Have you ever taken a rounded boat ride anywhere? Do you know where the world’s non-stop single-track cable car system is? Do you know of any bridge in the form of a dragon throwing flame in the late evening? It seems you are confused……. Don’t worry; we will take you on an action-packed ride on a memorable trip to Central Vietnam, Da Nang.
In case you don’t know who we are………..
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……..
We are pretty thrilled to share our experience of Da Nang. This is a perfect travel guide if you wish to explore Da Nang in a short duration. Wait! Before starting anything………
Table of Contents
1. When did we land in Vietnam?
We arrived in Vietnam two days ago. We had a great time in Ho Chi Minh City, our first destination in Vietnam. In case you haven’t read about it, give it a read. If you need any help, we are just a click away.
Returning to our story. After a great Ho Chi Minh City tour in a Hop On Hop Off bus, we headed for the airport; our flight was at 18:50 HRS. We waited in one of the random cafeterias at the Ho Chi Minh City Airport until we boarded our flight to Da Nang. Excitement for our next destination increased to an extreme level. It was a one-and-a-half-hour flight. When we landed, it was about 20:20 HRS.
Our driver was already waiting for us at the airport. We had already booked the car service from Mr Ha, a friendly and humble fellow of Hoi An. He sent a person for pickup and drop off to our stay. You can check out the website and connect with him for Da Nang and Hoi An tours .
Returning to our story, we hopped into the car and headed to our stay. We know what is going on in your mind……..
2. Where was our stay at Da Nang?
We booked our stay at Under the Coconut Tree Homestay at Hoi An. We booked mixed dormitory bunk beds. It took us about an hour to reach as it was over 20 km from the airport.
It was almost ten o’clock when we reached, we were starving for dinner. The best part was that the stay manager, a lady, called us in the afternoon to check whether we needed dinner. We requested her to prepare and she kept it on a table. There was rice, lentils, chicken curry and some vegetable soup—a fantastic dinner after a long day.
Other travellers were sleeping in the dormitory; we whispered while settling in with our luggage and went to sleep as we had an early morning departure for the next day.
The reason for choosing this stay was the stay ambience. You will time travel to some earlier village location in Vietnam. We loved staying at this place. Wish we had an entire day just to sit back and relax here.
Now you are curious about the places we were heading to the next day……
3. Where are we heading to first in Da Nang?
The time was about six o’clock in the morning; our driver was already there waiting for us in the lobby. It took us another half an hour before we started our day. Our manager did provide us with a packed breakfast to have it on the go. She packed bread stuffed with scrambled eggs and some pancakes.
The first destination that we were heading to was Linh Ung Pagoda. It is one of the most renowned Buddhist Temples in Da Nang. It took us about one hour to reach.
As we got out of the car, the ambience was so peaceful, making it hard to describe in words. We walked a little before we entered the main temple complex. Prayers were going on when we entered the main Buddha Temple.
There was a tall Lady Buddha Statue. On interacting with a few locals, they claimed it was one of the tallest in Vietnam.
The backdrop provided a panoramic view of the South China Sea with the Da Nang City. We felt like sitting there and getting immersed in the beauty.
After an hour, we departed to get some vitamin “sea“.
Now, you might be wondering about…..
4. Which sea beach were we heading to?
In another 15-20 minutes, we were in My Khe Beach. The beach offers many activities for visitors, such as jet skiing, paddleboarding, parasailing, etc., to name a few. It was the early hours of the day. The time was nine o’clock; there were little to no visitors. On top of that, it was the time of the Tet Holidays.
The beach is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Central Vietnam. It was indeed beautiful. We clicked a few snaps as memories and jumped into the car as we were heading to one of our most awaited destinations in Vietnam.
Do you remember one of the questions we asked at the blog’s beginning about the world’s non-stop single-track cable car system? Do you have any idea? Just think…….
Now, you might want to know…….
5. Which place has the world’s non-stop single-track cable car system?
It was a little over one hour ride from My Khe Beach before we reached the parking of the Ba Na Hills, one of the most awaited destinations of the trip. The Ba Na Hills is located in the Truong Son Mountains.
Tip: We recommend our readers book a private car with an English-speaking driver. Apart from privately booked vehicles, public buses ply in Da Nang. You can also rent a bike to reach Ba Na Hills.
Returning to our story. After getting out of the car, we headed to the ticket counter. Our excitement level increased. The ticket price was 1,200,000 VND per person. It included a two-way cable car ride and a lunch buffet. There was real-time video footage from the top of the hill. The weather was cloudy. We were hoping for the weather to get cleared.
We had a small break to have coffee in a cafeteria before heading for the world’s non-stop single-track cable car ride. The ride was similar to what we had experienced at the Genting Highlands Malaysia. However, the difference was the time it took to reach the top.
It was about half an hour inside the Gondola Cable Car. The view was astonishing. Our lens failed to capture the actual beauty that we could see through our eyes.
