Travelogue | Danang, Vietnam

Throwback post, yet again. Sep 2019.

Finally executed the long-awaited ladies trip.

Just the 3 of us. No less or more.

None of us went before.

So expect the unexpected.

Their people, culture, food and so on.

.

.

More of a budget trip, 4D3N, backpack only.

On Air Asia flight, transit KL.

3 in a room at Mandila Beach Hotel.

.

.

Let's go!

.

.

.

Head to Vincom Center, a place we returned to multiple times. For supermarket (Vinmart), Starbucks and food. I really love going supermarkets whenever I travel. Love the sight of their display of chips and instant noodles. Here at Vinmart, there are a whole range of their noodles. Chicken Pho, Beef Pho and etc. I bought a few packs home to try. 

.

.
.
Same mall. Caracoli Coffee for dinner. Beer, pho and us. 
This beer, smooth and non-gassy. Remember BIA LARUE. 

.
.
.
Us doing the touristy thing: head to Dragon Bridge at Han River. Heard alot from my folks.
On Saturday and Sunday, 9pm for a fire and water show. Spectacular. You can feel a little of the heat.
Road will be closed off for public to have an up-close view. You may get wet thou.

.
.
.

Beside the bridge is a night market called Son Tra Night Market. I think staying nearby hotels benefited from both the dragon light show and night market. So do some homework before your trip.

Something new for me, seeing the Vietnameses sitting in the open on low table and chairs, chilling away with food and drinks, chit chatting. Best way to experience the local life.

.
.
.

Then we sat along Han River like a local. You can get a view of the Dragon Bridge too. Spent away some time chatting and sharing a drink before heading back to hotel for the night. How time flies when you travel. Oh and also you can find street food stalls too. Grab a bite of local delights. 

.
.
.

Opposite our hotel is My Khe beach. Beach bums can have a good time here. The beach is so big. Sunny weather in September. And that iconic basket boat (not very basket type).

.
.
Never leave Vietnam without having Pho and spring roll. Even a must-have for hotel breakfast. 

.
.

The neighbourhood when night falls. No malls though. Opposite our hotel were restaurants. You need to take Grab car out to the nearest mall, for us was Vincom. So here you can use Grab. Remember ya.

.
.

Book a tour through our hotel to My Son Sanctuary (a India and Vietnam Partnership) and Hoi An for a visit. A must go for first timer. I for one like to go for heritage and sight seeing tours. At My Son Sanctuary it felt like Indiana Jones movie. Hehe...

.
.
.

Before we left My Son, grab a mediocre taste Banh Mi and a cold Coca Cola after walking for awhile under the sun.

.
.
.

Head to Hoi An, the ancient town.

First, inside their traditional market.

Selling local food, souvenirs, dry products and so on. The stalls are quite uniform thou. Love the sight of busy and noisy markets like this.

.
.
.
Then start mesmerizing the streets of Hoi An.
Me for one, with architectural interest.

.
.
.
Our next food-stop, for another Banh Mi, Vietnamese pancake and Vietnamese Coffee. A better than the previous Banh Mi. Oh... I liked their pancakes. It taste like fried vegetable fritters.

If you like the t-shirts on my friends, feel free to contact me via our Facebook Page or Instagram. 

.
.
Street hawker selling Banh Beo. Realized the old hawkers here don't like to be captured in photos. Saw one shouted at a tourist. *Roll eyes* So remember if you want to take photo, do it fast and accurate.

.
.
.

Lastly, the Japanese Bridge. Constructed by the Japanese community to link with Chinese quarters.

.
.
.

How can we miss the trip to Bana Hills and the famous Golden Bridge? Booked a day tour via Klook. Lots of locals and tourists heading up, especially weekends. Entrance fees required. First stop, we took cable car up to French Village before Golden Bridge due to the foggy weather. You can't see the bridge, let alone walking on it. To be honest, it was quite cooling up here, even when you are on the cable car ride.

.
.

Spotted Starbucks at one corner. Nowadays whenever I travel, I will stop by any Starbucks outlets if I come across. To see if there is anything that I can grab as souvenirs, or additions to my collection. Actually never bother that much on the price but I don't know why it bothers me when it is from Singapore. I will not leave empty-handed from Starbucks. Okay at least from one outlet but another.

.
.

Had our Vietnamese lunch here at 1,487 m altitude. Can't go wrong with their platters. Wrapped them up, drizzled with the sauce and eat it. Do it like the locals. And bottoms up with a local beer (in a hot afternoon).

.

.

Took cable car down to Golden Bridge (Cau Vang in Vietnamese) for photo taking. The bridge was opened after the 2nd quarter of 2018. My folks went there before the opening in 2018 so they missed that out. Lucky for me and my girlfriends. You see how foggy it was even after a few hours. But it slowly cleared off. Not too bad.

.

.

Everybody was trying to take a photo with the bridge after it opens for public. Including my friends on the right. And myself too.

.

.

Flower garden. Doesn't interest me that much. So we just walked through and off to the next.

.

.

A big Buddha overlooking Danang. Felt like the one I went in Phuket many years ago. Or maybe Hong Kong too. Anyways, Buddha is everywhere where the worshippers are.

Left some links on the attractions in bold. Read more about it, do some homework and visit Danang when this virus is over. Booked day tour and transfer via Klook. You might want to check out what they offer for Danang. The only regret is never have time to visit Hue, the capital of Dang Trong Kingdom back in 1738. That is where one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. It has those palaces, shrines, the Forbidden Purple City and so on.

Are you like me loving such heritage place with great architectural buildings left behind by history?

Enjoy!