Just as a quick note, I have edited and saved the font size so many times on this post, but blogger has decided it knows better. I am sorry in advance for the awkward sizes of fonts in this post, but just bear with me...
After my first full week, I was sad to leave Northern Vietnam. I know in my heart that I will go back again one day. The reason I decided to leave is that I had heard and read great things about Central Vietnam, and I felt that I really needed to go. I started the next part of my adventure in Da Nang, which is a city nestled in Central Vietnam, between a river and a bay. I later learned that there are only about 40,000 English-speaking tourists that visit Da Nang per year. The energy here is completely different from Hanoi and it was much harder to communicate, but it was a nice base for day trips.
My flight from Hanoi was super delayed, but I ended up with an entire exit row to myself. Well done, Vietjet Airlines! I had called ahead to my hotel in Da Nang to get a recommendation for specific taxi companies, as taxi scams are quite common in this country. (For those who worry about my solo traveling, know that I am a smart solo traveler!) I was relieved to find that it was super easy to find a reliable cab that late at night. The airport is very close to the city center, and I almost squealed with delight when we drove over the Dragon Bridge as we took the short trip to my hotel. After checking in, I glanced out of my hotel window to catch a glimpse of the city scape, and then - completely exhausted - I immediately crawled into bed.
Domestic ticketing looks a little different than I expected.
Look at that legroom!
This tall girl was thrilled right about now.
A tiny little peak at the dragon on the bridge.
Good night, Da Nang.
Sunday Morning: Trip to Marble Mountain
When I got up for breakfast the next morning, I was still completely exhausted. My flight didn't land until almost midnight, and I had a really big day in Hanoi just the previous day. I dragged myself to breakfast, and when I looked out the window... there was the beach! Ok, things are starting to look up.
Not the Skyline Hotel anymore... but it will do.
Most of the drive was along the shore, so I got to gaze at the water while we made our way to Marble Mountain. I absolutely love the water. When I arrived, someone approached the cab and gave me directions on going up the mountain. All of this was in exchange for a promise to peruse her shop when I came back down, which I was honestly too tired to do in the end.
I climbed a bunch of stairs, and at the top I found some pagodas, hidden caves, many Lady Buddhas and Happy Buddhas (very different from the relics in Myanmar and Thailand), and some decent views.
There was a glass elevator you could pay to go up, but I chose to take the stairs instead. It wasn't so bad - especially compared to my 2-day trek in Sapa!
You needed a ticket to go up, but the stairs option was super cheap (less than $2 USD).
So many stairs that day!
That little temple-looking thing was the peak of Marble Mountain. It had a viewpoint, where you could see the other Mountains, the city, and the beach.
Scenes from the viewpoint: Those hills are the other "Mountains" - Wood, Fire (2 of them), Metal, and Earth [from left to right]
You could also see the city and the beach.
I walked back down to the main area and wandered through some pagodas, temples, and garden areas. It was actually quite pretty, and very different from what I expected.
A Chinese temple. I grew to love their ornate details with each one I visited over the two weeks.
No shoes in this pagoda. That was the first time I had seen it in Vietnam.
Here we go!
Happy Buddha :-)
I thought this column was particularly beautiful.
Something I have seen consistently across the cultures is the guardian at the door. Usually there is one on each side of the entrance, but sometimes there is only one. They are meant to protect. I love that guardians look different everywhere I go.
There was a little area near the pagoda with a Lady Buddha and a spiritual tower. This was my favorite spot in Marble Mountain. There was a nice little nature area and a footbridge that went in a small loop.
I knew that there were caves around here. I had read about them and I could hear people in them when I was by the spiritual tower, but I could not find any entrances. I asked a few people for directions. Most people did not speak English, and the one group I did find was rather unpleasant and unhelpful. I went down a few different paths but only found a bunch of dead ends. Just when I was about to give up, I decided to go around the back of the first pagoda I explored. I didn't think there was anything over there, but I went anyway. It turned out to (finally!) be the right way.
Despite being frustrating, the dead ends did have some pretty cool sites along the way.
This looked very familiar to me! You see Buddhas kind of like this in Myanmar and Thailand. #feelslikehome
Another Happy Buddha
FINALLY!! (I definitely did a little dance. I didn't even care that the French couple was judging me.)
This cave was pretty small, especially compared to the cave in Ha Long Bay. However, in order to exit, you had to crawl through this small opening in the rocks and go out the top. Many people turned back, but I squeezed my way through. It was actually pretty cool!
Yay! I made it through!
This was my reward for crawling through the top of a cave. Totally worth it, if you ask me.
In total, I wandered Marble Mountain around for a little over an hour. I am happy I came to see it for myself, but to be honest, it was rather underwhelming. Considering the views I had seen in Sapa and the cave I explored in Ha Long Bay, this just didn't compare. In retrospect, I am happy I made the trip because these sites were different than anything else I had seen on my trip, even if they were a bit underwhelming at the time.
At the end of my little tour I was hot and tired, but I was determined to stay positive. Initially I was going to do a half-day trip in the afternoon to another location that I had read about, but as I sat in the taxi, I remembered that beach I had seen through the window at breakfast. I knew exactly what I needed to do that afternoon. Back at the hotel, I quickly changed and headed to the beach.
It's funny how things (literally) look different in the daylight! I didn't realize that I had booked something so close to the beach. Yay, me!
My commute to the beach.
