|
Da Nang
|
 |
|
Da Nang was the landing
point of both the French and
the Americans during their
stints in Vietnam. When the
French established a
garrison in Da Nang (then
called Tourane), more
soldiers died from disease
than the associated fighting
in establishing the
garrison. There is now a
small cemetery dedicated to
them
During the Vietnam War, Da
Nang was the home to one
fifth of all US servicemen
based in Vietnam. This made
Da Nang on of the heaviest
defended cities in South
Vietnam, yet it eventually
fell to the North Vietnamese
in 1975 with hardly a bullet
fired
Da Nang marks the halfway
point between Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh City and was the
first place to organize its
own local communist party
committee. The city is
fairly featureless, and if
you are coming from the
tranquil setting of Lang Co,
Hoi An, or anywhere for that
matter, Da Nang is an
extreme disappointment. It
is a busy, dusty, colorless
city, the fourth largest in
Vietnam, and one of the
largest business centers.
Unless you are in Da Nang
for business, chances are
you will pass straight
through. Da Nang does have a
fascinating Cham Museum that
contains an excellent
collection of Cham art.
However, the main reason for
staying in Da Nang is in the
surrounding region. China
Beach, the Marble Mountains,
Hoi An and My Son are all
within striking distance of
Da mange, though it is more
pleasant to stay in Hoi An
and visit these sights
Lang Co Beach
If you were not planning on
staying in Lang Co, a drive
through may change your
mind. The main street is
lined with palm trees
enticing you to go for a
swim in the crystal clear
waters that lap onto fine
white sandy beaches. Lang Co
is on a sand spit peninsula
with a sparkling lagoon on
one side, and a long beach
lining the South China Sea
on the other. This is one of
the most beautiful places in
Vietnam, and is yet to be
developed extensively for
tourists, which is probably
a good thing
Hai Van Pass
|
 |
|
Travelling by road between
Lang Co and Da Nang, you
will have to get over the
Hai Van Pass. This pass is
created by a spur from the
Truong Son Mountain Range
that extends to the coast.
This extremely mountainous
road, with its sensational
views, is the cause of many
local vehicles breaking
down. So if you are on one,
allow yourself plenty of
time. The view from the top
of the pass is
extraordinarily beautiful
and well worth a stop to
take it all in
The train goes through
tunnels at the base of the
mountain and along the
shoreline, so you will miss
out on the spectacular views
from the top. However you
will see some awesome
scenery nonetheless
Cham Museum
The Cham Museum is the main
attraction of Da Nang and is
worth the trip, even if it
is from Hoi An. This old
sandstone building houses an
excellent collection of Cham
art and sculpture. The
museum was built between
1915 and 1916, with Da Nang
being chosen due to its
proximity to the themes of
Cham architecture, and was
enlarged in 1936 as the
collection of works
increased. There are now
over 300 pieces of sculpture
and they are all original
pieces of work. The subjects
of the sculpture range
through a vast ten rooms of
the museum bears the name of
the district in which the
relic were found
China Beach
|
 |
|
China Beach extends north
and south of the Marble
Mountains and was made
famous by the war and
subsequent TV series. China
Beach is within cycling
distance of Da Nang and it
was this close proximity
that led to it being used as
an R&R destination for
American soldiers during the
war. It is a long beach that
stretches all the way down
to Cua Dai beach at Hoi An,
though you will get a larger
surf at China beach. China
beach actually hosted
Vietnam’s first
International Surfing
Competition in 1992. There
is some controversy as to
whether this was the real
China Beach or if it was the
beach called My Khe, further
to the north
My Khe Beach
My Khe is the beach directly
east of Da Nang on the South
China Sea. By road it is
about 6 km from the centre
of town to the ocean, by
crossing the Han River via
the Nguyen Van Troi Bridge.
Turn left after the river
crossing onto the main road,
then a right after a couple
of kilometers, and follow
this street until you hit
the water. My Khe Beach and
China Beach are only 65 km
apart and they are connected
by the same stretch of
coastline and uninterrupted
sand. This proximity to each
other makes it easy to
understand to confusion
towards the real ‘China
Beach’, as it is essentially
the same beach
Marble Mountains
|
 |
|
The Marble Mountains are
made up of five limestone
outcrops in isolation from
the surrounding plains, each
riddled with caves and
grottoes, with some made
into pagodas and shrines.
Each mountain represents one
of the five elements of the
universe, being water, wood,
fire, metal and earth. The
main mount, representing
water, has a path to the top
with two entrances open to
tourists. You can also enter
from the second entrance at
the reverse side, farther
down the road, which is a
much less strenuous climb.
The top offers spectacular
views of Da Nang and the
surrounding Marble
Mountains. A better vantage
point is reached through a
small hole at the top of one
of the caves, with the views
including China Beach and
Cham island
As you start climbing the
stairs, you will be accosted
by young children offering
to guide you or sell you
stone carvings. The guides
can be quite good value, as
for payment they often just
want you to buy a small
stone carving, a great
pressie for the folks back
home. Come of the larger
caves have been transformed
for religious purposes, and
Buddha statues are guilt
within them along with all
the associated guardians.
Some of these caves are
quite eerie with the pungent
smell in incense sitting in
the air and the walls all
covered in bullet marks from
small arms fighting during
the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam war there
was some violent fighting
which went on in cave to
cave battles. In Huyen Khong
cave, one of the large holes
in the ceiling was caused y
a bomb. Within this cave
there are a number of
shrines, temple guards and
Buddha statues, and there
are still stalactites on the
ceiling. Off to the side of
the cave there are two small
stalactites that are
believed to represent
breasts, one is dripping
whilst the other is dry.
