Da Nang: The Modern Face Of Vietnam
Laying our Vietnam ghosts has been such an edifying process, we now have a very strong affection for this country after our bad times here at the onset of COVID when we met with some real hostility simply because we were British (this was when the pandemic had taken a stranglehold in the UK more than anywhere else). We’d also had bad food experience, the meals we ate in Hanoi back then were consistently poor, a bit like being given a bowl of washing-up water where if we were really lucky the dishcloth had been left in the bottom.
We always knew though that this was not typical – every single traveller we’ve ever read or listened to puts Vietnamese food near the top of their World food list. It’s massively pleasing to now be able to share that opinion, the food this time has been nothing short of fantastic. Some of the flavour combinations here are beyond inspired, with constant surprises to delight the tastebuds and not a single meal ever feeling stodgy.
There’s often a hint of sweetness lurking beneath the herbal tastes of a savoury dish; a surprise prawn (shrimp) will give a twist to a bowl of pork noodles; coconut coatings enhance seafood; fresh mint leaves make marinated goat burst with flavour; dishes which at first look ordinary turn out to have different flavour notes in every mouthful. The whole cuisine is a constant joy and a constant journey.
Honestly, we could go on….but pictures speak louder than words….
And then there’s the coffee. Or rather, coffees…..egg coffee, coconut coffee…and “Vietnamese coffee”. Order a Vietnamese coffee and you’ll most likely get a cup of strong black stuff, a small jug of gloopy sugar cane syrup and another small jug containing condensed milk. You add the two extras to suit your own taste, meaning you can go anywhere from sugar free to something which is so sweet that it probably constitutes a full day’s calorie intake.
After three weeks here it’s now almost impossible to recall that we met with hostility three years ago: Vietnamese people just ooze friendliness, courtesy and calmness. Smiling eye contact is the norm: this is a caring, humble and respectful race so charmingly approachable that they are entirely capable of restoring one’s faith in humanity as a whole. Absolutely lovely people.
The mouse in our apartment has been christened Gerald, Pink Floyd or Syd Barrett fans might get the connection. For a while we only see clues to his existence and catch no sight of the creature himself, until somewhere around Day 4 when Michaela spies him skidaddling across the tiled floor like some miniature bambi. He slaloms to the corner of the room…and vanishes. The only explanation is that Gerald – or maybe there’s a family of Geralds – is living INSIDE the sofa: we can see a small entry hole which must be the front door to Chez Gerald.
News of Gerald’s possible living arrangements does not go down well with Ryan when he comes round to say goodbye and collect our keys and for our last fifteen minutes here we have a headless chicken in the apartment as well as a mouse. We leave Ryan to solve his intruder issues – and we leave Hoi An too, with extremely fond memories of a very welcoming stay. We love you Hoi An.
By our standards it’s a short hop to our next destination, just a forty minute drive up the coast to Da Nang, but it’s yet another huge leap in culture and may as well be a million miles away from the likes of Tam Coc and Hoi An. Da Nang is the contemporary face of Vietnam. With a history of wealth generated by its role as the country’s major port, someone realised somewhere around twenty years ago that a bright, prosperous city with an unbroken 6 mile stretch of golden sand might just be able to attract visitors. They were obviously right.
The result is a curving bay which looks something like a scaled down Rio or Acapulco, dozens of high rise buildings following the line of the seafront pretty much as far as the eye can see in both directions. Huge open plan restaurants straddle two floors, letters reading “HOTEL” and ”CASINO” appear regularly along the strip, street vendors peddle their wares and crowds flock to the beach as the afternoon sun tempers its heat and drops below the skyscrapers. The exciting variety of our stops on this trip continues: Da Nang bears no resemblance to anywhere else we’ve seen in Vietnam.
The marketing of Da Nang has, we learn, led to the city becoming a favourite holiday destination for people from South Korea, and in high season the local airport handles nearly 250 flights a week from the three main Korean cities. Work on the development of Da Nang the resort is clearly far from finished, too – more and more skyscrapers are half built skeletons and there are more construction sites than you can shake a stick at. We try to count the storeys on one of the new ones but somewhere around floor 50 we go cross-eyed and lose count. This sure is the modern face of Vietnam.
We know it’s very British to harp on about the weather but there’s an intriguing phenomenon here. Mornings are still and sultry, the sun hazily obscured by clouds, too hidden to be properly visible yet strong enough to cast shadows. Somewhere around 2pm the sea breeze starts to blow away the humidity and turns the docile sea into a succession of crashing waves perfect for body surfing and other daft fun.
But it’s the clouds which really fascinate. As the breeze increases, so the clouds move across the bay, gathering along the line of mountain tops in ever increasing whiteness like giant rolls of cotton wool. The rest of the bay now basks under clear blue sky. As dusk approaches, the cloud creeps over and down the mountainside, becoming not so much cotton wool as icing on the Christmas cake. It is mesmerisingly beautiful.