Vietnamese version of a hot dog and a beer (necessities for a beach day, if you ask me!)
Things were definitely looking up.
There is no happy like beach happy.
After a few short hours, I felt like a completely different person. The grumpiness and exhaustion melted away in the warm sun and the cool waters. I grabbed a delicious mango slushy thing from one of the bars on the beach and sipped it happily as I headed back to my hotel. Yes, today was a good day.
Sunday Evening: The Saga of the Dragon Bridge
One of the main reasons I decided to travel to Da Nang was because of the Dragon Bridge. Now, you may recall that Long Bein Bridge in Hanoi translates to "dragon bridge," and its design is supposed to resemble a dragon. But the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang is literally a dragon on a bridge.
I KNOW.
On Saturday and Sunday nights, there is a "show," where the dragon spits fire and water. I thought that sounded so cool. Since it was Sunday and a performance day, I researched the best spots to watch the show. I found out that you can take a boat tour and watch the performance on the river, so I asked my front desk staff about it. They recommended a company, and after a shower and some rest, I climbed into a taxi.
The driver completely ignored my directions and took me to a different port. I protested, but he waved me off. Annoyed, I watched as he drove me further and further away from my destination. He pulled into a different port... and it was completely empty. I gave him a look that made him turn very sheepish, and he pulled back to the main road toward my original destination. I was cutting close on time and started to get nervous that I would miss my boat. Finally we reached the port. My driver spoke no English, so I pointed at the meter and gave him another look. He quietly held up fingers to show he was taking almost half of the price off. Some things do translate, I guess! (I've been refining Looks over the past decade of teaching.)
I paid the money and jumped out of the cab. I ran over to the boat, and it suddenly struck me that there was no one else boarding. It turns out that effective that day, no more boats were allowed on the river for the show because they were starting construction the following day on the Dragon Bridge. I tell you, my luck with water sanctions in this country! (If you remember, the kayaking in Ha Long Bay had been banned only 10 days before my trip there. Haha!)
A fire-breathing, water-spewing dragon on a bridge calls for a make-up night. And yes, I even dried my hair!
The boat that was supposed to take me to the show...
Feeling very deflated, I did what any 30-year-old woman would do. I called my mommy. I didn't feel like problem-solving at that moment, and I hadn't been able to talk much since being on vacation. I wandered along the riverfront and talked to her for a long time about my travels (and planned a little of her trip to Myanmar, too!). When we hung up, I felt much better. I decided to walk around and make the most of the night. After all, the show would still go on in a couple of hours, so I just needed to kill time. There were some nice views along the river and a whole lot of lights around the intersection near me, but I quickly learned that Da Nang is not really a walking city. After searching for restaurants on my phone, I was not feeling too thrilled about my options. I decided to simply eat onboard the boat. It was docked, but the hostess told me you could still see the bridge from the top deck. I followed her upstairs and settled into a seat near the railing.
This oil tower was modeled after the Eiffel Tower.
I ordered food and took a sip of my beer. I looked over at the bridge. Ok, this will be nice. I gazed at the bridge and started to relax. It was the first time I had really looked closely at the bridge while sitting still. It was pretty. The lights were nice. And then I suddenly realized something: I AM AT THE WRONG END OF THE DRAGON.
Yep. That is definitely a tail.
That's right. I was at the tail end of the dragon. Fire comes out of a dragon's mouth, not the tail. Shit. My food came as I was giving up hope on this whole fire-and-water-show that was turning into a ridiculous wild goose chase. I decided to write the whole thing off and enjoy my dinner before heading home.
I took a bite of food. It was horrible. Like, really really bad. There were so many bones and fatty chunks that I couldn't even chew the chicken. Ironically, this was one of the only times during my whole trip that I ate at a proper restaurant, rather than eating street food, and it was my least favorite dish (and most expensive!) of the whole trip. Just as I was starting to feel really miserable and gearing up for a grand pity party, I glanced at my phone: 15 minutes until show time. I checked Google Maps and discovered that it was about half a mile across the bridge. One kilometer in 15 minutes. I could do that! I quickly paid for my crappy food that I didn't eat, drank the rest of my beer, and sprinted off the boat. Sometimes I am really happy that I have long legs. I made it across the bridge just in time for the show to start!
Terrible. Note to self: Stick to the street food!
Yay! I made it!
This Pokemon thing hugged me. I needed a hug after all of that. Even a weird hug from a person in a Pokemon suit.
I didn't really care how good or bad the show was going to be at that point. I was just happy that I finally made it! Although I had to watch from the backside of the dragon's head, I still thought it was fun. First the dragon spit fire, and then water. Apparently I (finally) had some good luck by getting stuck on the backside of the head because the people in front of the dragon got completely soaked. All in all, it was a pretty cool experience. I mean, it's not everyday that you see a bridge shoot out fire and smoke! (It's also not everyday that my life is such a comedy of errors. I still chuckle over my luck that night.)
When the show ended, some people started to leave while others stayed and took many more selfies. I took one more look at the Dragon Bridge before heading home. I couldn't find a taxi (of course... why would my luck change now?), so I ended up walking the mile back to the hotel. It wasn't terribly scenic, but it wasn't too bad of a walk either. There was only one part that felt a little creepy (an empty construction site), but I never felt unsafe. Once I got to my room I showered and crawled into bed, grateful for today's weird adventures.
As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered what kind of weirdness tomorrow would bring :-)
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