Start,
Day 14,
Day 15,
Day 16,
Day 17,
Day 18,
Day 19,
Day 20,
Day 21,
Day 22,
Day 23.
Day 24.
Da Nang
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| Local eatery |
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| Fresh seafood |
We originally planned to spend a day near the port. We got off the ship to have a look around the port.
We were impressed by the fresh seafood being eaten by the locals in a eatery.
There was range of seafood, but we were really impressed by the dishes of cuttlefish which seems very popular in this region and large prawns.
While there, we decided to hire an English-speaking driver, (which cost a little more money) to take us to Danang.
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| Whole cuttlefish |
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| Cuttlefish curry |
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| Prawns in the shell |
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| Abandoned high-rise |
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| Abandoned apartment building |
It only took about 15 minutes to drive to Da Nang which is quite a large city encircling a large bay.
Both along the road and on the outskirts of the Danang we saw many failed tourist developments which are now abandoned.
We stopped briefly at the beach and chatted with a surfer who was there for a competition.
He said a few years ago there was not much surfing but now it has picked up, including some of the locals now surf as well.
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| My An Beach at Dan Nang |
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| My An Beach at Dan Nang |
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| Take-away food caravan |
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| Selfie |
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| Compulsory location photo |
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| Do's and Dont's |
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| Water Mountain containing the Huyen Khong Cave |
Our next stop was the Marble Mountain and caves complex and on our we we passed the 300 year old Linh Ung Non Nuoc Pagoda.
We stopped at the foot of Water Mountain (Thuy Son) which contained the Huyen Khong Cave. The cave passageways are relatively narrow but in some parts open up to large caverns with very high ceilings and quite jagged rock formations. Quite different to traditional limestone caves with stalactites and stalagmites.
There were various small temples and shrines within the complex, each dedicated to different gods or dieties.
There was an extremely narrow stairway winding up to the top from where you could look out over the city. I went up alone - Frances decided it was safer to wait below.
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| Entry to the Am Phu cave |
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| Carved statue in situ |
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| Shrine |
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| Frances and shrine |
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| One of the caverns |
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| Multiple ststues |
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| Shrine |
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| Shrine |
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| Demon |
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| Shrine with multiple buddhas |
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| Climbing the carved steps |
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| Climbing rings |
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| Looking down the steps |
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| View of Da Nang city |
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| Pagoda near the top |
While waiting for our driver to return, we went into a nearby cafe.
We shared a local bhan mi, as we expected quite a large one, similar to the ones in Sydney. However, it was a lot smaller but quite tasty with quite a lot of mint leaves.
It was accompanied by a couple of local beers, Huda and Larue, and completed with a Vietnamese coffee.
The Cham museum focuses on the history of the Cham people, original inhabitants of this region. It is only a small museum but featured the first campaigns of clearing and study of Cham monuments conducted by Henry Parmentier and Charles Carpeaux at the end of the 1800's.
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| Cham Museum |
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| Parmentier and Carpeaux photos |
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| Cham statue |
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| Celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Snake |
2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac, specifically the Wood Snake, and so snake motifs were very prominent.
The snake signifies wisdom, transformation, and strategic growth, a time for reflection, intuition, and subtle power rather than brute force, favoring those born in Snake years with insight and resilience for breakthroughs in career and relationships - although burnout is a risk.
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| Happy Year of the Snake |
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| Lunar New Year of the Snake |
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Billboad celebrating the Party &
Lunar New Year of the Snake |
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| Tyres used for oyster farming |
Here are some other observations while we were at the mouth of the Han River.
Along the shore we saw piles of motorcycle tyres which had obviously been underwater for some time. Initially perplexed, we concluded that they were used for oyster fishing - placed in the water for the oyster larvae to settle and grow.
However, this practice is strongly discouraged and is banned in Australia due to severe environmental and health risks. Tyres leach toxic chemicals into the water, harm marine life, and contribute to marine debris.
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Statue of Ca Chep Hoa Rong
(Dragon Head with Fish Body) |
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| Oppo phone promotion |
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| Traditional rooftops |
