This Expat Life (June 2019): Danang & Hue
After moving abroad in July 2014, I started compiling monthly roundup posts about life as an expat in Southeast Asia and all the nitty-gritty that goes on behind the scenes here at Travel Lush. Check out my most recent monthly roundup posts March, April and May.
The best thing about working remotely is that I can work from anywhere. Well, in my case, I need to be in Asia, but that gives me plenty of options! Aaron and I both agreed that we wanted to spend the summer somewhere other than Saigon. We were tempted to do what we always do and book it to our beloved Bali, but because we’ve spent so much time there over the past few years we felt it was time to do something different. Instead, we opted to get to know our current adopted country better and base ourselves in the beachside city of Danang for the summer. Aside from a quick trip to Hue at the end of the month, we spent all of June in Danang.
Per usual, I spent the majority of last month cooped up in an apartment working. But unlike my days in Saigon, I’ve been able to dip in the ocean every afternoon, soak up the very intense sun and explore an entirely new city.
So what did I get up to in June? Let’s get to it.
Falling for Danang
Danang tends to get passed over by tourists, but now that I’ve spent the past month here I’m surprised it doesn’t get more love from travelers. It has the longest stretch of white sand beach I’ve ever seen, the riverside setting and all the colorful bridges are a photographer’s dream, and there are all sorts of amazing things to do both in and around the city. I’ll be writing a full post on everything Danang has to offer soon.
Exploring Son Tra Peninsula
One of my favorite things I did last month was rent a scooter and explore Son Tra Peninsula. The peninsula is located a few kilometers north of the city so it’s super easy to get to. There are a bunch of beautiful temples, near-deserted beaches and seriously stunning vistas. Oh, and there are plenty of monkeys too. To be honest, I have an irrational fear of monkeys but they were fun to view from a distance!
It felt great to be on the back of a motorbike again (Aaron did the driving). We really wanted to make it to “the peak” of the mountain which supposedly offers unreal views of the ocean and the city of Danang. We started going up the super steep hill and quickly realized our brakes were not equipped to handle the steep hills. We’ve had a few (very minor) scooter accidents in our time so our motto is definitely safety first. Despite not making it to the top, we had a great time gawking at the gorgeous scenery and swimming in the area’s seriously pretty beaches.
Getting super sick
Actually, I was fine but Aaron got really sick for about a week. After a few days, he really wasn’t looking good. He wasn’t eating, had a fever and an intense cough that really concerned me. Finally, I forced him to go to a clinic and get some meds. Thankfully, the antibiotics worked their magic and after a few more days he was alive again! It was sad seeing him so ill. We basically spent that week housebound, so it kind of threw off our plans to get to know Danang better. And then…
No running water for five days
Literally, the day Aaron started feeling better the water in our building went out. At first, we thought nothing of it. It was a Friday night and we figured it would come back on in the morning.
It didn’t.
It didn’t help that neither of us had washed our hair on Friday. By Saturday afternoon, after walking around in the heat for hours, we were feeling pretty gross. We called our landlord and he said something about the Danang water factory shutting water off to the city (??) and that it would come back on at 6pm.
It did…for like 20 minutes. And then it went off again. I was kicking myself for not showering the second it came back on.
On Sunday night, our building made an announcement in Vietnamese. We heard the words nước (water) and thứ năm (Thursday). All we could guess is that something major was going on in our building and water wouldn’t come back on until Thursday. Ugh.
At 6 pm that night, I checked the water again and it was on. I didn’t want to risk it so Aaron and I quickly executed our previously devised plan. Aaron showered while I very quickly washed the crusty dishes, flushed the toilets, filled water bottles so we could flush the toilets the next day, set up basins so we could wash our hands and faces, and then I took a much-needed shower. The water went off three minutes after that.
That was how we spent the next two days before moving to our next Airbnb. This place has running water. Yay! It was actually fairly comical at first but going that long without showering in this insanely hot climate is gross and it made us not want to leave the house. I would have loved to go wander around the city during those five days but the “feels like” temperature of 113 degrees (45 degrees Celsius) kept us indoors. Alternately, we would have loved to go swimming in the ocean, but we had no guarantee that the water would come back on so we didn’t want to risk it.
