Da Nang

It is late in the morning and I have packed my suitcase, left my room and wait in the lobby of the Acacia Heritage Hotel for my driver to drive me to Da Nang.

I woke up at 5am again, due to heavy rain and the mourning of the monks who gathered in somebody's place. The mourning has been going on for days and who knows when it will stop. I stayed in bed until 6am and went down to the pool for a swim. The cleaners gave me some funny looks, but it didn't bother me at all. The rain stopped when I was still swimming and after an hour in the pool I went back to my room to have a shower. While having a long breakfast and gazing over the rooftops of Hoi An, I was thinking about what and in what order I should do in Da Nang. While thinking about that, a tune came to my mind and I can't get it off my head.

The tune is called In Da Club and it is by 50 Cent and it goes like this:

Go, go, go, go go, go, go, shawty
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a fuck
It's not your birthday!

I believe that my mind plays a game with the words Da Nang and Da Club. Anyway, I was up there in the restaurant humming this song and I felt like standing up and dance across the place bouncing up and down and singing the lyrics. The other guests would probably think I'm on drugs.

Now I am here in the lobby still humming the melody while waiting for the driver. Da Nang is only half an hour away and there are two possibilities to get there. The first one is by coach and the second by taxi. I asked at reception and they gave me all the info. Since I am lazy and my suitcase is heavy and has only three wheels (the fourth lost the battle against the tarmac in Hanoi), I decided to do what Sonia did a few weeks ago and take a cab.

While waiting, I have the feeling that the next two days will be a trip down memory lane. I am not sure why I have this feeling, but I trust my gut feeling as it has never been wrong.

You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look mami I got the X if you into taking drugs
I'm into having sex, I ain't into making love
So come give me a hug if you into to getting rubbed

STOP IT!!!!!!

STOP IT! Is something a guest speaker said during his speech at a seminar at the Al Yamamah University a few years ago, when I was working there. He also clapped his hands in a dramatical manner to emphasise what he was saying. His speech was rather boring and the result of clapping his hands loudly and shouting STOP IT! was that many listeners woke up and started paying attention. We all found it very funny and spoke about it for weeks.

The driver arrives and helps me with my luggage. I tell him the destination, he takes a U-turn and turns on the radio. What's the radio playing? Nah, not 50 Cent, but Am Fenster by the German group City.

Einmal wissen dies bleibt für immer
Ist nicht Rausch der schon die Nacht verklagt
Ist nicht Farbenschmelz noch Kerzenschimmer
Von dem Grau des Morgens längst verjagt...

Boy, I haven't listened to this song for ages!

"Could you turn up the volume, please?" I ask the driver. And he does me the favour, The radio plays the long version (17:25 minutes!) and I am surprised as this is a song you wouldn't expect to hear in Asia. It is well known in many countries, but in Asia?

The ride is pleasant but the route is not something you would call beautiful. We pass many building sites and a few hotels and 20 minutes later we enter Da Nang. 

"When I pull out up front, you see the Benz on dubs..." 

Aaaaarrrrrgh!!!!! 

We need another 10 minutes to reach my hotel, the M Boutique Hotel & Spa. We stop somewhere and I look around in search of the hotel. The driver points to a rather narrow building across the street. As I am not sure where he points at, I ask to be sure we are at the right place. He points once again at the same building and says that this is my hotel. I get out, take my luggage and cross the road. And then I see a rather small sign next to the entrance. It takes a while to check in because the receptionist seems to be new and can't find the booking I made a few days ago. Another receptionist arrives a few minutes later and she finds the booking, scans my passport and visa and hands me the key. I ask about trips to Ba Na Hill station and she tells me that she can book me in for tomorrow. Fine! I also ask about the famous Dragon Bridge and she gives me lots of info.

I then take the lift to the first floor and walk down a corridor until I find the door to my room. When I open the door and see my room, I am more than disappointed. When you hear about boutique hotels, you expect something small, cosy, beautiful, etc. But this is the complete opposite. If you look at the photos you'll see that they have little to do with my room.

Spacious room, but very spartan and loud, because it faces the street and ....

Cheesy...

The bathroom is beautiful

But, what is this? Bars? Am I in prison?

The reason for the noise is not only the road in front of the hotel, but also this gap between the window frame and the wall.

I make myself a little comfortable and sit on the only chair in the room. I take out my Lonely Planet to read something about the city and am disappointed once again. But I sort of knew that Da Nang has nothing to offer and that it is an ugly place. Various people I have met reported the same. They all said that it is a popular place for the Vietnamese because of the endlessly long and beautiful beaches. Some foreigners I have met reported the same.