According to legend, when
Emperor Tu Duc entered and
touched one of the
stalactites, it stopped
dropping and never has
since. At the base of Marble
Mountains there are a large
number of stone carving
shops reminiscent of
Mahalliburipuram, India, as
all you can hear is the
endless chipping away of
stone. All these stores are
very keen to sell you a
three foot high temple dog
My Son Sanctuary
|
 |
|
My Son has
what is arguably the best
collection of Cham art and
architecture in its natural
setting in Vietnam. It is
somewhat of an arduous
journey to get out there,
but is well worth the
effort. If you are not
willing to risk life and
limb to visit Angkor, at
least My Son will give you a
little taste of what it must
be like. Though some of the
monuments were destroyed by
the war or thieves, but what
remains is still
considerable. Many of the
structures are overgrown
with dense vegetation but
you can get inside some of
them
Cua Dai beach
|
 |
|
The beach is
the closest to Hoi An, very
beautiful and is well worth
a visit to cool off when the
heats starts to get to you.
The only eyesore are the
bizarre changing huts and
bungalows. It is an
incredibly long beach with
loads of room to wander off
for a bit of personal space,
which is so difficult to
find in Vietnam. If you
spend a day at the beach and
elect to take a deckchair,
you will be asked to buy
either a baguette, some
lovely pineapple or a drink,
otherwise you will have to
pay for the seat. All these
prices are inflated, but the
pineapple in particular is
delicious
Hoi An
|
 |
|
Hoi An town
is small and peaceful, the
kind of place where you may
get stuck for a few days,
whether it is intentional or
not. Originally known as
Faifo, this antique town is
bordered on its southern
side by the Thu Bon River,
along which there's a number
of small cafes. Despite the
fact that it is now a
tourist haven, the artistic
atmosphere and local
friendly people create an
inviting environment
Hoi An was an important port
developed in 17th
century and remained so for
a long time. There used to
be canals parallel to the
streets, so merchandise
could be loaded straight
from the back of houses onto
the boats. Hoi An’s
continuance as a port lasted
right up until the early
years of the 20 century,
when the river became silted
up forcing the cargo ships
to call at Da Nang instead
In the past Hoi An has been
used by the Japanese,
Portuguese, Dutch, French
and the large remaining
Chinese community where all
sorts of produce and wares
were traded. Remnants of
these past traders’
influences can still be seen
lining the streets of Hoi
An. There are nine different
types of historical sites in
Hoi An with an average age
of 200 years. They include
private houses, family
chapels, community halls,
communal houses, temples,
pagodas, bridges, wells and
tombs. Many of these
buildings have been
maintained close to their
original form, allowing you
imagination to recreate a
prosperous trading town. The
houses are small and
colorful with wooden doors
and two round "wooden
house's eyes" above, window
shutters and ornamental
furniture. A pleasant change
from the iron bars and metal
grates of other towns
Hoi An is full of shops
selling artwork, from
lifelike memorial family
portraits, to stylized
images of Hoi An houses and
streets. Next door to the
art shops are places selling
souvenir statues, ceramic
plates, and ‘antique’ bowls.
At the market place beside
the river, you can pick up
almost anything you want.
Tourists are often being
lured into the markets to
buy silk and to have quality
garments tailor made. You
can have anything from
dresses and trousers to
shirts and hats made for a
cheap price
Another noticeable quality
of Hoi An is its relative
silence. There are few cars
and people do not feel the
urge to use their horns
every two seconds. The
streets are filled with the
hum of voices, motorbikes
and the shuffling of thongs
along the ground. Hoi An is
small enough to get around
on foot, and you will need a
set of wheels if you are
going to Cue Dai Beach, or
on a day trip to the Marble
Mountains or Da Nang
A relaxing activity around
sunset is to hire a boat
from the waterside by the
market place. Many of the
locals will wait on the
river and offer you this
service throughout the day
and night
Merchant Houses
|
 |
|
Many of the old merchant
houses are lived in by the
locals, but fortunately are
beautifully preserved. They
ca be typically described as
having a narrow and lofty
interior with a barrel vault
ceiling. The street entrance
has a shop front where the
merchant used to display his
goods. This is still used
for his purpose n modern Hoi
An with its numerous
galleries and antique shops.
There is also a back room
where the merchant’s family,
apprentices and servants
lived. The entire inside of
the house is made of deeply
polished hardwood. Walls,
columns and entrances are
decorated with poems, words,
symbols, and patterns. Much
of the heavy ornate
furniture are originals,
however some pieces are
replicas. Private houses in
this style open to travelers
include Tan Ky House that
has staff that speak fluent
English and French
Japanese Bridge (chua Cau)
|
 |
|
This bridge was built in
1953 by the Japanese,
although this may be hard to
pick by its name! Its base
is made of stone and the
rest of ironwood, jackwood
and other hardwoods. The
bridge’s purity has been
ruined over time with
Chinese and Vietnamese
ornamentation. There is a
pagoda built into one side
of the bridge. The bridge is
still used as a popular
thoroughfare and is on the
western end of Tran Phu
street
Phuc Kien Community
Hall
This is a Chinese Community
Hall, but has other uses as
a temple, shrine, place of
ancestor worship, and a
venue for conferences. The
Chinese maintain
practicality in their
worship but since most
things in life ca not be
guaranteed, superstition
also plays a large part in
their religious beliefs. The
rear contains an altar
dedicated to the three gods
of health, wealth, and
longevity. Three is even a
goddess who will stop your
baby crying for a sufficient
tip. Other community and
assembly halls include: the
Hainan Chinese Assembly, the
ChaoZhou Assembly Hall etc
Assembly Hall of the
Cantonese Chinese
Congregation
This is beside the Japanese
Bridge at 176 Tran Phu
street and is a very well
maintained, bright and
colorful assembly hall. It
was founded in 1786 and
shoes must be removed before
entering |
