14 January 2013
We travelled over and under the mountains today first over a mountain pass and then through an 8km tunnel through to Da Nang as it was still too hazy to be able to see anything from the alternative route over the top but the views along the way were spectacular.
Da Nang has existed as a port for centuries and is strategically placed with mountains or sea all around making it easy to defend. Now in peace time China, Korea and others are funding the building of road networks throughout the region but in typical Vietnamese fashion they have kept their options open by building tunnels.
Once we are over the mountains we finally see the sun and blue sky and the temperature rises significantly. We pass lots of fish farms and fishing villages on the way with hundreds of round boats everywhere and I long to be able to photograph them but unfortunately this seems to be a very localised phenomenon and there is no opportunity when we stop to see the famous China Beach on our way through Da Nang to our destination for the next 3 nights.
We are excited to be staying in a lovely place with lots of free time. First stop though is lunch at the Mermaid Restaurant. Its owner started the very first restaurant in Hoi An in1992. Then we have a walking tour in the old city to orient ourselves before exploring all the tailor shops so that we have time to have things made and book a cooking class for later.
The hotel has a traditional dance performance and happy hour this evening.
For this and other similar tours see:
Explore Asia with Intrepid Travel
(a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)
Peregrine Adventures (Comfort tours)
Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)
Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites. So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more ☺.
Leave a Reply