The Lonely Planet says:

Nowhere in Vietnam is changing as fast as Danang. For decades it had a reputation as a provincial backwater, but big changes are ongoing. Stroll along the Han riverfront and you’ ll find gleaming new modernist hotels, and apartments and restaurants are emerging. Spectacular bridges now span the river, and in the north of the city, the landmark new D-City is rising from the flatlands. Venture south and the entire Danang Beach strip is booming with hotel and resort developments.

That said, the city itself still has few conventional sightseeing spots, except for a very decent museum and a stunningly quirky bridge (or three). So for most travellers, a few days enjoying the city’s beaches, restaurants and nightlife is probably enough. Book an after-dark tour to see Danang at its shimmering neon-lit best. The city’s street- food scene also deserves close investigation.

Known during French colonial rule as Tourane, Danang succeeded Hoi An as the most important port in central Vietnam during the 19th century, a position it retains to this day.

And then it says something about the war and the bridges.

Anyway, I feel hungry and try to locate a restaurant a Vietnamese guy told me about a few days ago. I find it on the map and see that it is some 45 minutes walk from my hotel. Since the weather is good and I haven't done any walking today, I decide to walk and explore the area.

City's Am Fenster and 50 Cent's In Da Club are spinning in my head as I walk down the road and create a hell of a remix in my mind.

While walking down a street full of cafes and restaurants, I hear a familiar tune coming out from one of the cafes. I stop for a few seconds to listen to it and recognise the title and the singer. It is Professional Widow by Tori Amos, one of my favourite singers ever. This song in the remix version was a massive success in many countries in the 1990's. One of my favourite songs is Winter. Nobody whispers the words "My dear" as softly as Tori Amos. It truly creates goose bumps when she sings it.

I take out my mobile phone, fire up the music app, search for her albums, put my headphones on and I'm immediately taken to a different world full of softness, piano music, poetic lyrics that are hard to understand, melodies that are full of passion and emotion and envision a very beautiful, red haired and blue eyed singer with her cheeky smile how she plays the piano and sings her songs and how the audience sits or stands in awe watching and listening to her, while floating away onto musical spheres.

some side street 

What do you see in the top floor windows?

Comrades!

The impressive dragon bridge

view to the left

a concert is planned for tonight

And this is my destination.

When I was in Hanoi a few weeks ago, I was sitting on a bench by the lake and a Vietnamese man came and sat next to me. He started a chat and asked me various questions. One of the questions was about my itinerary. When I told him that I am going to Da Nang (When I roll twenty deep, it's twenty knives in the club... aaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!), he mentioned this Bavarian restaurant and suggested I should pay it a visit. The same recommended some foreigners I met in the mountains around Sa Pa. So, here I am!

I have to admit, it looks rather cheesy, but the food is great! The owner is from Bavaria, but he isn't here today. It's his day off. I chat to the waitress who tells me Michael, the owner is a butcher master (Fleischermeister) and really good at his job. And boy he is!

This is on my way back to the hotel.

a night market

aawww

a bit too early for the show

The Lonely Planet says the following:

Welcome to the biggest show in town every Saturday and Sunday night. At 9pm, this impressive dragon sculpture spouts fire and water from its head near the Han River’s eastern bank. The best observation spots are the cafes lining the eastern bank to the north of the bridge; boat trips taking in the action also depart from Ð Bach Dang on the river’s western bank. The colour-changing Dragon Bridge sees selfie-takers parking their scooters on the bridge every night.

people gathering for the show. Traffic stops while the dragon is spitting fire and water.

Hoi An

Hoi An is considered to be the most atmospheric and delightful town in Vietnam. I have to admit that I had never heard anything about this historic place, until I saw a very beautiful photo on a website. I was intrigued to learn more about this place and clicked on every link I could find.
It was once a major port, which is hard to believe when you visit the place today. At least the old town is very, not to say extremely touristy and many people find it annoying. On the positive side I should mention, that there is no traffic in the old town. You can stroll around the little streets that are full of Japanese merchant houses and the Japanese Covered Bridge being one of the top sights, Chinese temples and ancient tea warehouses and lots of shops and food places. Also, lounge bars, boutique hotels, travel agents and a glut of tailor shops are very much part of the scene. If you want to escape the Krauts and the crowds, you can visit one of the nearby beaches or cycle around the countryside, like my friend Sonia did.
Worth a visit is also the new part outside the old town. I had to go to buy a new SIM card and discovered that it is beautiful, not crowded and there are almost no tourists.
Try to avoid the rainy season if you can. If you can't, be prepared for heavy rain. In my and Sonia's case there were many breaks between the showers, so we could explore the area. Sonia was here two weeks before me and every time I see or hear rain I have to think of her and what she reported while being here.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, it started to rain when the bus dropped me off at a junction about a mile away from my hotel. So, I waited in my hotel room for an hour to stop. Then I put on my shoes and started walking towards the old town. My hotel lies conveniently across it. So I have to cross a bridge to reach it. There are many shops, food places and a few massage parlours on the way. I pass by one, which is just before the bridge and have eye contact with a man, who I believe is the owner. We greet each other and he calls a lady who speaks English. They want to invite me in for a massage and explain to me what they offer. I tell them that I want to go eat something and walk around the old town and that I will come back later, and leave.
Rain starts as soon as I cross the bridge, so I enter the first food place I find and order something local, mostly vegetables with rice. It takes a while for the rain to stop, so I read my Lonely Planet in the meantime.
When the rain stops, I walk around for two hours and decide to pay that massage parlour a visit. I go for the two hour programme: one hour of foot massage and one hour of full body. The lady who massages me does a good job and when she is about to massage my back, she climbs onto the bed and walks all over me. This is so good!
When the treatment is over, the man who I believe is the owner, invites me to have a beer with him. Even though I don't want to drink beer now, I don't want to offend him and accept his invitation.
It is late when I walk back to my hotel and finally go to sleep.