After dark, Da Nang buzzes as the cafes fill up, neons burst into colour and skyscrapers become gigantic displays, sometimes advertisements, sometimes the national flag. We simply keep staring at this improbable, impressively modern vista. The nighttime cityscape is positively futuristic, a completely new perspective on Vietnam, a spectacular and dazzling skyline which speaks of a bold, progressive city. Even Hanoi the capital didn’t look like this, and it’s hard to believe the rice fields of Ninh Binh are even in the same country.
Someone tells us that Da Nang is taking its inspiration from Singapore. We can well believe it.
23 Comments
MrsWayfarer
Hoi An and Da Nang are in must go to list. I’ve been contemplating if either going here or Chiang Mai, Thailand in December (I only have 6 vacation days left by then) and I am still undecided. This post inspires me to have a go for Vietnam and have a blast of their food and coffee. I cannot wait for December.
Phil & Michaela
Having been to all those places, I can say it’s a difficult decision because they’re all great. But possibly the evenings in Hoi An just win it,….good luck with choosing!
Monkey's Tale
Those cloud pictures are gorgeous! DaNang at night looks very lively and bizarre. It is hard to believe it’s the same country as your more pastoral visits. Maggie
Phil & Michaela
Wait till you see the next post!
grandmisadventures
Oh that food looks amazing! It’s making my mouth water at the sight of it. I love the vibrant energy that seems to come from both the beaches and the city 🙂
Phil & Michaela
The food has been absolutely fantastic all along, Meg…but blimey Da Nang was a surprise…
Toonsarah
I’m so glad your faith in Vietnam and the Vietnamese, not to mention Vietnamese food, has been restored! We didn’t see much of Da Nang apart from the airport and what we glimpsed as our plane took off, but your photos and descriptions back up the sense of incongruity I felt then 🙂
Phil & Michaela
It really was like stepping into a different country…wait till you see the next post!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Your photos are just gorgeous! If you ever got tired of traveling, you would certainly have a future in food photography. One day we’re going to follow in your footsteps, as Viet Nam has long been near the top of our wish list. That said, you have our mouths watering over the place and the food. Looking forward to more!
Phil & Michaela
Cheers Kellye…the food really is fantastic
leightontravels
So glad that Vietnam continues to deliver. It must taste (literally!) all the sweeter because of the shit you went through the first time around. What culinary adventures you have head, beautifully described in both words and of course through Michaela’s lens. Vietnamese Coffee, meanwhile, I can’t stomach. But the Egg Coffee was just wondrous, couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Did you tell Gerald to get on his ‘Bike’? (sorry). I loved Danang, have very fond memories of my time there. So many familiar snapshots from your beach scenes.
Phil & Michaela
Ha ha glad you got the Floyd reference. I’m actually loving the coffee, although to be fair there is the occasional difficult one. Egg coffee is a bit like an Irish coffee in terms of texture, don’t you think. Definitely laid our ghosts now….been fabulous so far.
wetanddustyroads
I would have been in seventh heaven with such food – lovely pictures! Da Nang definitely looks like a modern city – beautiful beach (with wow, LOTS of people) and all those tall buildings. The clouds remind me a lot of Cape Town when the white cloud mass hangs over Table Mountain when the wind blows – it really looks like a blanket has been thrown over the mountain. Resemblance between Vietnam and Cape Town, who would have thought? And I’m glad to read that all faith has been restored in Vietnam!
Phil & Michaela
Yeah those clouds had me mesmerised….and the food has us purring!
Nemorino
Da Nang certainly looks a lot different now than when I was there in 1995. I wrote about that visit at the bottom of this post: https://operasandcycling.com/new-places-in-vietnam-1995/
Phil & Michaela
I’ve just read the whole post from your link, yes I think you would find Da Nang unrecognisable from 1995, let alone 30 years before that. That must have been a moving/emotional experience to return there having served in that terrible war… there was a whole section on American soldiers returning to Vietnam years later, in the museum in the “Hanoi Hilton”…including former POWs meeting the ex prison guards. Must have been a powerful return trip for you, particularly with your son at the same age.
Nemorino
Yes, it was a very moving visit, especially when we went back to Tan Ba and found the house where I was quartered in 1964/65, along with the descendants of the old couple who owned the house back then. Some of the older people in Tan Ba claimed to remember me and Major Giam from thirty years before.
Phil & Michaela
Wow. Respect.
WanderingCanadians
Glad to hear you got a second chance to visit Vietnam and actually enjoy the food this time. My mouth is watering just scrolling through some of your food pictures. I’m with you on the positioning of the clouds. It makes for a lovely scene with those mountains.
Phil & Michaela
It certainly did!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Oh, that food! Outstanding post. How were your accommodations in Da Nang? Recommend them?
Phil & Michaela
Errr… been great everywhere but Da Nang was distinctly average. However there is plenty of choice there, that’s the saving grace.
Andrew Petcher
Another good read and excellent galleries. I like the fishing boats.