Feeling Good in Vietnam

The airport is beautiful and getting through customs was easy. We applied for our visa online and had a PDF saved on our phones to show at the passport desk. Some people had printed copies, but it wasn’t necessary.

We have been in Da Nang for a few days now and I am feeling much better so the rest and medication is doing it’s job! I’m so grateful because this means that we have been able to do some walking along the beautiful flat coastline as well as a trek through one of the Marble Mountains (these were amazing and I will share photos in the next blog). We are staying in an Airbnb close to My Khe Beach, which is a very popular beach here in Da Nang and is full of tourists. It has been much cooler here than in Bangkok, though it looks like clouds are going to be rolling in for a while which means fewer ocean breezes and more humidity…we’ll see.

If you are looking to plan a tropical beach vacation, I would definitely recommend coming here. The beach is beautiful and there are people in the water and swimming all day; there are so many different amazing restaurants to choose from; people are very kind and friendly; there are fun bars and other activities at night; there are many cultural/historical sights to visit; and it is very affordable if you are coming from the US right now. There are definitely many places to explore, but it is also a great place to just rest and a nice place to end our adventure. While we are sad to not go to Japan, we are happy to end our fabulous trek here and to get back to Vancouver to see family and friends sooner!

We have stayed close to our place so far, but may take some longer treks in the coming week.

My Khe Beach

Da Nang is very walkable, though you have to find your way through or around groups of scooters and motorcycles on the sidewalk. And you have to really watch for them on the roads and alleyways as well as they are a prime means of transport and are moving very quickly.

This is the first place where we ate lunch and it was so good! Many of the restaurants are open like this and other vendors come through while you are eating offering things like fruit, gum, or cigarettes. We were here pretty early in the day and so it wasn’t busy yet.

We walked to, and over, the iconic Dragon Bridge which crosses the Hàn River. At night, there is a show and the dragon breathes fire and shoots water from its mouth. It was about .5 miles across and an easy walk. Da Nang is pretty flat which is great for me.

On the other side of the river is a park celebrating the New Year…the year of Snake!

Here is a view of the entire Dragon Bridge. We stopped for coffee and I discovered the Vietnamese White Coffee, which is coffee with both coconut milk and condensed milk…so delicious!

LOL! We haven’t tried this place…the name isn’t enticing to me and they are really hedging in their claim about their beer!

There are MANY seafood restaurants in Da Nang and most offer fresh seafood that you can choose from.

This fun restaurant is close to us and serves amazing pizza, among other things to draw in western tourists. They also have a live band/singer and a pool table…great place to hang out.

Since we aren’t going to Japan, we decided to enjoy some delicious Japanese food here, along with an amazing view of the ocean. I’ll put some pictures down below and our entire meal, including some tuna sashimi and beer was less than $30.

Paradise is a bar/restaurant right across from our place and it has a great vibe - fun music and great views of the ocean and moon. The food here was mediocre, but it’s a great spot to have a drink and hang out.

I am enjoying sharing our adventures with all of you and appreciate you taking the time to look through our little blog. We love you all!