We started our train journey to Da Nang at 10:00 pm on November 22 & arrived at noon the next day. The idea was to sleep on the train but that didn’t quite pan out - very hard bunk, noisy & rough - by the time we gave up on sleep in the morning we each had over 3000 steps on our Fitbits, despite not actually walking at all. But the scenery was lovely, especially the Hai Van pass with ocean & mountain views.
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| Hai Van pass |
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| Having breakfast on the train |
We had booked our accommodation on Airbnb & picked a unique place - a traditional Vietnamese house which cost $246 for one week. It was only 12 ft. across the front & very deep - over 2600 sq. feet over 3 levels - a metal locking door across the front, a 4 ft space & then a wall of glass with glass doors. There were 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, seating for 8 at the kitchen table & terraces on both the 2nd & 3rd floors! In the space at the front the owner’s uncle had a tobacco business which wasn’t supposed to affect us - except on our first morning he came right into the living room as we were having coffee & proceeded to light incense in 2 household shrines! Not quite what we expected! We worked that out thru Google translate but in order to get daylight in we had to have the metal door open & if the old guy was gone for lunch we then had to watch his shop. And way too many stairs! But an interesting experiment, hopefully not to be repeated.
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| Looking at the front, metal doors open a bit |
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| Massive living room |
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| Looking out, tobacco shop |
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| With the metal door closed, no daylight |
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| Bedroom with outdoor terrace |
We had been in Da Nang last year but had not gone up to the tourist attraction called Bana Hills so we decided to check it out. The weather was supposed to be mainly clear, but unfortunately it was very foggy so not great views. It is a resort & amusement park, accessible by several cable cars & funiculars, complete with a recreated French village, hotels, wine cellars, the Golden Bridge with the giant stone hands, rides, games, 4D & 5D experiences & a very popular Popmart, selling collectible “toys”. We played a bunch of arcade games, had a bumpy ride on the bumper cars & took in many IMAX type films. They also boast a craft brewery so we tried some of them as well. The highlight was the “Hand Bridge” & the cable car rides to reach the different levels.
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| Riding the cable car up |
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| On the Golden Bridge |
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| The French village |
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| Entrance to the Beer Hall |
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| Arcade fun |
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| Bumper cars! |
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| Entry gates |
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Much clearer on the way down
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We were happy to be back to buying fruit, yogurt & in Robin’s case, noodles for our breakfasts - lots of variety & great prices. We visited the Son Tra night market a couple of times, for grilled lobster & tasty street foods.
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| Night market |
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| Local day market |
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| Our lobster raw, I forgot to take a photo before we dug in |
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| Grilling seafood |
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| Foods to grill |
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| Lobster for sale, to grill |
We admired the huge yellow dragon on the Dragon Bridge & did an evening boat cruise on the river with the intent of seeing the dragon spit fire & water (only on weekends), but for some reason it only spewed water that night.
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| One of the lit up bridges from our cruise |
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| Spewing water |
We took a Grab taxi to the Linh Ung Pagoda, home of the 67 m. Lady Buddha & many wild monkeys. We got to watch as they used a tarp over a statue as a trampoline & as they jumped up on people foolish enough to feed them.
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| The “trampoline” |
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| Amazing bonsai trees in huge planters |
I managed to fit in a delightful 90 minute hot stone massage for the crazy price of $22!
We have managed to stay north of most of the rain & all of the flooding that has plagued Asia this fall, our next destination of Hoi An was not so lucky, undergoing several episodes of flooding of the Old Town & areas closest to the river. The storms have passed, the water has receded & the clean-up done so on November 30 we took a private car to Hoi An, 40 minutes south of Da Nang. On to the next adventure. Still Living the Dream!
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| Wonderful coconut ice cream |
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| Bana Hills souvenir - a clear day! |
