Settling into Da Nang
We firmly parked ourselves a block from the beach for a couple weeks in the seaside gem of Da Nang, where we could have definitely stayed longer. It felt like an undeniable blend of Rio de Janiero, Miami and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It’s a super comfortable place to slow down and just be for awhile thanks to our two block proximity to the beach with its endless promenade and wide swaths of white powder sand, huge quantity of food and shopping options and the opportunity to finally find a proper apartment, which wasn’t easy in Vietnam.
Da Nang does beaches very well with its 30 kilometers of sweeping palm-lined coastline along the South China Sea, and the towering buildings on the edge give it a distinct feel of Miami.
Like in Florida, scores of parasail boats glide out everyday. Unlike in Florida, your legs dangle precariously with no real safety equipment or waiver signed.
But, of course, you will be paying far less, or nothing, for those beach loungers that dot the sand.
In fact, everything about the beach in Da Nang is very inviting…clean, no hawkers and idyllic white sand. It also has a beachside promenade which was amazing for daily runs/walks.
By night as you go south, she seems to heat up with lights and energy.
But not everything is so pretty. Like this rock wall attached to a massage VIP spa….uh….whatever that means. Regardless, it seems to be concealing a wannabe authentic French village in its folds. Must be another VinPearl creation? WTF?
We loved the way the mountains ring the north coast, and there’s even a giant LADY Buddha statue, which makes the comparison to Rio even more adequate as we went on our nightly walks.
And daily ones too…before the sun gets too intense. Sunday at the beach is packed with tourists and locals alike
It definitely helped to have a proper apartment, at Ha Minh Apartment on Booking, which was on the 4th floor, two blocks from the beach. ($20/night). Although we couldn’t walk outside without 30 ladies asking us for a massage, we’re definitely enjoyed our location. 🤣 And, it also is amazing to have a sofa and kitchen again!
Also, for the first time, we have a washing machine in our unit! Figuring out how to use it is always the fun part which usually just involves pressing a few random buttons until water starts spilling out.
Yes…very good first impressions.
Life in Da Nang
Life in Da Nang was pretty sweet. And if our Vietnam visa hadn’t had only five weeks left, we might have just hung out a bit longer. Despite it looking a bit Miami-ish, it really does offer a quite comfortable lifestyle…great produce markets with honest vendors, minutes to a gorgeous beach with a seemingly endless promenade, great dental care, a plethora of Vietnamese, veg-friendly and international food options, shopping and a ready-made network of friends of the expat or slowmad. And, of course, the affordable prices….
This was our first opportunity to have a true apartment since we’d been in Vietnam as they were a bit hard to come by, especially in our price range. While there, we were able to finally immerse ourselves in the Vietnamese experience by heading to Phước Mỹ Market, a few blocks away, on a regular basis and visiting vendors for what felt like very honest prices. This entire load of produce cost about $4.75. The half kilo bag of jumbo cashews was another $4. Vietnam, a huge exporter of this nut also has some of the best we’ve ever had. Just one is so satisfying.
While in Da Nang, we also had dental check ups and cleanings at Picasso for $16/each. They spoke English, did X-rays, showed us before and after images of our teeth, and it was a wonderful experience due in large part to no cavities! Highly recommend.
Americans can’t even get a piece of small furniture home without the use of a car. Meanwhile, this entire “store” is on the back of a motorbike.
And along comes the food, which thanks to the prices, we were able to continue eating out once a day. The great thing about Da Nang, however, that we haven’t had most other places in Vietnam, was the wide selection of international options. Yes, they’re more expensive than Vietnamese, but it was really nice to mix it up after six weeks in the country. The night we arrived, we immediately jumped on the Family Indian Restaurant for a binge worthy veg thali platter for about $7. It was so good we went back twice!
We also grabbed Greek food at Irini which included a watermelon FETA salad, which we’re desperately missing, as well as a kebab platter for $9 total.
One of the best, however, was Mexican Choice which had some pretty authentic Baja style fish tacos, albeit the eight accompanying tortilla chips was pretty chintzy. Four tacos plus two beers and tip for $11.
Once we got most of those cravings out of our system, we happily returned to Vietnamese. One bowl of pho ga we really enjoyed was from Phở Ngọc and was $7 total with two beers.
