A coastal city in the centre of Vietnam next to the Bay of the South China Sea (the marginal sea of western Pacific Ocean). Surrounded by Mountains on one side and the sea on the other. It offers a wide choice of activities and explorations to the tourists.
A city different than Hanoi- where Hanoi city had crowded tubular houses and a lot of traffic (residents and commuters from out of town for work). Da Nang had a relaxed pace, broader streets, less crowded.
The affluent part of the city- overlooking the Han River or the sea comprised mainly of hotel chains or resorts. Attire however of local youngsters was more casual in Hanoi- Hanoi teens (and families) seemed to prefer loose comfortable clothes and rain friendly footwear (even while dining out over the weekend) whereas the youngsters at Da Nang were dressed more nattily- even when meeting for a coffee. Our Hotel the Novatel overlooked the River Han and had a birds eye view of the sea far way beyond the city
We also had a view of the famous Dragon Bridge over the river Han. An interesting spectacle we missed was the dragons’ head breathing fire and water- which happens every weekend night.
Besides this there are 5 other bridges spanning the Han river interconnecting the city. – the cable bridge designed to look like a billowing sail also seen in image below
The river has various cruises running along it—but they seemed passable
De Nang has two main local markets the Con Market and the Han Market. Think a mix of PaharGanj, Sadar Bazaar, Chandni Chowk Katras and Pallika Bazzar. Small shops under a covered space, crowded together on intertwining and intersecting corridors in every direction, selling everything: food, fruit and verges, spices, clothes, electronics, souvenirs crowded with people and heat
If you must go- Suggest you visit the Han Market- it is less stiffling—we literally went in and came out within 5 minutes
One thing tho’ I must say was the cleanliness levels. Despite the crowds and the jowl to cheek shops we did not see any dirt nor garbage nor any stray dogs sniffing around food vendors.
In fact, the cleanliness of the entire city was exemplary- despite the abundant green cover all over we saw no fallen leaves lining the sides of the roads in any of the cities we visited.
Hoi An
An old city (now a UNESCO heritage site) any visitor MUST Visit. It is about 30-40 minutes’ drive away from the city. Tho’ tours are available, I would suggest hiring a car for 6 hrs. The old town is a strictly no vehicle zone – the car would be able to drop you right at the edge while the tour bus has a drop off about half a km away. Plus with your own transportation you can explore the city and spend time as per your interest rather than the tour operators.
The city is vastly different during the day and in the night. The best time to visit is the late afternoon giving you ample time to browse, have a drink followed by a leisurely dinner before you return.
A quaint town with interesting shops. Its also called the city of lanterns. Each shop is decorated with them as are the trees and the overhead spaces on the street. All the city lanterns light up at dusk giving the city an ethereal look. A boat ride along the river with lanterns lighting up the boats is a pretty sight- tho’ so very crowded. Buy from here if you are keen to – lanterns tho’ available at the airports as well are limited in quantity and double the price. Ensure that bulbs can go inside them before buying as most lanterns have a narrow mouth
One of Hoi An’s unique attractions is its custom tailoring. Numerous shops offer a wide range of fabrics, including linen, silk, blends, and cotton. Friendly sales staff give each customer individual attention, helping them choose a design from large catalogues, select fabric, take measurements, and arrange for the finished garment to be stitched and delivered to the hotel within a day. If time permits, a trial fitting is recommended. All of this comes at a fraction of the cost one would pay in the US or Europe.
Can personally vouch for the tailoring and the fabrics.
Similarly footwear and leather goods can be crafted as well- tho’ those prices seemed to be slightly over the top.
Must try the Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream sold here– was delicious. We had to quickly eat it rather than savor it slowly (as I like to my ice cream cones) as they melted rather soon due to the hot weather.
The Lady Buddha
67 meters (about as tall as a 20-story building) located on the Sơn Trà Peninsula tho visible from various parts of the city due to its height. Lady Buddha, or the Bodhisattva of Mercy, symbolizes compassion, protection, and spiritual guidance, serving as a guardian for both the city of Da Nang and its people.
Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge
Ba Na hills at a height of 1500 meters started as a resort. Today it is a fantasy world developed by the Sun Group (one of the largest real estate developers in Vietnam) combining amusement park rides, a French village, eateries, restaurants, hotels, exhibits Pagodas, castles, beautiful garden, 3D, 4D,5D theatre/shows and such. Funiculars and cable cars connect the various sites located at different peaks as well as do meandering beautiful paths.
A MUST SEE.
You travel up for about 25-20 minutes to reach the top of the mountain via cable cars. These are the world’s longest non-stop single track cable car”, at 5,801 metres (19,032 ft) in length
To enjoy all there is to see it is best to stay overnight in one of its many resorts here, tho’ visitors usually come early in the morning and stay the entire day spending 6-8 hours here)
Golden Bridge
The first thing at the Ba Na hills is the Golden bridge –– some call it walking through the Hands of God. See the proportion of humans to the hands -it will give you an idea of the scale. One enter the park
through these hands and go on to the gardens, huge Buddha statue, the maze, the french village, the fantasy world, moon castle, pagoda and so many more places
Each attraction at Da Nang is a days worth of time- we missed some due to time constraints
Marble mountains
Son Tra Peninsula
The Beaches
Last but not the least—you thought China was the market for duplicate goods- how about a duplicate store? See the local Tiffany store. SO what if they confused the products- bags instead of jewelry…The brand is what matters. 🙂
