06.10.24
We have been embedded in Da Nang for about 10 day now, and it truly feels like “home,” as much as anyplace does in our nomadic life! Our unit is superb, with plenty of space, and incredibly located within walking distance of almost anything we want. I found my gym about 10 minutes away, and Kat is experimenting with various coffee shops to find her “sweet spot,” one that combines good coffee with ambiance, quiet, and not too far a walk. In our local area we have food options galore, including sushi, Mexican, Greek, Chinese, German, Thai, burgers, and poke, along with more Vietnamese places we couldn’t visit in a year. It’s like living in New York City, but without the crowds, noise, and prices.
Last week we visited a local landmark, the Lady Buddha statue, all 220 feet of her, and the grounds are just beautiful. We kept our small scooter for the first week we were here and were able to check out the city. We found a great optometry shop and each got new prescriptions and frames–actually sunglasses, too–for about $130 per set. That’s about as inexpensive as any glasses we’ve ever had.This past weekend I got to truly explore Vietnam from the inside out via a rented 150cc “adventure bike,” which is much different than the billion scooters that constantly flitter around here. This bike is a manual transmission and is made for going places that scooters–and most bikes–might not be able to go. It was my first adventure bike, and the first day broke me in, with 283 km and almost 10 hours of riding–with breaks, of course. The bike surprised me and had good power for what I needed, handled well, and the seat was also quite pleasant, even after that many hours of sitting! It was the longest ride I had been on in a long, long time, and the most off-road riding ever.
The inland part of Vietnam is pretty spectacular, full of streams, rice fields, amazing mountains, and hills, along with a few waterfalls and lakes. Oh, and lots and lots of cattle, oxen, and goats, all leaving their remains out on the back roads we were riding on! Da Nang has a local riding group and I met two of the members who have lived in Da Nang for many years and are serious, avid riders! They know the routes and Ronald created this video which shows the one we took: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FYRTuDbcKkBNojrFAAfter that many hours it was time to find a room, and we spent the night in a RUS-TIC homestay about 23 km from a very cool town called A Lưới (pronounced A-Louie), which I saved to my map for us to revisit again before we leave. Our room was alongside a river and at night it was peaceful except for the insects outside. Fortunately, we had AC, and got a good dinner and a light breakfast for a reasonable price.
The second days’ journey home was not as exhausting, even with the 90 degree plus heat which never let up, except for when we were in the higher elevations. Only 191 km back to the home front, but we did stop in one of the places I have heard so much about–Hue–but because it was Sunday, and because it’s such a tourist magnet, we didn’t go downtown. Another time as well.
BUT, the last leg took me over the Hai Van Pass, which is a pretty awesome mountain road with half a dozen switchbacks and terrific ocean views.
It seems that Vietnam is a favorite for expats and travelers worldwide. We’ve met our share of Americans, plus Canadians, lots of Russians, and scores of other places. I think they all have the right idea
