt vé đi từ Tp.HCM: 0962.200.200
Văn phòng tại Vũng Tàu: 47 Trưng Nhị, Tp. Vũng Tàu
Điện thoại đặt vé đi từ Vũng Tàu: 0963.200.200
Saturday: Pilgrim Day
Arrived Hoa Mai office at 5:30am. By 5:40am, the office is already open. Other booked passengers like me arrived. The limousine left promptly at 6:00am. It was a rainy, early morning.
I was delighted to have a very comfortable seat. The roads going to Vung Tau were smooth and there were well-landscape islands between the highways. Seeing plants at the middle of the highway is very Asian I think.
Arrived at the destination: Christ the King of Vung Tau. Mount Nho in Vũng Tàu, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, Đông Nam Bộ, Vietnam
According to the web, the statue was built in 1974 and was only completed in 1993. It was a project of the Vietnam Catholic Association (short write-up in Wikipedia)
As one starts ascending the tiled, wide stairs, she finds a rest or I would say, a prayer area. There are statues of Moses carrying the tablets of the ten commandments, the images of the 12 disciples and others. As she sits on any of the cemented benches, looking into the sky, the view of the sea and even with the sprawling city, there is serenity in the atmosphere. She welcomes such solace touching the mind, touching the heart, and touching the soul.
Reaching the foot of the statue is about 811 as the marker indicates. There will be around 40 steps more to reach the viewing area of the statue, the shoulder of the Giant Christ.
It is advisable to wear and be conscious of the following:
- From the entrance to the top of the statue, sleeveless shirts, sandos/undershirts, revealing clothes, muscle shirts, short pants, short skirts are not allowed.
- The owners courteously demand respect as this is a sacred place. Guidelines are found in Vietnamese and English.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes.
- Don’t throw the litter anywhere. There are trash bins in the area.
- There are no entrance fees. There are a few donation boxes along the path of the stairs.
- One has to leave her bag and shoes at the foot of the statue if she wants to go up. There is a custodian. It is safe to leave the bag and shoes. Camera or smartphones are allowed to be brought inside.
- Everyone is again reminded to observe courtesy and maintaining a soft voice inside as this is a “sacred place”.
- Inside, the place is clean and decorated with religious frames hanged on the walls.
- The statue closes from 11:30am-1:30pm. Break time is observed in the whole of Viet Nam so one should respect that.
- The place opens at 7:30am and closes at 5:00pm. Late guests are encouraged to finish their visits before closing time.
Bougainvillea in pink, white and orange, and plumeria trees and flowers abound , serve as angels guiding every visitor as she ascend to have an encounter with the risen Christ.
Happy Easter to everyone. Wishing everyone renewed hope and faith in our topsy turvy world.
Along Le Thanh Ton 