What does Da Nang and Glasgow have in common?

Da Nang, Day 51

Well, it would seem that my big gub has got me into trouble yet again! No sooner have I said I think we are going to like this place, and what happens? It absolutely pees it down! The temperature in central Vietnam is a much more comfortable 23°c as opposed to the really hot temperatures that we experienced in both Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. That said, we are here in the rainy season (September to March), and the best time to visit here is supposed to be from April to August, with the peak tourist months being May and June.

So in a way, Da Nang has very much reminded us of Glasgow on a wet day. The only difference has been that it is still pretty warm when the rain comes and goes. Of course, I was so, so glad that I still had the Pac-a-mac that I had brought with me. As throughout our time so far, I have disposed of a few items and re-evaluated what I should and should not have brought with me. I have been carrying around this Pac-A-Mac the whole time in my rucksack, but today it came in very handy!

Breakfast

The hotel breakfast was excellent - sorry I didn't get any photos, but you will need to take my word for it. It had a really good variety of food options and after a hearty breakfast, that was us set up for our day.

Dragon Bridge

The rain was only a little drizzle as we set off this morning, and our first point of interest was the Dragon Bridge over the River Hàn.

Construction of the bridge began in July 2009. It is 666m long, 37.5m wide and has six lanes for traffic. It opened to traffic on March 29, 2013. The bridge was designed by the US-based Ammann & Whitney Consulting Engineers with the Louis Berger Group.

The main span was completed on October 26, 2012. The bridge was opened to traffic on March 29, 2013, the 38th anniversary of the capture of Da Nang City by North Vietnamese forces (known as the Liberation of Da Nang in Vietnam) during the Vietnam War.

This modern bridge crosses the Han River at the Le Dinh Duong/Bach Dang traffic circle, providing the shortest road link from the Da Nang International Airport to other main roads in Da Nang city, and a more direct route to My Khe Beach and Non Nuoc Beach on the eastern edge of the city. The bridge was designed and built in the shape of a dragon and to breathe fire and water each Saturday and Sunday night at 9 pm.

The rain got a bit heavier by the time we reached the bridge and then eased of a bit again.

Coffee Break Time

As the rain was getting a bit heavier shortly after we had crossed the Dragon Bridge, we decided to find a little cafe to have a wee break in. We found a lovely little place and felt like real locals sitting in our kiddie chairs watching the world go by as we sipped our drinks.

Of course, that is until the heavens opened up and poured their contents out. We had to retreat inside when the umbrella we were sitting under filled up with rainwater and tipped over a chap sitting nearby... oops!

Once the rain eased off again, we made our escape from the café and started to head towards a mall (yes - I know, I know...malls, malls, malls!) but we do like the malls and they usually have pretty nice/decent toilets too!

The Mall

So firstly, we visited a small mall, called Indochina, which was close to the Cho Han Market. We didn't bother going into the market as it was just mobbed, and it looked like a lot of the usual market stalls. The Indochina market was pretty rubbish, so we then crossed over the Han River Bridge and and went to the Vincom Plaza mall, which was quite a reasonable size.

Afternoon Tea

After a wander about the Vincom Plaza we headed back to the hotel and had an afternoon tea on the balcony. The weather had cleared up quite a bit by this time and we had a very enjoyable tea that was another freebie of the hotel if you booked a certain number of nights.

A stroll along the beach

After our tea, we decided to have another wee walk along the beachfront area. Although it wasn't raining, the weather was certainly very moody and I actually loved most of the photos that I took from this.

It very much reminded me of an old print my mum used to have hanging on the wall when I was a kid. I think it was a John Constable print of Brighton Pier on a very stormy day (see photo below), and for some reason, I really liked this old painting. I have no idea what happened to it as it disappeared at one point, but I always remembered my mum telling me that she bought it from a 'rag and bone man' who was coming through the streets looking for jumble items. It was in an old ornate fram,e but there was just so much to see in this old print.

Da Nang Beach, Vietnam - 9th January 2025

John Constable's Painting: Chain Pier, Brighton (1826-27)

Dinner

For dinner in the evening, we found a fab little café that did amazing Bahn Mi sandwiches. In fact, they were so good that Roth ended up getting a second one!

R also bought me my very first Ca Phe Trung (egg coffee) though I think that might have been a mistake as I could not sleep later. The coffee itself was really very nice and not what I expected, but I think I might have been a little wired to the moon as my poor little brain cells would just not go to sleep and it was sometime after 2.30am before I finally fell asleep!

Egg coffee is a well known Vietnamese drink traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and robusta coffee. The drink is made by beating egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk, then extracting the coffee into the cup, followed by a similar amount of egg cream, or egg yolks which are heated and beaten, or whisked. Well worth a try but perhaps not in the late evening....

Oh, and specifically for my bro, we broke our step record today with over 10 miles of walking!

A rough plan of our walking route for today

Da Nang, Vietnam

9 January 2025