Sunny days in Da Nang, Vietnam

Honestly, Da Nang was one of my favourite places in Vietnam. Maybe it was the sunny weather after the typhoon rains, that affected my mood as well, but we did also have some super rainy days in this coastal city. I took a night bus from Ninh Binh to Da Nang. You can see the bus below - I have never seen anything much like it.

I slept surprisingly well and the 13 hour trip went by SO fast. The bus was full of people and the beds were in two levels but it was quite comfortable for a person, who is 169 cm tall. I would say it is the maximum of being able to sleep comfortably, though. For taller people the space is not enough and your feet will touch the back of the seat in front of you.

At 6 am I arrived to Hue and did the most reckless thing during my trip. Everything was fine and I had a wonderful day, but I did something I usually would not do - during our break in Hue (2 more hours to go to Da Nang) I talked with a motorcyclist who offered me a ride with sights to Da Nang. He had a book filled with comments from people who had driven with him, but I later realised that it was a common tactic to get you to go with the flow and decide to do a day trip.

I did take the offer though and ended up spending an amazing day traveling through different sights in Hue and surroundings. In the beginning I was traveling together with three other motorcycles with three Danish guys on them, but during mid day my driver told me that they had gone to eat already since they were a bit hungover from spending a night together the day before.

I continued my drive with the local guide and we went to an restaurant by the beach side, a waterfall, some villages by a river, learned about fishing and finally also drove the Hai Van pass to Da Nang with amazing views. They have built a direct, faster road for cargo that goes under the pass, but this route is recommended since it has so many amazing spots for fantastic views.

In the end it was a great day - I only wished I would've discussed the price beforehand with him, but the price was something around 350 euros, if I remember correctly now that it has already been a few months.I think it was worth it - I ended up seeing so much more and learning a lot on the way.

There were some struggles with weather on the upcoming days. My two friends from Trang An made their way to Da Nang and together we wanted to go to the Golden Bridge in the theme park of Sun World, but as we got there, it was raining so heavily, that the cable cars going up had been stopped and the park had closed. We were instructed to return the following morning. In the end, I ended up going to the park alone early in the morning and my friends joined me after mid day.

Sun World is a huge place but it felt like it was not completely open. Maybe still some after effects of Covid-19. The park was also getting even bigger as they were currently doing construction on the site. The world had a small French-themed village and a couple of roller coasters and as it was October, the actors in the village were creating the atmosphere of harvest season.

In the evening we took a Grab (local Uber commonly used in many South-East Asian countries) to the Dragon Bridge and the night market next to it. We tasted so many delicious street food and enjoyed the rainy weather under a small shelter with lots of people. The rain paused just in time for the show on Dragon Bridge. Every Saturday and Sunday at 9PM the dragon on the bridge will first spit some fire and then water. It was over fast, but great to see.

Da Nang was a great summer city by the sea, though I didn't have time to fully explore. About the pictures below: My hostel in the city centre had an amazing rooftop spot for studying Korean (I was still taking the lessons until the end of October), the beach side had colourful bird houses full of occupants and the beach at Da Nang was so beautiful.

Da Nang also seemed like a city filled with restaurants. The hardest decisions during my travels usually tend to be made in the evenings - where to eat dinner. Ten years ago I traveled to New Zealand with my father and I remember that already back then we had some hangry arguments in the evenings as neither of us could decide where to stop to get some food. There were just too many great choices, and it was the same in Da Nang (and everywhere else as well). The best street food in Vietnam I ate in Hoi An, though. I'll tell you about my short stay in Hoi An in my next post!