Another well-known dish, particularly from Central Vietnam is My Quong. $1.35
We visited a foreigner-packed vegan restaurant called Bao An Macrobiotic which had beautiful presentation of a rice plate, spring rolls and pumpkin soup all for $7. They haven’t quite figured out that quality vegan can be higher prices, probably equating meat to value, but we’ll take it.
Also, we met up with followers who became friends, Canadians Christine and Doug who have lived in Da Nang four months and have three kids.
The absolutely delicious food at Roots Cafe, where we ate, was also very foreigner friendly including a juice+avocado toast+smoothie bowl for $5, and a Mediterranean falafel bowl for $4. Or, a whole Mediterranean plate for $4. SOOO yummy!
Our first salt coffee, which tastes a lot like a salted caramel coffee. Very good but a bit too sweet for us ($.80) But we do love our iced coffees!!!
The cotton candy hued Danang Cathedral is also known as the Chicken Church and reminded us a lot of Colombian churches we’ve seen. The Chicken Church name comes from the metal weathercock that stands atop the building, representing the Gallic rooster as well as referencing the Biblical episode of St. Peter’s Denial, in which the crowing of a rooster plays a significant role. (Atlas Obscura)
The selection of fruit at the Han Market. We’re sooo happy it’s now mangosteen season! They were about $2 a kilo but the price kept dropping!
Heading upstairs in the Han Market is where all the clothes shopping takes place…and if you’re looking for deals on name brand merchandise, Vietnam is THE place.
It may or may not be “real,” but it looks and feels exactly like the overpriced products we see in the States like North Face and Arcteryx coats for less than $10, and Prada/Versace bags for probably the same.
We were not in the market for those products but a new dress is always a possibility? And yes, Mandy snapped it up (the dress, not the Minnie Mouse swimsuit) without trying it for $3 and it fortunately worked! As cute as they are, a Vietnamese Ao dai was simply not the most practical.
The new dress! This means something in the backpack had to go!
Grabbing some craft beers at East West Brewing across from our place. The scenery was superb but the beers, not so much. They cost $7.50 for three during happy hour which was a good price. A much better quality brewery we found was called Bia Nha and the beers were $1.40/glass. Greg even got a brewery tour and the chance to befriend the owner!
Like in Rio, the beach is divided into numbered sections. Unlike in Rio, there is no section for grannies who floss.
The big wide boulevards are very French and felt a lot like Phnom Penh.
There are sooo many aquarium seafood restaurants. Most of them seem frequented by Korean or Chinese tour groups. Mandy almost cried when she saw the adorable cartoony pufferfish inside.
Fishermen stocking the tour bus restaurants.
Although there is no official “expat” part of town, as you move south toward the congregation of vegan restaurants and yoga studios, you’re likely to find lots of people wearing shorts and sports bras.
Speaking of, Mandy tried yoga at a local gym with her new friend Christine. It was Vietnamese so she understood about .5% of it…the words in Sanskrit. 🤣 Cost: $3 drop-in fee. There is also plenty of yoga in English and Russian which cost about $5.
Imagine a group of city planners in a meeting discussing the new bridge from Da Nang airport to the beach and the mayor proclaiming, “no idea is a stupid one!” This is obviously how this 2.2 trillion Vietnamese Dong ($85 million) iconic Dragon Bridge, modeling a majestic dragon flying to the East Sea, came to be.
The mayor then says, “great idea! So its day job is a bridge! What else can we do?!”
And then its night job came into fruition… yes, every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm a massive and eager crowd surround the bridge poised and ready with cell phones ceremoniously elevated. Our local friends warned us not to stand on the bridge because it does spew…gas. Thank goodness there’s no waivers in Vietnam!
Lucky Dong dropping visitors also have the option to see the flames from the neon boats below before floating towards Vietnam’s flag in lights on the side of the Marriott, to remind them of the obvious…why they love Da Nang.
Meanwhile, the unlucky cheap people ashore (us) only get to admire the trees of love on the riverbank. With the dragon, the two icons together looked a bit like the Chinese New Year and Valentine sections of the Hallmark store threw up.