Escaping to Hue via the Hai Van Pass
The Hai Van Pass that leads from Danang to Hue is probably one of the most famous stretches of road in Vietnam. The views are epic. You’ll see uninhibited glimpses of the bright blue ocean, lush jungle mountains and dangerously curvy roads. It’s pretty cool. I wanted to make the journey on motorbike but decided to err on the side of caution and take a car. The only drawback is that I didn’t get to take a ton of photos along the way.
After doing some research I learned that the Hai Van Pass was once known as the “street without joy,” since it connected the war-torn cities of Hue and Danang during the war. During our drive, we stopped off at old American outpost used during the Vietnam War. It was riddled with bullet holes and a stark reminder of this country’s tragic past.
Melting down in Hue
When I say melting, I mean I felt like I was melting the whole time we were in Hue. Of course, we traveled there on what must have been the hottest weekend ever. It was 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius) all three days. Walking outside felt like we were in a furnace, even at night. Since we only had a couple of days to explore the city, I was determined to see at least a few things, despite the heat.
The first day we visited the historic Imperial City. The walled city is massive and I tried so hard to explore it all. After about an hour we were both drenched in sweat and felt like we were going to pass out. We gave up, beelined it to a drink stand and hydrated. The next day was equally as sweltering but went much better.
Exploring the quirkier side of Hue
I have a thing for offbeat travel destinations so when I found out that Hue was home to a creepy abandoned water park, I just had to go. The water park opened in 2004 and was operational for a few years before mysteriously shutting down, despite the fact that it cost millions to develop. Since then, it’s sat dormant. Fast forward to 2019, and the dragon that emerges from the center of the lake has become a popular hangout spot among Vietnamese teens. It’s now overgrown with trees and covered in graffiti, creating an amazingly dystopian-esque scene. It’s the stuff of (my) dreams.
So we rented a motorbike and made the 20-minute drive to the water park. I was surprised to find a dozen or so other people there snapping selfies. It’s definitely become one of the top Instagram spots in Hue for tourists. I loved it though. Walking around the lake is just eerie and there are a few other abandoned sites to check out. You can even go inside the dragon and explore the caverns of what was a once-thriving aquarium. The best part was climbing to the top of the spiral staircase and standing in the dragon’s mouth. The views are epic but standing on that platform was a bit sketchy. I felt like there was a good chance it could collapse at any moment.
Of course, we were there during the hottest time of the day. We were so dehydrated and thirsty we had already polished off the bottle of water we brought. I never drink soda, but the second I saw a woman selling drinks I happily chugged a can of Revive (it’s a thing here) in about 30 seconds.
Eating all the vegetarian Vietnamese food
One thing that has been great about spending so much time in another region of Vietnam is that I’ve been able to sample different local foods. Being a vegetarian who loves food is sometimes a bummer in a place like Vietnam that’s so famous for its food. But thanks to the Buddhist influence, there are tons of vegetarian Vietnamese restaurants. Since arriving in Danang we’ve been stuffing our faces with veg versions of cao lầu (meat and greens served over thick noodles) and mì quảng (a turmeric-infused noodle soup) which the region is famous for.
Hue is basically a vegetarian’s paradise. It’s actually one of the most veg-friendly places I ever been to. We ate at a different vegetarian restaurant every day and sampled all sorts of tasty dishes: bánh khoai (a fried crispy pancake traditionally stuffed with shrimp), bánh cuốn and món bánh ướt thịt nướng (kind of like fresh spring rolls but wrapped in thick, wet rice paper) and gỏi thập cẩm (basically an assortment of veggies and (mock) meats drizzled with a sweet sauce). All of these are completely different than anything I’ve had in Saigon.
That about sums it up. We’ll spend about another week in Danang and likely head down to Hoi An, where will spend the rest of July. I’m excited to revisit Hoi An and hopefully do some exploring in the countryside. If you have any Hoi An travel suggestions please feel free to leave them in the comments below!
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Here are the two most-liked Instagram post from last month. The first is of my favorite buildings in Saigon and the second is a snapshot taken right here in downtown Danang.
How did your month shape up?
