Da Nang -- a city of hidden delights yet to be sampled

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Da Nang!

My first visit I stayed within a couple of blocks of the train station -- an older neighborhood with coffee shops and a lot of traffic, nothing very interesting. I thought the city was not that interesting and didn't have any desire to stay much longer than the short time in transit from the plane to the train. But now each time I go to Da Nang, I explore and discover so many dimensions -- it's a rich, modern city with a more contemporary mindset than the small city where I live. There are tall buildings, more modern structures, the traffic is heavy but seems to move in predictable patterns. There are coffee shops with very good coffee along the river, promenades along the river, and a night life...people are out a little later than here in Quang Ngai although still coffee shops close at 9 or 9:30 -- very strange to me -- but this seems to be the norm. I spent a day in Da Nang on my way to Indonesia! Lovely!

Orange Hotel

i stayed in the Orange Hotel (booked via Agoda.com) a 4-star hotel (?) near the airport...I arrived on Sunday morning at 3 am so I didn't want to go too far from the train station. The reception was sleeping on the floor but the guard who was also sleeping in front of the hotel, rang the reception and they let me in. I had forewarned them that I would be arriving late -- I took the 1 am train from Quang Ngai and got there at 3 am. Had a windowless room but it was a great accommodation -- actually had my first hot bath since coming to Vietnam. Got a good night's sleep after that but woke up in time for a buffet breakfast with a clear view of the city -- sunny clear skies in an air conditioned dining room at the top of the hotel. Couldn't have asked for a better beginning. I met a young man in the dining room who is from Idaho originally but has been living in Asia for a long time -- he was speaking in Chinese to a couple and then in Vietnamese to other guests...I was fascinated that his language skills were so good so I started a conversation with him asking him how he learned Chinese. It turned out that he has studied acupuncture and chiropractics for many years beginning in Korea, lived in China, married a Chinese, and then came to Vietnam. He's had quite a life...but now he has a clinic in HCMC that deals with chronic pain using these alternative approaches. Fascinating.

Da Nang Cathedral

After breakfast, I wanted to visit a couple of sites -- I found out that I was not far from the river, the Da Nang Cathedral and the Han market...all within walking distance, so I started out on a very hot day. The Cathedral was not far and the guide books say that it is pink and sure enough it was very very pink. A beautiful old church but very very pink. Unfortunately, I had just missed the services, I'm sure, so it was not open -- I only walked around the grounds.

Han Market

Then right about 3 blocks away was the Han market, a big typical market but surprisingly clean! I was shocked! Floors were relatively clean and not intense fish smells. Spices and dried bats but the place was relatively clean. I went upstairs and immediately purchased some cloth...it's always fun to see what beautiful colors and fabric designs they are selling.



Sculpture Garden

Afterwards, I walked out of the market to the street on the river and across the main street to the sculpture garden! Lovely abstract expressionist-like modern sculptures line this small park outside the market along the riverside. I enjoyed the sights.

A Coffee Shop with Trang

Trang, a colleague from Univ of Da Nang, came to meet me there and then we went to have a coffee at a long popular coffee shop on the river, where we talked about our experience at Bac Lieu as co-presenters and then also about her university. So good to have a connection in Da Nang.

Museum of Da Nang

Trang dropped me off at the Museum of Da Nang and I quickly toured the first floor in the 35 or 40 minutes before they closed. There are artifacts from local archeological sites, from the Cham ruins, from the Central Coastal areas. There were scenes such as the tea ceremony representing the strong cultures and traditions of the Vietnamese people.

A Fishermen's Pagoda to the Goddess of the Sea

After we finished Mr. Tung called to pick me up to go to visit his family who live in Da Nang. I was so fortunate that he had come that day from Quang Ngai so he came on his motorbike and we went outside the center of the city along the sea to his family's neighborhood. ON the way we passed a temple to the Sea Goddess situated in an old boat on the sandy beach, a site that I'm sure not many tourists visit -- it's out of the way, a local pagoda that is a place of worship, prayer for fishermen and their families. I loved it.

Dinner with the Tung Family

We went to Mr. Tung's family's house where his mother Ho Thi Thu Tram and sister were making dinner. I got to see his beautiful son Tran Hong Quan, the spitting image of Mr. Tung (Tran Thanh Tung), and his wife (Pham Thi Hong) and meet the mother Tram and father (Tran Tam). Both his parents are teachers -- his mother is retired but his father is still working as is his sister so it's a family full of teachers. We had special noodles from Da Nang -- the food is always delicious -- a little red wine!

The Linga and Zoni Bridge and a new Symbol of Da Nang

After dinner, Mr. Tung took me over the new bridge just that opened -- designed in the shape of the linga and zoni of the ancient Champa kingdom and then we went to the riverside where a new monument -- a fish turning into a dragon was all alight having just been inaugurated for the coming Liberation Day celebration. This is the symbol of the new Da Nang -- which is undergoing a transformation to become the new first city in Vietnam with industrialization and commercial growth to boost its economy. I wanted to stay for the fireworks but I could see that the crowds were gathering and it would be intolerable so back to the hotel I went to catch a 6 am flight to HCMC on the way to Indonesia.

The Cham Sculpture Museum

This museum at No. 02, 2 Thang 9 St, in Da Nang was founded in 1919. It was first proposed in 1902 by Henri Parmentier, Head of the Department of Archaelogy of the Ecole Francaise Extreme Orient. The exhibition includes artifacts found in My Son, Tra Kieu, Dong Duong, Thap Mam, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Kon Tum. There is an exhibition of Cham festivals and ceremonies on the 2nd floor that includes costumes, instruments and photographs.

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