The city of bridges – Da Nang

February 2016 in Da Nang, Vietnam

Boarding Jetstar Airlines’ flight

Coincidences, coincidences – where would we be today if not for the coincidences. Hadn’t I bought Halong Bay trip -> I wouldn’t have gotten free airport transfer (as a thank you) -> and most probably wouldn’t have gotten an idea to check flight options -> but instead taken a train directly to Hoi An -> and consequently would have never come to Da Nang.

Welcome to Da Nang

And neither did 15-hour train trip to Hoi An. So I checked other alternatives. And bingo. One hour flight to Da Nang, which is only 30 min from Hoi An by taxi solved all the problems and was actually cheaper (incl extra luggage) than the train. And while in Da Nang why not stay for two or three days and have a look. It is not as I am in a hurry anywhere. OMG.

Da Nang took me by surprise. And what a surprise it was. Two days became six – but who is counting. Not only isn’t Da Nang any small sleepy village, Hoi An’s airport or suburb but the third largest city in the country, and the fastest growing one. Who knew?

The town is best known for its famous China beach nicknamed by off-duty American soldiers relaxing on Da Nang’s beaches during Vietnam war. But it wasn’t the beaches that made most impression on me but the bridges.

This is what I saw from my window

I arrived just after 5 p.m. At first, things didn’t look very promising. But when the taxi reached the town, and I saw the most beautifully lit Ferris Wheel, and a while later the still more impressive dragon bridge I was sold. Checked into my hotel, dropped everything, and just couldn’t unpack my tripod fast enough to capture the most fantastic scenery that unfolded right in front of my window.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Da Nang? Vietnam? Ah, aren’t we all full of …  I went out right away to take a closer look at that ‘fancy bridge’ that I could see from my window.

Only 2 kilometers between the river and sea

The weather in Da Nang was pleasant but not as warm as I expected and I was glad I didn’t leave all my winter clothes in Hanoi. I guess 800 kilometers is not enough to make a substantial difference in climate change. In addition, it was also pretty windy, at times right out stormy. But the wind was warm and I wouldn’t mind it at all if I wasn’t making the pictures. Avoiding camera shakes in stormy conditions is ‘mission impossible’. Hence, my apologies for all the shaky images, especially the ones taken at night.

Talking about the wind. Yet another absolutely amazingly crazy and right out unbelievable thing happened to me. When in Hanoi I kept my credit card in a small ‘hidden’ pocket inside my jacket. For safe keeping. In case I’d run out of cash and needed it.  Then for some rather unexplained reason, just before I went out,  I took it out and put few business cards instead. One of the better decisions I made. For when I stood on the bridge a gust of wind came and emptied the inside pocket of my jacket. All the cards flew out and vanished instantly into the wind. Imagine if my credit card was among them. Still, until today I cannot figure out how this was possible.   

 Most of the bridges (perhaps all) are walkable.  Standing in the middle of the bridge and shooting other bridges was something I wanted to do for a while.  My first attempt, in Hanoi, failed miserably. Walking the never-ending Red river bridge was a very shaky & scary prospect and I chickened out after some 200 meters. Bridges in Da Nang were the entirely different ball game. I walked them all. 

Waiting for the sunset

Da Nang is an easy town to walk around. If you turn left, left, left, left (or right) you’ll come to the same place. This would never happen in Hanoi. The streets are wide with proper sidewalks and the traffic is not too bad. Even though there is no shortage of blue plastic stools, which are much higher and romantically arranged/placed,  as well as sidewalk vendors most of the venues are equipped with Western chairs and tables, including the ones frequented by locals.

Hotel Stairs

Other than the bridges there were also things (of more trivial character) that either made impression on me or surprised me.  

One of those were the hotel stairs.  Not sure why but there were always stairs leading to hotel entrance undoubtedly causing a bit of a struggle when you have a lot of luggage.

Another thing that surprised me were public street restrooms.  Spotless.  The door was always kept open for everyone to see how clean they were.

In general, the city was clean. All waste was nicely disposed of in bins.  

Yet another thing that I found intriguing was the number of weddings that I happened to witness. “Everybody” was getting married. And then heading to the beach or the river bank for a photo shoot.  

One of the oddest things I noticed were ‘millions’ of toddlers, yet there were no pregnant women. Baby boom couple of years ago?  

Four malls, that I know of, in a small town is pretty impressive. I visited them all .. in search of a hair dye .. but found nothing. Actually, I did find something but … all black.  Why won’t I go to a hairdresser? A topic for another blog. 

My refuge. Food Court with fantastic deck and view. Beautifully lit at night

These malls became nothing short of lifesavers for me when I discovered they all host food courts.  My interest in street food was wearing thin and I needed a break. After rather bad Hanoian experience (no no – nothing happened, just tired of eating noodles)  I wanted to sit at a table and use fork and knife. but above all taste something different, e.g. Korean food. 

Da Nang has it all: beaches, river, mountains, bay. Not knowing what Da Nang had to offer I was planning to check into a beach resort and have a little breather. But then again, a number of coincidences made me ‘do the river’ instead.  As it is only some two kilometers between the two one can as easily do them both. 

Perhaps I should call Da Nang the City of Coincidences instead of the City of Bridges. Regardless of whatever I choose to call it the city is waiting to be discovered.  

City of bridges

Bridge no 1

 The longest of them all. Must be few good kilometers long connecting the sea, bay, Northern port and the river. Didn’t walk this one. Not, that I didn’t try but couldn’t easily get on it. There is a port on one side of the bridge and fishing area on the other. 

Bridge no 2, moving South

Bridge no 3, The Dragon Bridge

The Central point of Da Nang. Walked this bridge numerous times. On one side you’ll find the town while on the other side many riverbank activities. Which side to stay on? Doesn’t really matter as long as you are close to the bridge. I stayed on the activity-side. Every Saturday at 9 p.m. the dragon breathes fire.

Bridge no 4

This bridge and the next one (no 5) are ‘joined’ by the same entrance. The bridge was closed so I couldn’t walk on it. Maybe it was an old bridge or a brand new waiting to be opened. Whatever the case, the bridge was lovely. 

Bridge no 5

Tivoli and Ferris wheel are right after that bridge. Iow, the bridge is always in the way of getting a clear shot of tFerrisris wheel. 

Bridge no 6

This was the most ordinary bridge of them all. Luckily it was the last one, the most South one,  and for me quite invisible. I walked it just to have done it. 

Beaches of Da Nang

There are wonderful beaches in the city, incl the world famous China beach. It is only 2 km between the river and the beaches.  During my visit (end of February) the beach was quite deserted so if you like to party come back some other time but if you like to get your thoughts together you’re in the right place. If you keep on walking some 30 kilometers South you’ll find yourself in Hoi An. (Although I am not sure it is possible to walk all the way – there are some great properties on the way, some of which may cut off your passage.)   

p.s. Hoi An is also my next stop. I won’t be walking though but take a taxi. 

City of Lights

Da Nang is undeniable the city of lights. The bridges are beautifully lit ever single night. The light and colors are changing constantly. River banks are lit. And so are the trees.