We have just finished a delightful 2 weeks in Da Nang, seeing the sights, eating some delicious food, lots of walking & taking time to relax. Our first accommodation was an apartment on the 32nd floor, 100 metres from the beach, cost of $347 for 9 nights. Thankfully the windows did not extend down to floor level as I am not fond of heights, & the city views were amazing. Having a separate bedroom allowed me to sleep a bit later & gave Robin the couch for some internet surfing in the mornings.
 |
| Our apartment |
 |
| Another “wet” bath - shower head beside the shelves, & yes the bathroom gets all wet! |
 |
| City views |
 |
| The building |
 |
| Dragon Bridge view from our apartment |
We managed to find a sizeable grocery store a short taxi ride away in the GO Mall - not always easy as most locals seem to use mini marts & local markets. Our breakfast consists of yogurt with muesli or whole grain cereals & fruit, anything with whole grains is difficult to find. Virtually all our lunches & dinners are eaten in restaurants, which some days is becoming a chore to choose both where to eat & what to eat. We did cook a chicken stir fry once but found it not worth the effort as we had to purchase absolutely everything we needed, right down to salt & pepper - & then either leave condiments, etc behind or pack them around to the next apartment.
 |
| As seen in the grocery store - a very large ramen noodle package! |
 |
| Local restaurant serving set menus |
 |
| And we ate it all! |
 |
| My Quong - a noodle dish specific to Da Nang |
 |
| And eaten at a Michelin recognized restaurant - cost of $2.85/bowl |
 |
| A very large collection of Crocs - authentic or knock-offs worn by a Lot of people! |
 |
| Many varieties of rice noodles |
 |
| Seafood live tanks in a local restaurant |
 |
| Scallops |
 |
| And shrimp |
The beach in Da Nang goes on for miles but unfortunately the weather was not on our side - windy, occ. rain & huge crashing waves (& really cold water). But still enjoyable to watch the waves (luckily no shells or sea glass to collect).
 |
| We stayed in the building on the right |
The air quality has improved, earlier in our stay it was up to 150 AQI, now down to 64, most days I have been wearing a mask outdoors.
We could see the famous Dragon Bridge from our apartment, but seeing it up close was pretty spectacular. On weekends at 9:00 pm it spits fire for several minutes & then spews water. We were smart enough to stay off the bridge for viewing, those on the bridge generally get very wet!
There are several other bridges that span the Han River, all of which are lit up at night. And many hotels & large buildings also provide lighting displays. We did a nighttime boat trip which gave us even better views.
 |
| This display was a video of whales, pretty spectacular |
 |
| Robin at the boat controls |
 |
| A traditional dance done on the boat cruise |
 |
| One of the cruise boats |
 |
| Another bridge |
We planned our own excursions here, taking a taxi to see the humongous 67 metre tall Lady Buddha statue & the monkeys scampering around the grounds.
 |
| View of Da Nang across the bay |
 |
| Crazy trees with roots & trunks |
 |
| Intricate bonsai tree weaving |
 |
| Gate to the nearby pagoda |
 |
| Our apartment looking across the bay, big white one |
Another taxi ride to Marble Mountains, a 20 minute ride, costing only $5.60 & entry fees, including the elevator of $3.50 each. We are loving the low costs here! Marble Mountains is a group of 5 limestone peaks seven kilometres from Da Nang that hold spiritual significance to the Vietnamese. It is a network of caves, tunnels, towers & pagodas built by Buddhists & Emperors. We opted for the elevator to cut out some stair climbing & made it into most of the caves. I chickened out climbing up & into a tunnel, Robin made it further but the crowds going both directions forced him back down. Sometimes we do remember our age & our limitations. Impressive spaces, lovely temples, good viewpoints & even a pigeon with feathered feet!
 |
| The elevator that saved us 140 stairs going up |
 |
| Marble Mountains |
 |
| Looking towards the ocean |
 |
| Where I chickened out |
 |
| Feathered feet |
 |
| The toilet where you had to remove your shoes & put on sandals to enter! Or the attendant yelled at you! |
 |
| Me standing in a cave |
 |
| Marble statues & decorations for sale |
We moved to a hotel right on the Han River for our second week & found the neighbour hood more vibrant & less touristy - more to our liking. And some wonderful views of the river! All for $17/night!
 |
| Looking out one of our windows |
 |
| Legacy Riverside Hotel |
 |
| River cruise boats, all lit up |
 |
| View from the other window |
Now we are close to the Son Tra Night Market, good for a nightly stroll & often some good eats.
 |
| Seafood on offer, you choose & they cook it |
 |
| Waving kitty’s & Buddhas |
 |
| Our seafood dinner spot at the market, none too fancy but tasty none the less! |
 |
| 2 lobsters, 1.25 kg for 500,000 dong ($28.50) |
 |
| And they “threw in” for free - shrimp, scallops, oysters, razor clams & some stir fried morning glory |
 |
| A vendor cart on his motorcycle selling bun bao dumplings - seen & heard all over - & there is a fire where you see the wood. He drives up & down the streets blaring a recording of what he’s selling |
 |
| Durian fruit - they smell awful but are supposed to taste good, we can’t get past the stench! |
We are managing at least 10,000 steps per day, often 18,000-20,000 & one crazy day we did 26,800! Walking across one bridge & back on another, with some people watching & exploring is a good way to spend the day. But we also have a new habit - most days we enjoy an afternoon siesta.
 |
| Lovely paved paths on both sides of the river |
 |
| Decorations for Tet, New Year’s |
 |
| Someone having a nap |
 |
| Temples here have buildings right up next to them |
 |
| A strange car wrap - ? protects from road debris when parked? |
 |
| Walking across a bridge - note the 3 guys in matching shirts & shorts! |
 |
| Ladies selling seafood by the river |
 |
| One of the big Catholic Churches here |
 |
| Another temple garden with a Happy Buddha |
 |
| Tet decorations with flowers & Year of the Snake |
We are nearing a big holiday in Vietnam - Tet - New Year on January 29. There are special decorations, shrines & offerings, delivery of trees & flowers everywhere that we look. Apparently most everything shuts down for 9 days so that people can return to their home towns to celebrate. We planned ahead for this & will be staying in Hoi An for at least 9 days, hoping that some tourist restaurants will remain open. We have bought train tickets for our travels south after Tet, but we had to delay a week as trains were full! A few photos of Tet related scenes, more to come in the next blog post.
We are still having fun & Living the Dream!
 |
| Offerings |
 |
| Shrine in a tree |
 |
| Special editions & gifts for Tet |
 |
| A ? Shrine, lots on the bike, we’ve seen them burnt |
 |
| Gift baskets |
 |
| Shrine with offerings outside a business |
 |
| Lots of red decorations |
 |
| And lots of gold things |
 |
| In the supermarket |
 |
| Special beer |
 |
| Kumquat tree, being delivered by scooter |