Now, as we reached the top of the Ba Na Hills, you might want to know……
6. How was our experience at the Ba Na Hills?
As we came out of the cable car, we headed towards the entrance area. It had fountains and small shops in Western architecture; even buildings seemed to represent the European flavour.
We loved the atmosphere. There were vintage cars kept to take us back in time. There was the famous recreation of the French Village. We kept on exploring for an hour.
Then, we moved to the most Instagram-able spot, the Golden Bridge. The area was so vast that it took us some time to reach the Golden Bridge with the help of the signboards and sometimes asking the security personnel.
It was close to the afternoon; the bridge was crowded with travellers worldwide. We waited some time and grabbed our spots to get a few memorable pics.
One of the most exciting features of the bridge was the stone hands holding the bridge. It was something to be cherished lifelong.
After exploring the bridge area, we slowly moved on and spent some time sitting, mesmerised by the beauty of the place.
We spent time clicking pictures with the performing artists and, at the same time, clapped for their stunning performance.
It indeed required multiple days to explore the beautiful place.
We even went inside an indoor theme park. However, we were more inclined towards taking the roller coaster ride that they termed the Alpine Coaster.
Unfortunately, when we reached, the queue was too much and it required an hour for the ride. Hence, we moved on to our buffet lunch before going downhill for the next destination of the day.
The entire area was picturesque as we headed towards our lunch venue. Sometimes, we felt as if we were in some fairyland. The shape of our lunch venue was in the form of a beer drum. The staff checked our tickets and let us in.
As we entered and reached the buffet place, we were stunned to see the variety of food options available. There were wide ranges of starters, main courses, drinks and desserts. Lots of vegetarian food options were there. This was the most enormous buffet that we had experienced so far.
This buffet has set a benchmark now. We will surely recall this experience whenever we go to any buffet. We tried to taste as many cuisines as possible and spent almost an hour before heading downhill.
We took the cable car to go downhill. We were a bit upset as we were going down. Given a chance, we would have loved to spend a few days at the Ba Na Hills. Unfortunately, we only had a day in Da Nang and a lot of places to explore.
We hopped into the car for the next destination at three o’clock.
Do you remember the first question we asked at the beginning of the blog? Yes, you got it.
7. How was the experience of the round-shaped boat ride?
It took us an hour to reach Hoi An for the rounded boat ride. The boat is termed explicitly as a Basket Boat and is locally known as “Thung Chai“.
The boat ride generally costs around 200,000 VND per person. Three persons can sit in each boat, including the one who rows the boat.
We were pretty excited to experience it for the first time. We jumped into the boat and the ride started. The boat had a Vietnamese flag attached. Sometimes, the boat tilts and sways on either side, giving it a pendulum motion, which excited us to another level. In the midway, the boat stopped to demonstrate how they caught fish from the river.
In the meantime, we could see many boats with visitors enjoying their ride. As our boat reached where one of the locals was performing stunts on the basket boat from the famous song “Gangnam Style”, we were amazed to see his skills.
The lady rowing our boat also tried to show her skill and we laughed joyfully.
After a memorable half-hour basket boat ride, we returned to our car for the next famous bridge in Da Nang.
There was one more question we asked at the beginning of the blog: there is a bridge in the form of a dragon that throws flame in the late evening. We hope you understand where we are heading to.
8. How was the experience at the Dragon Bridge?
It was about five o’clock in the evening when we reached the Dragon Bridge. The place was crowded. We stopped in front of the Han River to get a good view. The bridge connected the Da Nang city centre with the My Khe beach. After enquiring from the locals, we learned that only on weekends and on a few occasions, the dragon of the bridge breathes fire and spouts water.
We clicked a few snaps and returned to our car as we were keen to visit the old town. Soon, within half an hour, we left. You can, of course, plan and spend time by the riverside watching the famous Dragon Bridge.
You may wonder…….
9. Why were we excited about the Old Town at Hoi An?
It was about six o’clock when we reached the old town of Hoi An. At the same time, we were hungry. Finally, we met our guide, Mr Ha. He took us to his restaurant, where we tasted some local cuisine for dinner. The food was yummy.
After dinner, one of his colleagues accompanied us to the Old Town. It was so beautiful in the late evening with all the colourful lights, old buildings and the lanterns.
We tasted a banana pancake from one of the street shops. It had a unique taste. The Old Town is also one of the UNESCO heritage-listed sites and a trading port for Eastern and European countries.
As we explored the town, we took the lantern boat ride. It was another enjoyable experience. The boat can have five passengers; it costs around 200,000 VND. It was hardly 20 minutes ride. The experience was a unique one.
It was close to eight o’clock and we were tired like anything. We explored so many places in a single day that even our guide was amazed to see our enthusiasm, haha.
After an action-packed day, we returned to our stay by nine o’clock. We went to sleep in an hour as we had to move to our next destination, Vietnam, the following day.
We hope you got a glimpse of what you can plan in Da Nang. If you have a shortage of time, you can follow our itinerary. If you need any help, we are just a click away.
Wait! We are not ending this blog without this last question.
10. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Srilanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of Vietnam. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau