Blogs from Da Nang , South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 11

PHYSIOTHERAPIST, ALISON FROM AUSTRALIA LAYS THE FOUNDATIONS The Lifestart Foundation Free Disability Community Centre is now in full swing with patients benefiting from treatment each day. This year we have also commenced two outreach projects which also work with people with very complex disabilities. Both outreach projects are live in centers and through this work we will have the potential to reach a further 130 people in need. The patients live in these centers because they are from very poor families and their families are unable to support them or because they do not have families and were previously homeless. These centers are now their home for the rest of their lives. Both centers are poorly equipped on every level however they are provided with some where to sleep and some food. I have asked our ... read more

Hopped off the return mini-bus ride from Halong Bay to Hanoi, had dinner and chilled out for a couple of hours, and then back on the road again, this time a longer 14h train ride from Hanoi to the Central Vietnam beach city of Danang. Heading southwards on the train from Hanoi, most tourists' first port of call would be the ancient capital of Hue, but I'd been there my first visit to Vietnam in 2005, so this time I decided to instead check out Danang which I'd missed back then. The Reunification Express passes through some picturesque Vietnamese coastal scenery, with the tracks being flanked by the Central Highlands on the West, and the Gulf of Tonkin on the East, and made for some great views. On the ride itself I met a middle-aged Russian ... read more

Well we went into the sea last night for a swim and in the moonlight which is quite magical and the sea was so warm. So when we woke up this morning after a bottle of rum it seemed like we had woken up on the beach as the bed was full of sand - not a good feeling. So up and atam this morning we had a discussion on what shall we do today! Read, swim or swim,read, decisions decisions decisions. Anyway whilst deciding what to do we thought lets go for an early morning swim and have a board meeting to make the decision with Mike in the chair!! After the unanimous vote we decided it should be read and then swim. It started raining after lunch for about 1/2 hour so this was ... read more

Welcome to Hard Seat Overnight Train from Nha Trang to Da Nang, duration 14 hours. This I can truly say was one of the worst trips I've ever done in my life. Some would say character building, I would say just a pain in the arse in more ways than one... With Jazza and my motorbikes put on the train the day before all we had was our backpacks and tickets ready for the big train adventure. Getting to the train station 30mins before departing Anna, Jazza and I stocked up on baguettes and beers to have on the train. Before getting on the train I thought to myself this was going to be an experience. The carriages looked like they were built before the war and meant to house animals with with mesh covering the ... read more

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