March 28 - Da Nang to Hoi An

The breakfast at the fancy hotel was just average - I was a bit disappointed. Then I went in for a swim, only to be whistled at by the hotel staff, explaining the rip currents were dangerous. I did not feel any current whatsoever, but as I anyhow did not plan to stay for all too long, I came out and left not only the beach, but also the hotel.

Again, not a lot of swim buddies at the beach

View of Da Nang from the beach

It wasn't a long ride to the city itself, which boasts as a number of modern, high-rise buildings. There was also a pretty promenade down by the riverside.

The building on the right is a large hotel (Novotel)

Dragon Bridge

At the bridgehead, there is a museum showing the sculpture of the Cham people. Champa was a kingdom from the 2nd to the 15th century in today's Vietnam, with the Chams being of Austronesian origins, having settled in Southeast Asia. They were influenced by Indian culture, as can be seen by the sculpture. I spent over an hour at the museum, marveling at the beautiful work of art.

Cham sculptures

I crossed one of the bridges and got to the beach of the city, where I took a refreshing dip in the ocean. The skyline is made up of a number of hotels - but as it was just noon, it was time to move on.

Beach at Da Nang

Just outside town, you can find a number of hills that are being mined for marble, appropriately called the Marmor Mountains. Surprise, surprise, there are a number of marble shops, selling a lot of Buddha statues - and all kinds of kitsch.

Marble, marble everywhere

A biker on a race bike stroke up a conversation with me, he turned out to be a Polish pilot, working at a local airline in Vietnam, we sat down at a café, he told me some interesting stories about the country.

My next destination for the day for Hoi An, an ancient trading port, with a well-preserved historic district, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The city center is just for pedestrians - this was a pleasant break from other towns, full of motorbikes and other vehicles whizzing about. The historic buildings are lit by colorful lanterns. Arriving downtown, I was quite surprised to meet a larger Hungarian travel group, I chatted with them for a while.

Flowers and tourists

Historic buildings

Colorful lanterns

I had (and still have) mixed feelings about Hoi An. It was a very pleasant, well-preserved town, at the same time, it is very touristy, nothing seemed to be real, every building had a restaurant or a souvenir shop. Still, mainly as it was now getting dark, I decided to stay, checking in, for $30, to a hotel called Long Life Riverside - a place I would get to dislike within 24 hours or so. The room was somewhat weird - there was a swan made up of towels on the bed and the bed itself was full of orchid petals, with a nice, but very strong odor. I went for a walk in the city, had dinner at a local market, then sat down for a couple of beers, where each glass cost about 25 cents (yes, twenty five cents...).

With just 40 kilometers of riding that day, I wasn't too happy with my performance - but then the time was spent swimming in the ocean, visiting a museum and an ancient city and chatting with Polish and Hungarian folks...not all too bad of an alternative, is it? 😉