Tết 2018 (Part 1): A taste of Da Nang

13-Feb-2018

The day had come and I was raring to go. Pretty much all of house 5 had their bags packed and heading to all sorts of places. Some of the group were even making a break for Cambodia or Thailand, but most were staying in Vietnam, checking out Saigon, Phu Quoc and central Vietnam for the most part. We had spent a month in the North, it was time to try somewhere else.

The flight was at half 8 so I was early to the airport, almost too early. Unlike international flights, domestic flights in Vietnam are far more about showing up maybe 1-2 hours ahead of time rather than 3. I arrived at Noi Bai airport by 5AM, sharing with Dawn and Kim in a taxi and heading down the fairly long route there. The early morning flight was ideal for beating the traffic but once at the airport it left little to do. I did call Ireland and let them know of my holiday plans and where I would be around for the week before checking in luggage.

The domestic flight area in Hanoi was really limited compared to the international terminal. At least there was a decent restaurant to get Pho and a drink, but apart from a few gift shops there wasn’t much. Still, the queues to the flights were over and done before you knew it, and getting on the plane was exciting! And yet, just one hour later, I would be in Da Nang!

The first impressions of Da Nang were good; Ignorant of my history, I was glad the airport was smack bang in the middle of the city. Anyone who looked up anything on Da Nang during the Vietnam War would tell you this was THE major air base for the US and at one point the busiest airport in the world. War remnants weren’t particularly strong in my mind though as the mere 5km taxi to the beach evoked a bright city with more in common with Miami than a battleground. The city is divided neatly in two, the airport/city section, and the beach section, seen once crossing one of the many bridges over the Hàn River. The big sightseeing part of the short trip was the Dragon bridge, recently built and looking like a dragon crossing the river. On weekends it would even breathe fire! But the real sight was seen once the taxi dropped me off at the Ana Maison hotel.

The beach

Mỹ Khê beach was just down the road from my hotel, and it was begging me to come and see what it had in store, as the sun was rising over the sea and glimmering light was shining all over it. I had to wait just a little bit and go to the hotel, but it wouldn’t be long before visiting the beach. The hotel was one row behind the front row of hotels, so it didn’t feel too exposed. I knew there would be a lot of time spent on the beach for my stay.
The room itself was really good for a supposedly 3 star hotel. The bed was comfy, the bathroom was big, and there was even a TV and minibar! The window overlooked the beach, and I had plenty of time to myself in the room. Not a bad way to start the holiday. The staff were also really friendly and approachable. I actually used some of the time here to call Luiza and let her know how I was getting on. She would have loved the beach as well.

One trip to the nearest shop later and I had nivea sunscreen, quite the rarity, along with plenty of water, a baseball cap, some knockoff Abercrombie sandals and some fizzy orange just as a sugar boost in case. I had bought sunglasses in the big Vinmart in Hanoi so I was sorted for that. I headed in shorts and just settled down at the beach to take it all in. The clouds gathered at intervals, but it didn’t last long, and the crashing waves were a wonderful sound to all the chaos of Hanoi’s motorbike horns. A giant statue was in the distance at the curved headland. Like Bray Head’s cross, it was always there wherever you walked along the beach, but actually getting there would take a bit of effort. I spent some more time reading in my travel books and texting a few others to see where their progress was. Some teachers were arriving the next day, others later in the day. For now it was all me and my time swimming in the sea.

Finding lunch was initially a challenge. Most of the beachside bars were further south, and the restaurants close by all in Vietnamese. I chose one not too far away and sat down. The menu was Vietnamese, but at least there were pictures and my limited vocabulary picked up noodles and pork. I ended up with pork ribs and some weird style of noodles that looked more like a wavy white carpet of noodles stuck together than separate strands. The ribs weren’t presented as whole ribs, but into bitesize cubes, ideal for using chopsticks. They were delicious, marinaded very well in something sweet but spicy. Biting around the bone was cumbersome but it didn’t matter when the taste was great. The tiger beer in the heat was just perfect too.

The rest of the day was spent on the beach, then asking the hotel about trips around the area. They suggested the Marble mountains and Hoi An the following afternoon, and that sounded exactly like the sort of trip I wanted; Based here in Da Nang but able to choose one or two places to visit while here and then do my own thing for the rest of the day. Hue and that large Buddha statue that was overlooking the beach looked like other potential day trips.

All in, this was a truly relaxing day, one day to take things in and see what was around. Despite all the socializing to come, the solo reflection days seem to stick with me a lot on trips like this. The Marble mountains, Hoi An and the New Year were to follow…