It was spring 2018 when I visited Da Nang, Vietnam for the first time and, soon, knew I would come back there. And yes I returned several times. Why? For several reasons that you can find below along with my photography.
1
The climate is great. Hot but cooler than one in Thailand or Ho Chi Minh City. (I spent many months in both mentioned cities during my nomadic life in Southeast Asia in 2017-2019.)
May in Da Nang
November
2
Da Nang has a cozy city center. You can't say the same about every Asian city.
A curious fact: millions of Vietnamese are Catholics, there are many churches in Vietnam. This is Danang Cathedral (1923), one of the beauties of the city
The city center, with the spire of Danang Cathedral in the middle.
The Han River that divides the city into two parts. This image will take part in a contest of minimalist photography by Photofeed.
3
One more reason is that the people of Da Nang are friendly. I would say Nha Trang City (its tourist part) is more tensive, there are too many cheaters in Hoi An. Da Nang is just fine like Ho Chi Minh City is. It's subjective but I say how I feel.
A security guy sitting at the seafront street ... guarding a hotel, probably... He asked me to take an image of him just for fun. I liked the way of posing he chose, his facial expression, the attitude to me in his eyes. He has a talent of posing, for sure... and, probably, a talent of living?
Shellfish party. The owner of the hostel organized this shellfish barbecue for his guests (for free).
I mean... This is not about saving money, this is about attitude.
Another act of hospitality: hostel employees took me to the mountain for watching the moment when Danang turns on its lights. They wanted to share this scenery with me. Very young employees, a girl and a guy in love, they wanted everybody to be happy as they were, probably.
4
Da Nang is located between three airports offering cheaps to Europe: Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, and Hanoi. Danang has its own airport with budget flights to other Asian cities available.
5
There is a good selection of accommodation including 4$-a-night hostels. Not every Asian city has so many cheap hostels on booking services.
A hostel for 4 USD in Da Nang
6
Da Nang is convenient from the point of visas: in a nearby Laotian city Savannakhet, you can get Thai / Vietnamese visas.
7
There are public spaces for comfortable walks (without bikes riding on the sidewalk) - the Han River embankments, the beach. Generally, Da Nang is a more pedestrian-friendly place than some other Vietnamese cities.
The Han River embankment
The same embankment
The Dragon Bridge
8
They have two big malls in Danang. Malls mean cheap everything and, again, they mean spaces for peaceful walks.
There are plenty of decent restaurants there too.
My favorite Vietnamese food, pho, noodle soup with beef. I always add a lot of herbs and chili (love them!) I regularly had pho here: Phở Bắc 63. The price: 35.000 dongs (1.5 USD).
9
Many places to visit around the city.
Hoi An City is of one them, an hour by bus from Da Nang. I am not a fan of Hoi An but it is colorful and worth visiting for sure
10
Public city buses, you can travel within the city with them.
11
Danang is popular among travelers, expats, but, nevertheless, it is still authentic
Except for the seafront district. The sea facade of the city is new, a row of high-rise hotels. Many things are under construction there, too much concrete, lack of real life, but the sea is the sea. And the bay is beautiful. Besides, broad half-empty avenues are joyful after dense street traffic usual for Vietnam.
12
In spite of 1+ million people population, Da Nang is rather a small city from the point of infrastructure and diversity of city life. If you need shopping and diverse nightlife, Ho Chi Minh City is a much better choice within Vietnam.
But everything is learned in comparison. Da Nang does have some life after the dark and walking at night there is fine. This is amazing after being in, for example, Laotian Savannakhet where I had stones in my pockets to fight against dogs during evening walks.
Micky Mice at Love Lock Bridge. I have a personal warm feeling for this image. Not sure why. Maybe because Micky Mouse reminds me of one of my favourite movies, a movie about the Vietnam war, Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick?
The dragon breathes fire on the bridge. A tourist attraction with a surprise: after the fireshow, the dragon breathes water on people. Check my short video how it was:
All images and the video are taken by me with Nikon D750 and Nikkor lenses.
Thank you for stopping by,
