Beyond Pho – First Impressions of Danang

Danang was my third trip to Vietnam.  I had not written much during my first two trips, which were to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, respectively.  Therefore I will start with my third trip.

To Danang and Hoi An it was.

The street scenes of Danang reminded me of the smaller townships of China.  My companion noted that he felt at home, and I agreed.  The streets of Danang lined with all sorts of small shops.  Being the country of the motorbikes, Vietnam’s streets were full of rows and rows of them.

It is strangely liberating to travel in developing countries.  Not to say they are less civilized, but as tourists we were held only so much to the social norms of this culture.  We felt free to walk on the wrong direction of the motorcade.  We became millionaires as soon as we exchanged the local currency.  With all western etiquettes out the window, we would sometimes be mistaken for being locals.

We stayed at a youth hostel on the northwestern part of the city.  Despite coming in at a late hour, I felt immediately the warmth of the reception.  There were some Vietnamese locals hanging out with a young Englishman.  He told us that he just finished with uni in the UK.  He was going to pass by Danang for a night, but then met everyone here.  I sensed that he meant to say that the stay at this hostel was life changing.  But being British he probably was too reserved to put it that way.  In any case, he decided to stay in Danang.  He would start teaching English soon.

Nga worked at the reception.  She oversaw the management of the hostel.  Although I was hoping for a good-ole Vietnamese noodle on the street, we took her suggestion to have seafood at a proper establishment.  The restaurant was Vietquan, down the street.  After rounds of communicating with body language and the translation app, we settled on a grilled fish and wok-fry clams with lemon grass.  The dishes were wonderful.

Next morning I woke at 6:20 or so and took a morning walk.  I located a small street stall where I would gladly have breakfast.  My companion was still asleep.  The plan of the day was Ba Na Hills.  I worried that it would rain as we went during the rainy season.  Yet this day greeted me with generous sunshine.  I had a feeling that it would be a great day.

Our breakfast was a wonderful ramen with a crisp baguette.  The baguette was warm on a coal-lit stove.