Day four of the Vietnam trip, now in Da Nang and thankfully this hotel (unlike the one in Ho Chi Minh) has sufficient wi-fi's to put a blog post together.
My wife and I flew across to Ho Chi Minh Thursday night, I'd been once before for a few days, but this was her first trip across. After looking around we said our goodbyes at the airport yesterday, she flew back to Singapore to return to work while I aimed for the domestic terminal and flew to Da Nang. Vietnam Airlines were alright, a bit of a tired old looking A320 and the domestic terminal is in the early stages of an upgrade, but we landed on time and Da Nang Airport is a breeze to get out of. And I saved at least twenty hours not taking the train (with a hangover).
Ho Chi Minh really turned it on for us, we had a ball exploring and eating and seeing the sights. We drank at the Rex and Saigon Saigon rooftop bars, where looking across the leafy streets and historic buildings below you could easily be in Prague, Paris or London. Then upon returning to street level the roar of the traffic and humidity hits like you a brick as a firm reminder you're still in South East Asia.
We ate at some top notch Vietnamese restaurants including Hoa Tuc in the old opium refinery and Propoganda, where bottles of wine were flying out of the store room, and we explored the sights, including the Reunification Palace, which has essentially been stuck in time since Saigon fell in 1975.
Here is the cinema / theatre room on the top floor:
And behind the scenes (on the way to the roof) the old projection equipment, which would be a collectors dream:
Back downstairs, we walked through the bunker and got to see some of the service area including the kitchen. These woks are absolutely enormous, and the thought of cooking something up with the gas burners blazing while its stinking hot (and humid) outside is enough to put a sweat on the brow of an eskimo:
Anyhow, yesterday we left Ho Chi Minh and I made my way up to Da Nang, and had some luck in booking a hotel for the night that is directly on the river. There is a nice promenade along the water, and a lot of families were out enjoying their Sunday. The traffic is not as intense as Ho Chi Minh, and this guy was doing a roaring trade selling childrens balloons:
Along the river was also a good spot to find a bar and settle in for a bit of traffic watching with some beers, food, and perhaps a glass of wine, with the view of the Dragon Bridge before and after sunset in view, and being Vietnam the constant roar of motorbikes passing by.
After lunch today I head to the bus station and make my way to Hoi An for a few days. I've heard very good things about the place from a lot of people, so can't wait to get there. Staying close to the old town should do me good, as I have a lot to squeeze in: a lot of photo-taking, eating, a cooking class, some time at the beach, getting some clothes made, and at risk of sounding too Australian, finding somewhere to watch the football on Wednesday night.
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