Blogs from Da Nang , South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 3

Sit back on a sleeper bus straight out of Harry Potter (crazy driver and near-misses included) and relax...for a fifteen minute ride to the side of the highway where I'm dropped off on the outskirts of Danang. It's the midpoint of Vietnam. I have been here for 15 days and I only have 13 left. Danang is ugly. Hate to say it, but it is. Industrial and pushing for development, it's hard to decide if the greyness comes from cloud cover or pollution. Probably a mixture of both. Riding on a motorbike from the highway into the city is like crossing a desert of half finished buildings, gaping structures through which sand flies to sting the eyes of my driver. But he swerves with style. Very few Western faces show themselves in the streets, the city ... read more

An early start saw us leaving Hue behind for a road trip of four hours through towns and villages, heading up into the mountains with the coast running along the left hand side of the road (with an ever increasing drop!). We were taking the road across the Hai Van pass, which I found out afterwards is the most dangerous road in Vietnam - so dangerous they built a tunnel road to use as an alternative! But what stunning scenery the way we went. Beautiful misty mountains covered in lush vegetation on one side of the road and on the other, in the distance, we could see the crashing waves of the ocean. We pulled in to a 'happy house' stop by the side of a lagoon with stunning views and while some of the group ... read more

So another day, another early rise and another bus. This time, a 15 hour ride in a so called "sleeper bus" to Da Nang (Vietnam). We weren't really sure they meant "sleep" literally as it wasn't much of an option on this ride. Once again, karaoke blared from the early hours of the morning and a thin full reclining chair with a small angled metal box that our clunky Western legs had to perform contortion acts to even think of squeezing in. However, when you catch an international bus for less than $20, you really can't complain. Border crossings can be a little tense at the best of times. Today's was no exception. Having made a slight miscalculation with our remaining funds, we realised we were going to be $2 short with the departure tax (The ... read more

Så var det slut med luksus og tilbage til budget, så vi fandt et lille sødt guest house tæt på den smukke japanske bro i den gamle bydel. Guest houset husede også familien som ejede det og deres souvenirshop som der desværre ikke var så meget salg i. Mest salg var der når det regnede, og folk havde brug for billige paraplyer. For at komme ind til vores værelse måtte vi igennem deres dagligstue, hvor de insisterede på at vi beholdte vores sko på. Når vi skulle ud til badeværelset måtte vi igennem en lille gård som var delvist overdækket og som også fungerede som køkken. Om morgenen når vi vågnede blev vi budt på kaffe og the samt kiks eller bananer. Selve huset lignede mest af alt de gamle huse man kan se rundt omkring ... read more

After 5 days in Hoi An I decided to get back on the road. I didn’t fancy the 14 hours overnight bus to Nha Trang so I opted to take another Easy Rider, but this time off the beaten track. The typical tourist trail in Viet Nam hugs the coastline but given I had time on my hands I decided to head into the Central Highlands in search of mountains, rainforest and the ‘real’ Viet Nam. My guide was Mr. Quang, born in Danang to a family from the North, who migrated South when given the option following independence from the French in 1954. Quang is 46, married with two young children. He spoke very good English and was not only my guide and rider, he was also my tutor, teaching me the basics of Vietnamese ... read more