We got to laugh at all this with new nomad friends, Liangela & Kieran from New York and Sydney, where we visited the Son Tra Night Market beforehand where clearly every vendor was “trained” to deal with tourists. They followed you around and aggressively shoved picture menus exactly like the last guy you said no thank you to, in your faces. It was really overwhelming and we’ve never been in a night market so annoying. Needless to say, we won’t be buying any of their overpriced lobsters anytime soon. Or, heading back to the dragon bridge….
But, Mandy and Liangela did grab a girl date.
Washing dishes in the street is a common sight in Vietnam. So are taxi drivers watching the game while driving. Awww! Never a dull moment. We seriously just love it here. 🤣😁❤️ 🇻🇳
Visiting the Buddha Statue
Even from 9 km down the beach of Da Nang you can see the tallest Buddha in Vietnam perched on the fringe of a mountain, but we didn’t realize until visiting, the sheer size of THIS Buddha.. an impressive 67 meters (220 feet) tall (30 stories), or more than double that of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero. And the really commendable bonus?! This Buddha is a WOMAN! Hear her roar! (Or meditate peacefully.) 🙏
This may confuse some people who think that “Buddha” was a man born Siddhartha Gautama. While this is true, “Buddha” also means “Enlightened One,” and there’s no reason why a magnificent sage can’t be a woman!!!
The Lady Buddha statue in Da Nang is a symbol of peace, joy and prosperity. She is thought to bring good luck to those who visit her. And it seems we did. Although it was very overcast, we got some glorious light at superb moments.
The statue represents Guanyin, a female from Buddhist mythology who is believed to help all living beings with compassion and mercy.
There’s more to see at the temple in addition to the Buddha. They also include lush gardens, and a beautiful pagoda complex, which is called Linh Ung Pagoda.
According to Hoi An Now, although the Linh Ung Pagoda and Lady Buddha look ancient, it was finished in 2004 and, for the people of Da Nang it is actually a symbol of the city’s modernization, with some elements from the 18th century Nguyen Dynasty (a curved roof with dragons) combined with a modern Vietnamese style. The mixture of styles and materials are meant to represent the diversity of the people that live in modern day Da Nang and serve as a symbol that Da Nang is home to everyone!
With its striking view of the city skyline, and surrounding sea, it was definitely difficult to forget your location.
The tranquil atmosphere of the grounds also include lovely Japanese gardens, an abundance of jackfruit trees, and other meditative areas.
The Linh Ung Pagoda is an active Buddhist temple with traditional architecture and religious significance.
To get there, we took a 100k ($4) Grab ride from the beach center, and then walked a mostly pleasant 7 kilometers back. Surprisingly the site is free otherwise!
The setting over the sea definitely made it remarkable. So remarkable that yes, there were many, many bus loads of Chinese and Korean tourists.
Despite this, the lovely Buddha floating on a lotus flower was surprisingly worth it. She is making a Prithvi Mudra with her thumb and ring finger. This gesture is connected with the earth and is meant to restore balance, and create stability and inner strength.
Immaculately pruned bonsai look like they’ve been there far longer than 20 years, especially the way it’s woven amongst the character below. Is that a…dog?!
In her crown, you can see another mini Buddha. In the foreground, the crowd favorite, laughing Buddha. Despite the crowds, it was easy to get away and find a little peace in this moment.
And it was definitely a good call to go late in the day, although early morning probably would be even better. Walking down, the locals lined the guard rail in their colorful plastic chairs to watch the sunset, which seemed a bit futile at that moment.
The road up to the pagoda starts in the Man Thai fishing village, which is a completely different scene from down the beach, but still with a wide, powdery, clean and inviting expanse.
It is definitely worth making a quick stop and having a look around. The contrast between the modern buildings and the modern skyline is stark, but appreciated.
Visiting Marble Mountain
One might think it’s hot as Hades outside, but folded within the Marble Mountains of Da Nang is a Vietnamese hell cave which takes the heat to the next level as sinners get to journey through a demonic Buddhist underworld. Not to be concerned, because if you’re good, you’ll soon discover the stairway to heaven and the “fresh” air outside (Note: in this case the cave ‘o inferno is much cooler than the paradise platform).
Am Phu Cave is part of the larger Marble Mountain complex which is five limestone rock islands jutting up from the flat beachy landscape.
