Some 30 kms north of Hoi An along an easy-going dual carriageway which follows an absolutely magnificent stretch of beach almost 30km long lies Da Nang, Vietnam's third largest city. Da Nang boasts three UNESCO World Heritage sites within close proximity - Hue, Hoi An & My Son. For history buffs there's the well stocked & informative Museum of Cham Artifacts &, of course, Nam 'O Beach where the American forces first landed in Vietnam in March 1965.
Above, Da Nang from the top of Son Tra (Monkey Mountain) with China Beach on the left & Nam 'O Beach to the right.
Below, looking across at Hai Van Pass from Son Tra showing the maritime entrance to Nam 'O Beach:
Da Nang is a wonderful balance between city skyscrapers & 5 Star Resorts offering charming riverfront & seafront promenades. There are supermarkets, a foreign medical care centre, great restaurants & bars. The road infrastructure is first class with a number of excellent bridge crossings into the city over the Han River including Vietnam's longest suspension bridge. For those interested in a nice stroll whilst traveling there are 2 top-knotch golf courses - Montgomery Links & the Greg Norman designed Da Nang Golf Club - almost next door to each other along the coastal road to Hoi An. Norman is developing a beach-front resort opposite the golf club. On Christmas Day 2012 a new terminal at the International Airport was inaugurated simultaneously opening more international flight options.
China Beach above was the playground for American servicemen on R&R. The first international surfing competition ever staged in Vietnam was held here in 1992.
Below, 'The Billabong', an Ozzie surfing-theme pub only a stone's throw from where the above photo was taken on the My An stretch of China Beach.........2xGTR riders/contributers enjoying a beer or ten!
Above, looking out from Syrena's Restaurant one of a group of beachside restaurants on the My Khe section of China Beach.
Below, Da Nang - Song (river) Han Bridge - by night:
There are some great acommodation options - here's the view from the suite-like floor of the Minh An where we stayed when we first arrived ...... $15/night:
In the foreground, right, is the My An Surf Lifsaving Tower staffed by lifesavers trained by Surf Lifesaving Australia! In the background the massive Quan Am statue.
At Da Nang's doorstep lie the marvels of the Marble Mountain, Son Tra (Monkey Mountain), the Cham Islands & Ba Na, not to mention Hai Van Pass uncontestably one of the world's greatest ocean roads (see BBC's 'Top Gear').
Above, the absolutely breathtakingly stunning Huyen Khong atop Marble Mountain, & below, Cham Islands - 12nm from the coast & blissfully undeveloped as only recently opened to the public by the army. Its a haven for divers:
Only recently completed, there is now a fabulous loop around the top of Son Tra (Monkey Mountain) - as the first 2 photos above of this report attest. If you're lucky you'll encounter a gathering of its primate population. A shot taken along the ridgeline of Son Tra followed by another from the eastern extremity of Son Tra showing the road back from the lighthouse. That's Marble Mountain visible in the distant background........STEEP!
The Son Tra coastline & some hide-away restaurants at water's edge, then a shot looking back towards Da Nang over Quan Am's statue & in the distance Thuan Phuoc suspension bridge:
The warnings are there also for adventurers considering traveling after rains - a recent shot/s from the access to Son Tra:
Ba Na, a hill-station developed by the french at an elevation of almost 1500m so as to escape the summer heat. Ba Na offers both sensational views to the coastline & an equally sensational cable car ride up (2 mentions in the Guiness Book of Records). Unlike Da Lat which has been established on a large plateau, Ba Nat is built very much straight into the hills. There is much construction under way including extensions to an existing theme park & extensions to existing hotels. Linh Ung Pagoda, a 24m seated Buddha built in 1999, looks out over all below.
Above, extensions to the theme park are under construction. Below, Linh Ung Pagoda on a cloudy day:
Hai Van Pass - Sea Cloud Pass - the sensational winding, climbing road traversing Truong Son (Annamite Ranges); one of the world's great coastal roads with a similarly blessed train track below following the coastline. Some shots/a brief abridged version 'to fill you in':
Above, the road northwards heading up from Da Nang & below, you can see the train line hugging the coast:
Above, the road heading down to Lang Co (beach) which is visible in the background. The larger white building, virtually the only building over the pass, houses the ventilation system for the 6km tunnel (motorbikes not allowed) through the mountain which saves around 1 hour on the journey. Below, views on the way down:
Looking back over Da Nang from Hai Van Pass:
A city such as Da Nang offers many intriguing moments:
I witnessed the above traffic jam over the Han Bridge one morning, where all present seized whatever side of the bridge suited them ....... what interested me most though was the way in which the police arrived, stopped further traffic entering onto the bridge & simply left all those blocked up on the bridge to sort their own way out! Great approach!
Da Nang like most cities in Asia wastes nothing/recycles everything. There are second hand shops selling everything imaginable, below used tyres are made into things:
Then there's the nightly spectacle along the beachside - my excuses but I'm no photographer & just tried to get some sort of shot using auto/no tripod. By means of explanation - Vietnam remains a very conservative society. It is unacceptable for unmarried people to live together, unmarried girls live at home until such time as they are married, at the charge of the eldest son should the father die, I.D's are checked rigorously at all hotels & reports given to local police, to ensure unmarried couples do not use the same room........I've even seen a brothel raided by police where the underage (16 year old) boys frequenting the place were taken away, not the girls plying their trade. So young couples - by their 100's - gather every night on 2 seater directors chairs under large parasols along the beach.........
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