One of the only downsides of living in Da Nang is the fact that just like anywhere else that is popular in the world, there are just so many darn people here. With that amount of people comes a lot of noise and of course traffic which makes even more noise.
I complain frequently about the level of noise pollution that we have here in this otherwise fine city and peace and quiet really comes at a premium. I've never been subjected to this level of constant noise anywhere else I have lived in my life so therefore, when I do find somewhere that is quiet, I tend to take notice and see if I can incorporate it into my life. I found such a place the other day and it is only about a 20 minutes bicycle ride from my front door.
This area is called Son Tra and it is located at the northern-most part of the beach area in Da Nang. You can see by the footpath that the original intention was likely that this area be bustling with people just like most of the rest of the beach is, but thanks to some geographic limitations, the masses don't seem to ever make their way down here.
This is kind of a parking lot for the fishing boats of the region so I would suppose that there are certain times of day where this area is busy but it wasn't when I arrived there at about 3pm yesterday. When I pulled my bicycle over to the side of the road to sit in the shade, I was delighted by the near absence of any sort of noise. There in the distance of the last photo, you can see the area that I cycled from and that part of town is filled with perpetually beeping horns and the ever-so-lovely sound of excavators, pneumatic drills, rotary saws, and sledgehammers as the never-ending construction carries on all day, every day.
Getting down here and just simply sitting in the silence and enjoying the cold water that I brought with me was a delightful addition to my day and even though I was originally going to this place in order to exercise, I decided to stick around for a while and just enjoy the peace.
There are places to live up here and I have thought about moving there in the past but with every good, there comes some bad. With the lack of population up here at this point, there is also a lack of any sort of food in the way of restaurants or supermarkets. Also, from what I have heard from others that have made the jump to live up here, a lot of the restaurants wont deliver up here either because it is "too far."
The rather large 4 lane road here indicates that there was likely some initial expectation that the beach popularity would reach up to this point as well, but as of yet, that doesn't seem to be the case. I reckon that it will stay this way as well unless they somehow convince the fishermen to park their boats elsewhere. It's still Vietnam after all so of course there is garbage all over the place and the water has a rainbow effect on it from all the oil and diesel that gets into the ocean. This isn't exactly something that tourists would be very happy with so I don't think that this area is in any danger of having some sort of rapid expansion with hotels anytime soon.
So if you end up moving to Da Nang for some reason, or even if you are just visiting here in the area and get fed up with the constant noise pollution, all you have to do is go for a walk North on the beach. The beach ends shortly after where I decided to stop in the shade so you really can't miss it. I think you will realize that you have made it to your destination before your phone alerts you to this because all of a sudden the beeping of horns stops and if you live here for a just a little while, you will understand how much of a relief this actually is.