Da Nang - more than just an airport

Da Nang seems to get skipped on most people's list of places to travel in Vietnam. Well, almost skipped. It is usually used as a convenient train station/airport, from which people get a taxi or bus to Hoi An.

This is unfair, because it actually has a reasonable amount to offer.

1. Da Nang is a great "local" city to visit. It is easy for visitors to get around and get whatever they need because many people speak at least a little English. Especially at the train station. Otherwise, I usually have no problem getting what I need with a tiny amount of Vietnamese and sign language. Because it doesn't have a huge tourist following (most of the foreigners here are doing business) you don't get harassed to buy things, or go into this or that restaurant constantly. Mostly, people just say hello and invite you in for a drink because they are genuinely interested and excited to see Westerners. In 3 months of living here - I have once been asked for money by a beggar / lottery ticket sales woman. The local council is actually very strict with beggars - but has available shelter and food for homeless people (If caught begging more than once people will be taken to the homeless shelter, regardless of whether or not they want to go there). Mostly people who are poor sell lottery tickets (they don't usually bother with Westerners because we don't know how the lottery works!) or collect rubbish to sell for recycling.

2. It is an easy visit on the way to such tourist sites as Hoi An and Hue (or, between these two sites!). The train from Hue to Da Nang or vis versa is 80 000 VND ($4) for soft air conditioned seats and about 3 hours of amazing scenery. The railway goes along the coast and is widely known as the most beautiful stretch of railway.

The local bus should be 20 000VND ($1) from Da Nang to Hoi An. Price does change, and I hate arguing about tiny amounts of money. So accept it if they ask for 30 000. but no more! they try to charge foreigners more on this stretch because they think they can get away with it. Don't let them! The bus people are paid by the company to be on the bus taking tickets - they will pocket the extra if you let them have it! So take exact change and only give them 20-30! Local bus can be caught from along Le duan street (look for the blue signs with a bus picture.

3. Sites
Dragon bridge
This bridge actually breathes fire and blows water out of it's mouth on Thursday and Saturday nights (Also I think sunday night as well?) at 9-9.30 (I was told it would be at 9pm. It didn't start until 9.30,, not sure if late that day or always at 9.30pm)

You can view this from either side of the river. This photo was taken from standing on the tail end of the river. You can also get quite close to the head end if you stay on that side! Even if it isn't breathing fire the bridge is beautiful at night when lit up with colour changing lights.

From the riverside (a beautiful walk featuring marble statues) you can also see the sail bridge, the Han bridge and the rainbow bridge - all of which light up at night with colour changing light shows.

Lady Buddha-              Towering over the north end of My Khe beach on the side of Monkey mountain this statue can be seen from miles away! She is well worth a trip up, just to get a feel for how big she really is! The pagoda also has an interesting garden with bonsai trees and smaller statues throughout.                                                   It can be very busy with tourist buses and large groups of people - but there is plenty of space!

Cham museum

If you are making time to go to My Son the Cham museum is worth a trip too. There are interesting photos of My Son before it was cleared of jungle and some of the best statues and sculptures were removed before the American war - thus have survived the bombing and gun fire that damaged a lot of the remaining statues. Information is presented in English (as plastic sheets you can pick up and read) and if I recall correctly it was only 20-50 000VND (I think 20). Cham Museum is located across the road from the tail of the dragon bridge.

Marble mountains

The marble mountains are to the south of town, on the way to Hoi An. If you do get a taxi you may as well as them to stop at the marble mountains. Tell the taxi you will be going onto Hoi An. He shouldn't charge you waiting time.... because if he doesn't wait it would be easy to get a new taxi anyway!

These mountains can be annoying when you get touted at constantly. However, if you are firm with a no (Khong - pronounced Kom) most of the people trying to sell incense, or marble, or whatever will leave you along. If you try to be "polite" by saying maybe later, or umming and ahhing -- they will remember and try you again later - much more insistently, or will keep pushing if you um and ahh.

Stairs up Marble Mountain

However, past the touts you get to climb many-many stairs, and discover various little caves and tunnels filled with statues and shrines. The largest of these were used as hospitals by the viet-cong during the war, even though at the base of the mountain was the US's biggest airbase! The mountain also features a pagoda and a number of lookouts. 