It costs 20k Dong to enter or $.80 and was well worth the visit though we’re not sure we’d say the same of the separate Marble Mountain entrance ($1.58)..at least not with the crowds. But if you’re in the area, you might as well do both!
To get there, we rented a motorbike for 100k ($4), and drove a relatively easy 15 minutes down the beach. We arrived by 8 am and were able to get a few minutes of tranquility before most of the sheeple buses arrived…
…although not sure if these muppet-like characters torturing naughty children is exactly peaceful. Maybe to some?
The stairway to heaven, on the other hand, certainly makes you wanna behave. Or is it just all those hands which look like they might slap you at any minute? Although we thought the loveliest Buddha was featured in the cave of Dong Tang Chon.
There are two entrance areas. One is marked “Marble Mountains ticket booth” on Google which is the one we picked. Once you pay your 40k Dong, get ready for a stair master courtesy of Mother Earth. Did you remember your water? If not, they’ll charge you double at the entrance. With the early heat, it didn’t take long to need a breather.
The Tam Thai Pagoda was constructed in 1930 and is considered a national pagoda and a Buddhist site. The intricate tile work around the entrance is quite impressive.
Prepping another set of fresh clothes for the laundry bag. The most enjoyable thing about this section of Marble Mountain was when we were able to get away from the hoards of T-shirt segregated school groups and do a little solo scrambling.
Reaching the peak revealed the coastline and other Da Nang surroundings.
The 28 meter Xa Loi Tower houses 200 Buddhas inside. As mentioned, other than Am Phu Cave, we found the most interesting to be Dong Tang Chon. You can see the size and scale of the cavern by the golden Buddha in the bottom left corner.
There are two ways to go up or down the mountain. This is the “easy” one, if you feel like standing in a line of at least a hundred people as the perspiration caresses every square centimeter of your body and then cramming into a altitude-shifting sweat box. You also have to fork over another $.59 for this luxury. Or, you can walk the stairs.
Ugh. Guess which we choose.
The entrance to the Am Phu Cave. According to our Atlas Obscura app, “it was discovered in the 19th century by King Minh Mang who named the cave Am Phu (Vietnamese for “hell”) to signify a yin-yang dualism: while the mountain’s topside is considered heaven, visitors first pass through subterranean caverns representing hell. Visitors first cross a bridge symbolizing the passage from Earthly existence into the afterlife, begining with a hellish realm of man-hungry crocodiles, violent demons, and fanged devils bathed in sinister red light, where hands reach up from the waters below and river monsters threaten to gnash their souls to bits.” (Atlas Obscura.)
In reality, we saw the hands (with a few broken fingers), a chicken and a pig which wasn’t quite as menacing as their description. 
When we entered the main chamber (of purgatory?) incense filled the air and we witnessed what looked like an obscure phallic stencil of red spray paint
From here you could choose to turn left and rise to the heavens or go straight…to hell.
Appropriately, as you head straight to hell, you pass a plaque that says that in 1968, this chamber was used as a Vietcong field hospital. In hell, other than the ghosts of Vietcong soldiers, you encounter all kinds of creepers at every turn before entering the main chamber.
The main chamber looks like a cross between a beautiful world of natural art and a Las Vegas casino.
To the right, you’ll find the death panel, or court of hell, awaiting your arrival, and two sinners pleading for mercy who curiously look quite Caucasian.
Well, 😝 you too!!
A marble scale to measure good and bad deeds.
Inside the wheel of truth sits Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva: The Deity of the Earthly Realm and Afterlife. (Side note: This whole experience reminded us a lot of the underground salt church in Zipaquira, Colombia.)
Steps leading further down into the pits of hell. Don’t be this guy who gets eaten by an alligator 🤔😬 And, geez…hasn’t Eve done enough already?!
Whew! That was heavy. After that highway to hell, let’s get a ticket to paradise! For the record, this climb toward the sunshiny hole, is no easy path to enlightenment. As Atlas Obscura points out, there are “Infrequent railings, helpful but scary handhold rings embedded in the marble, and the very steep twisting stairs reward one with a grand balcony view and a high sense of accomplishment.”
By the way, it’s a dead end and you have descend the same way, but before you do that, take a good look around at what heaven looks like. Well, humans were there after all…
