Danang: Dragon Bridge and China Beach

     Phillip and I spent two nights in Danang, flying in from Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam Airlines. Airport and flight procedures are just like those in the United States, although the Airbus 321 we flew on did have more legroom than the USA planes. Our hotel, the Tuyet Son Hotel, was not actually on the beach, but the buildings between the hotel and the beachfront were only one-story, so our 9th floor room was truly "ocean-view" as advertised. Like our hotel in HCMC, the hotel staff were friendly and wanted to make our stay as comfortable as possible.

China Beach

     Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, Phillip and I walked about ten miles, discovering that although the air temperature is a bit lower than in HCMC, the increase in humidity of Danang makes it feel even hotter to us than HCMC!
     April 30 and May 1 were national holidays in Vietnam (Liberation Day - their version of our 4th of July, and May 1 - their version of our Labor Day). That made a long holiday weekend for the Vietnamese office workers. Alot of them had apparently come to the beach in Danang. We still heard revelers Tuesday night on the beach, but we came across workers dismantling the stages and bounces houses during our walks both days.
    One of the attractions of Danang is the Dragon Bridge. The Han River separates the city of Danang from the beach area where our hotel was. Four bridges connect the two areas, and they built one bridge as a dragon.

Dragon Bridge

     On weekend nights, the dragon spits fire and water from its head, but unfortunately, our nights in Danang were weeknights. It was still an impressive bridge!

     While walking along the Han River, we saw some fishing boats. Our tour guide for the Meking Delta trip had noted that the eyes painted on boats were different north of the Mekong Delta. So, I snapped a photo of the mid-Vietnam fishing boat eyes.

Danang fishing boat eyes - no evil spirits here!

We walked along China Beach and I walked in the water a bit. As part of the holiday celebrations, we saw what I think were award-winning displays of painted basket boats and surfboards.

My favorite of the painted basket boats

painted basket boat

The view out from the beach appears hazy in my pictures, but it was humidity, not pollution.

view to the north from China Beach

I'm saving food pictures for a separate post on the Vietnamese food, but I have to

mention the Thung Phi restaurant's barbecue. I read the excellent reviews for the restaurant and then had to use Google maps to find it. It was down an alley, very much hidden from the main street. We were the third customers who arrived shortly after 6 pm, but by the time we left, the place was packed with diners. For 69,000 VND (about $3) each, we ordered plates of seasoned meat which we then, with the help of the waitress, cooked at our table. A platter of sauteed morning glory stems with garlic ($1.50) and two Tiger beers each completed our meal. We ordered the beef rolled around mushroom and the pork belly. Pork belly is just uncured bacon, but after grilling, it tastes even better than bacon. Our Cu Chi Tunnel guide told us that Tiger beer was the best beer. He was a young guy and we think he had tried many beers, so we took his recommendation.  The food was absolutely wonderful! The seasonings made it a totally fifferent dish than USA barbecue or Korean barbecue. We will definitely have Vietnamese barbecue again on our trip.

     This morning, we travelled by private car from Danang to Hoi An, about an hour's drive. Tomorrow, we will have another university student to lead us on a tour of Hoi An's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.