In the last few years an elevator has been added making it possible for those who are unable to walk up all the stairs to get to the top.  

My Khe beach

My Khe (or America beach) stretches more or less all the way from monkey mountain to Hoi An. The southern end is becoming covered with 5 star Chinese or Russian resorts.

 Happily, the parts of the beach near to the city will not become built up by resorts as the road runs along the side of the beach. This beach is by far my favourite in Vietnam (that I have been too!) I have never been annoyed by people trying to sell drinks or food while walking or relaxing on the beach (unlike other places). But there are drink stalls and deck chairs that you can rent to relax on. Early in the morning the beach is busy with locals exercising and the fishermen returning and selling fish - definitely an interesting time to walk along the beach!

 It also is patrolled by lifeguards in certain areas.

My Khe Beach

Da Nang is well worth a stop over of a night or two, if only en enjoy a relaxing change of pace from the highly trafficked tourist hotspots of Hoi An and Hue. Definitely a place to enjoy not getting offered souvenirs/clothes/whatever else touts are always trying to sell tourists!

Mui Ne: Rich Russian resorts and expensive water sports

This one needs to be prefaced by saying that I grew up around lots of beautiful beaches... and I currently live 300metres from the bech in Danang. which has a number of huge hotels, but also miles and miles of clean, empty beach with only a few deck chair rental people and a couple of drink stands. But no one harassing you or following you to buy things.

Apparently Mui Ne is a beautiful beach, with clean sand and calm safe water. My guide book mentions it very vaguely as a fishing village with the pervasive smell of their famous fish paste.

It is some sort if hell. I don't know how beautiful the beach is.... I walked for 45minutes without finding a way to get to said beach. Russian developers have bought all the land in the beach side of the road, and built expensive resorts. There is no way to access the beach, except by staying in these resorts. There are "cheaper"(but still expensive compared with any other town) hotels on the non beach side...... but then all you get to do is walk along the ugly road, being harassed by people trying to sell expansive beachy type clothes (most were more than I would pay for similar clothes in Australia, and crap looking quality).

note: I have been told it is possible to somehow get to the beach if I had kept walking further along the road.

What Can I see in Mui Ne?

Mui Ne's claim to fame is it's red and white sand dunes, These were pretty enough, although with a lot of rubbish. while walking on them you will be accosted by women and kids trying to rent you a board to ride down the sand dune with, so that looked a little fun. But if you have seen sand dunes anywhere else, I didn't find these ones particularly amazing or mind blowing. I wouldn't travel all the way there just for the dunes. But - some people might.

Also water sports. Mui ne seems to be a hub of kite surfing and various other water sports. However, I think cost is designed for the people staying at expensive resorts. One person I spoke with explained that it was $500 for a 5 day kite surfing course with 12 hours of lessons/board rental. And at $45 for an hour long surfing lesson, I have had a cheaper lesson on the sunshine coast in Australia!

If you like partying, Mui Ne might be the place to go. I only really saw local restaurants and expensive restaurants but not really bars that looked inviting. I think these might be hidden in the big hotels. As mentioned, I am not a big lets-go-party-and-get-drunk-and-hang-around-with-only-westerners when I travel sort of person. So that doesn't interest me either.

My other favourite site of Mui Ne was called fairy stream. After we checked in Thanh, my guide, asked if I would like to walk up fairy stream. And I thought, well that sounds lovely. It's, a stream. Not an exciting or at all particular beautiful stream. But, because it has a sign, and a nice name... masses of tourists were walking up it constantly. I think this is hilarious, if you build a sign... they will come.
Again, I have seen much nicer streams my whole life, but I spoke with some people from Europe who thought the stream was just lovely and perfect. I think they hadn't really ever seen a creek before. So, you might like it if you haven't seen a stream before. I don't know.

Would I personally go there?

no.
So, my advice, don't bother with Mui Ne, its main claim to fame are some red and sole white sand dunes, and they sure aren't anything to write home about. I think it is a hot spot for kite surfing and windboarding, but I know you can find plenty of much nicer places for that.

Although, it is the only place in Vietnam I have seen ostrich riding. Advertised with a giant sign reading: "enjoy a relaxing ostrich ride adventure." I just can't imagine that riding an ostrich is at all relaxing.