Feeling sleepy at 6am

I sleep like a baby due to the beer, the massage and probably the long ride from Hue and the humid weather that makes me feel sleepy and powerless. But I wake up once just before 5am and then again an hour later. The reason for my waking up is not a rooster like in Ninh Binh, but heavy rainfall and the mourning sound of the buddhist monks. Somebody in the neighbourhood passed away and some monks gathered in his home and mourn for ages. I could close the balcony door or put on earplugs, but I have lost my sleep and feel that it's no use. It is still too early for breakfast and I am not feeling hungry. I could go for a swim in the pool or play some towel war with any British guests. In case you are not familiar with towel war, let me explain it to you.

This is something happening in Spain, usually on the islands. The Germans get up early in the morning and occupy the sunbeds with their towels and when the Brits trot in some hours later, because they had a party all night long, they see that there's no space for them. Some Brits started getting up early, just to put their towels on the sunbeds and walk back to their rooms to continue their beauty sleep. This way they annoy the Germans.
I imagine myself and a Brit, both armed with towels, narrowed eyes to a thin line, looking alternately at each other and at the only free sunbed, Ennio Morricone's western tunes sounding across the pool and us two fighting for the last available sunbed, trying to make the fastest move...

But instead I feel like doing some pilates and text my instructor Christian in Mallorca. Even though it is late at night at his end, he is willing to have a session with me. We talk a bit about nutrition, as he made me a plan a while ago and asks if I keep up with it. I try, I say and he is happy with this answer.
We start the session, but the mourning sounds irritate me, so I put on Halaros and choose one of the Valia Calda Project tracks. This is the right sound!

After an hour of pilates, I thank my instructor, I bet he is happy to go to bed, and I go for a long shower and then up to the last floor to have breakfast.

It is 9am when the rain stops and I can finally start exploring Hoi An.

The bridge you have to cross to reach the old town

View to the right

The old town

This is somewhere in the new town on the way to the SIM card shop

A church

In the church yard

Inside

Floating lights on the river

View from my balcony

The restaurant on the top floor

Views from up there

the restaurant covers almost the entire top floor

views from my balcony

As I stroll through the old town for hours, I feel hungry and start looking for a place to it. I take an alley to see if I can find anything in one of the little streets and stop in front of Chef Burger Hoi An. I google it for reviews and discover that it has an excellent rating, so I give it a try and I am not disappointed. Christian, my pilates instructor and nutrition consultant won't be amused about this.

KJU - Kim Jong Un

The Japanese covered bridge (there is a charge for it)

What is he wearing???

The couple from before

If you're looking for a romantic (cheesy and touristy) place, Hoi An is the right place for you.

I spent 2.5 days in this wonderful city and relaxed a lot. The Acacia Heritage Hotel feels like a sanatorium, the city radiates a tranquility, despite the hordes of tourists, the weather was rainy with sunny spells, humid, warm, and not always pleasant, but it gave me time to just sit around, do pilates and go for massages. I went three times to that massage place close by the bridge, had three pilates sessions, had a few rounds in the pool and slept on a sunbed while the rain was pouring down on me. I went for long walks and surely there are things I haven't seen or haven't done, but never mind, I can always come back. I listened to a lot of music (R.E.M. of course since that cruise in Halong Bay, Halaros, my all time favourite DJ Alex Pepper and a few more artists) and started reading a novel I bought a long while ago. I didn't have to plan my next stay and trip, because I did that when I was in Hue a few days ago. I would have liked to stay a little longer, but I have to leave. Next stop is Da Nang and then Ho Chi Minh, where I will meet my friend Gerasimos, a.k.a. Jerry.

Good night everyone!