22 – 28 September 2023

The 6.5 hour train trip to Da Nang went surprisingly quickly, considering the effects of COVID were lingering. The passengers on the carriage were not coughing very much which was a pleasant change. We checked into our hotel. The room was very big and had a seperate sitting area and fantastic views over the city and river. The only downfall was the bathroom which had a bath but only a hand held shower rose. This is another thing that has made it onto our must have list when booking a room…a proper shower. We went for a walk around town to explore and to find a money exchange. We quickly found out that Da Nang is just a big city with not a lot of tourists. Trying to exchange money was a bit difficult as there were not many money exchange outlets in the street. We went to banks, but they would only exchange USD. We eventually found one that would help. We kept walking and found somewhere to have a drink. The over priced beer and food was not great, but after walking around for a few hours, we were just glad to sit down. We booked a night cruise on the Han River to see the city lights. There were more than 20 boats all full of tourists wanting to see the dragon bridge. The cruises go for 45 minutes and you got a fruit platter and bottle of water. At the bargain price of $7 it was definitely worth it. With 3 time slots, the number of passengers would have been enormous.

The next day we booked a tour to Ba Na Hill, 30 minutes away. The group was a great mix of people from the UK, USA, India, Argentina, Mauritius and us ausies. The group got on so well and hung out together at lunch and in our free time. The hill boasts the largest cable car line in Asia at nearly 6km from the bottom to the top. The views going up and back were phenomenal. At the top, was the golden hand bridge, French village, amusement park, various gardens and restaurants and accommodation. It was built as a theme park for tourists and it was a bit on the tacky side, but fun all the same. The weather was a bit hit and miss with pouring rain, mist and fog one minute then blue sky the next. Our guide Lung was hilarious and kept “his family” entertained and in line all day. After a big day, we arrived back at our hotel for dinner and to pack our bags.  

We then headed to Hoi An 30 minutes from Da Nang. Our hotel is located on a small isle, a 5 minute walk to the main area of old Hoi An. The streets are lined with cafes, restaurants, tailors and shops selling souvenirs. This is a very touristy area and as it turns out, full of Aussie families on holiday. We took advantage of the walkable streets to visit markets and restaurants. We went to a local theatre one evening to see a Vietnamese Bamboo Circus. The young performers wowed everyone with their acrobatic display using huge bamboo poles, musical instruments and energy.

We booked a tour to the My Son Sanctuary which explores the history of the Champa dynasty. Our guide was the friendly Lung from Ba Na Hills. He was so excited to see us and gave Pete a big hug. Most of the relics were destroyed in the various wars with the French and Americans with only 20 of the original 70 buildings remaining in some degree of disrepair. It was an interesting site to visit and learn about the unexplained building techniques used some 2,500 years ago. Traditional dancers put on a show before we left the site. We then went to a local village to learn about the technique of rice paper making. The women have been doing this job for generations (men are not allowed). After a light lunch we headed back via a boat trip down the Hoai River.

Another tour we went on was a 4hr Vespa tour of the Hoi An country side. We visited a local family to see how sleeping mats are made the traditional way, by hand. I must say we were terrible at it but it was good fun to have a go. Another stop was at the home of a family who made rice wine (happy water). We tried a couple of varieties but both were pretty harsh and burnt all the way down. We stopped by a fishing village to see how the locals catch fish and learnt about their boats and nets. The last stop was at a local home for lunch. We ate fish curry, prawns, sautéed vegetables, rice and fruit and was probably the best meal we have had yet. The young tour guides were brilliant and told us so much about the way of life in Vietnam. They were so interested in learning from us too which was great. 

We found a great little place to drink and eat each of our 4 nights here. We can’t say the owners name so call him Mr Chow. He just laughs at us and probably thinks we are just silly tourists. He was very kind though, sitting with us one night, teaching us how to read the menu and trying to teach us a few words. The people of Vietnam are so kind.

The weather here was a little on the damp side for our first 2 days. On our first night it rained so much our room flooded, which then ran out under the room door and into the corridors. We had all of our things on the floor (including all of Pete’s clothes) which then got soaked. We spent the rest of the day trying to dry our bags, paperwork (including visa’s and passports), shoes and books. The hotel took our clothes to be washed and dried and moved our rooms. The forecast was for “tones of rain” and it certainly wasn’t wrong. It is all apart of the adventure though. The other 2 days here was very good weather, just hot and humid.

There are a couple of things we have learnt over the last 2 ½ weeks. Firstly the children here are very curious of tourists. They love to wave and say hello every chance they get and some are brave enough to try a phrase or two. They learn English at school and this gives them a chance to practice. The other thing we have learnt is that the Vietnamese do not place a high importance on the temperature of beer. One more than one occasion we have pointed to the box of beer that we want and they give you a can straight from the box, not even slightly cold. Their answer is to then throw it in a bucket of ice and add a handful of salt which will cool it down in about 15-20 minutes. It really doesn’t help when you want a beer now though. We have learnt to look for tap beer with a cold tap and cold glasses.

As we bid farewell to Hoi An we will now take the train 12 hours further south heading closer to the end of our time in Vietnam, but not before a few more adventures and a big one is just around the corner…