Day two of my escape from the Philippines landed me in Da Nang, Vietnam. This is my first time here, and it’s been pleasant enough so far, but the tourist vibe is almost overwhelming. I wasn’t sure what to expect coming in, but this is definitely the place where youngish foreigners seem to be coming for vacation. Watching folks walk by, they outnumber the locals immensely. And I can’t remember the last time I saw so many Western women in the mix. Admittedly, some of them look mighty hot in those t-back bikinis. So, that’s my first impression of Da Nang, but we’ll see how I feel as the week progresses.
The day began with an alarm on my phone at 4:30 a.m. We had to be up early and ready to catch the 6 a.m. hotel shuttle to the airport. Once there, it was the typical travel bullshit of waiting in seemingly endless lines. I’d never flown with HK Express before, but they did okay for a budget airline. Didn’t charge me extra for my checked bag, but also insisted that Swan check the suitcase she carried on with AirAsia. Well, since there was no charge, it made things easier. On the flight, snacks and drinks must be purchased, and when I asked for a bottle of water, I was informed that they don’t accept cash. Well, fuck you very much then. But the bottom line was that we achieved a wheels-down landing, and our luggage, although almost the last to come out on the carousel, made it too.
We called a Grab for transport to the hotel. A little confusion on where we’d meet up with the driver, but that was resolved without too much delay.
The hotel wouldn’t allow us to check in until 2 p.m., but the beach was just across the street, so we went there to pass the time.
We found a beach bar, and plopped our asses down there for some lunch.
After lunch, we took a stroll along the beach path.
We got back to the hotel around 1:30, but our room still wasn’t ready. So, we chilled in the lobby until we finally secured our key and headed for the elevator.
The view from our room is sensational.
Beer o’clock happens here, too, but because of the time difference, it comes an hour later. Oh well, just gotta make adjustments and go with the flow. And we flowed our asses down that Maia beach bar we’d seen earlier.
So, after a pleasant visit to the Maia Beach Bar, we headed for a recommended dinner venue. Stopped at an ATM to enlarge my dong.
Just for the record, I will sample the local delicacies soon.
Then we strolled back to the hotel. Swan said she’d had enough, but I went up to see the hotel’s rooftop bar on the 40th floor.
There was no table service; you had to go inside and get your drink from the bar. Only two beers on offer, a local brew and Heineken. I went local, and it was okay (it had a pull-off tab to open; I hadn’t seen one of those since the 1970s). One beer, then back down to my sweetie and a good night’s sleep.
Well, mostly good. I’d forgotten to turn off my alarm, so I was awakened at 4:30. Oh well, an extra hour to enjoy in Vietnam.
Coincidentally, Reekay just posted a video wherein he talks about why the Philippines is losing expats to Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Da Nang is apparently especially popular. It is still early in my visit, but I don’t think I’d like living here. Da Nang reminds me a little of Phnom Penh, but I like it better there.
How much research did you do about Da Nang before you went there? On one hand, it’s cool to go somewhere with little to no plan and make a lot of new discoveries; on the other hand, you don’t want to end up on the butt end of an unwelcome (and preventable) surprise.
Just for the record, I will sample the local delicacies soon.
Fingers crossed that you won’t be the American who goes to foreign locales only to hunt down the American stuff. That’s what Koreans do when they travel: head right to the local Koreatown. What’s the point of international travel if you only want to surround yourself with a bubble of your own culture? I remember flying to France for the first time in ’86 with a planeful of other American exchange students, most of whom were drowning out the world with their damn Walkman headphones.
re: those Vietnamese beaches
They looked crowded, yes, but paradoxically cleaner than in the PI. Then again, these were just first-impression photos, so we might see some litter later on.
The pulled-pork sandwich did look good, though. Better than that meager burger: I could barely see any meat! Foreign food’s expensive, I assume. Or is it?
Oh, yeah—on the food front: be sure to get yourself a proper banh mi while you’re in Da Nang. Google AI has this to say:
Happy eating! Not just banh mi, either: there’s also pho, and quite a few dishes that look like variations of Filipino food—noodles, spring rolls, etc.
(Remember back to my attempt at a banh mi?)
Kevin is right as usual – do the bahn mi.
Banh mi is great as it takes the best of both worlds – French food and Vietnamese food. Highly recommended.
Mate you better bloody waddle your (sweet) buttocks over to the Taxan BBQ place named Dirty Fingers or I’ll kiss you like you wouldn’t belive.
Dirty. Fingers……Or else!!!!
Texan!!!
*banh mi
Dr. Greg, that’s hilarious. My driver told me about Dirty Fingers, and the shortly after eating there, I see your recommendation. Just finished posting about the experience, and it was a good one. Keep your kisses to yourself! 🙂
Barley, Banh mi is what I’m going to try and find tonight.
Roger that! 🙂
Kev, my driver recommended a place not too far from my hotel (walking distance) named, Umm. Sounds tasty enough. I’ll report back on the experience tomorrow. I’ll look up the other places you suggest and see where they are, but I’m running out of time, so maybe, maybe not.
Kev, yeah, I’m guilty as a Korean. I just posted about last night’s dining experience at a Texas BBQ venue. Damn, it was good!
The beaches and streets are infinitely cleaner here. It’s nice to see that the locals don’t have a litter culture like back home in the PI.
Prices for food in the tourist district aren’t exorbitant, probably similar to the nicer places in Barretto. I’m paying slightly more for beer though (180 pesos versus 100 back home).