Of course, I'm now back in Vietnam so I had to go through Immigration again. I was crossing my fingers that there were no issues with my multiple-entry Visa.
All the passengers from my plane approach Immigration. Despite the fact there are four men in uniforms, only one booth is open. There are some Brits and myself in the line-up at the first booth. A second booth opens, then a third and eventually the fourth booth. As others from our plane disperse to the other booths and come out the other side, we continue to wait in line. Our line is NOT moving. We share some really good laughs about the boat trip to Phnom Penh and our experiences with Immigration upon first landing in Vietnam. We were laughing so hard we said aloud we'd best smarten up before we get ourselves into hot water.
I get through Immigration and see two signs: Nothing to Declare and Items to Declare. I choose the scanner with the sign Nothing to Declare, place my suitcase through an old scanning machine that looks as if it was one of the original airport scanners ever made. I get through Immigration and look for a currency exchange. There is only one and they will only give maximum 2 Million Vietnamese Dong. It may sound like a lot of money but in actual fact 2 Million is only $120 Cdn. As my Canadian bank charges an arm and a leg every time I withdraw money oveseas I need to find a currency exchange with a much higher withdrawal limit. In Ho Chi Minh for example, I was allowed to withdraw the maximum of 6 Million VND (approx. $350 Cdn). Well as I have no other options, I'll have to wait til I'm in Hoi An and then get some VND there.
I know to look for either a Vina Sun or a Mai Linh taxi. These two are known as reputable in Vietnam. There are lots of other taxi companies to choose from but their meters can accumulate in double time, IF they use a meter at all. I spot a Mai Linh and show the guy the address of my hotel. I ask him how much and all he can do and say is point to the meter and say "meter". Okay then I will trust your meter.
The ride into Danang takes about 15 minutes maximum. It's about 9:30 PM and the city is gorgeous at night time. All the bridges are lit up with different coloured lights and they have the Dragon bridge that changes into a rainbow of colour. They also have a gigantic ferris wheel that is lit up too. I was told that if I had time, it was worthwhile taking a boat cruise down the river at night time but unfortunately I won't be able to make that work. From what I can see from the cab, the city looks pretty spectacular in the dark
I had reserved a hotel with an ocean view room - not that I could see the ocean at this time of night but I was hoping that in the morning perhaps I could go for a walk along the beach.
The hotel was disappointing. My room was on the fourth floor of a no-elevator building. The caretaker of the hotel carried my luggage up the stairs so the lack of elevator wasn't the biggest issue. What was a much bigger issue, however, is when I went to throw back the comforter (it's in the 70's F. here so I definitely will not be needing a comforter), I see that the sheet is dirty. Here in Vietnam I am noticing they don't always use two sheets. They will use a fitted sheet with the comforter on top. Hey, if this is your own house that's all fine and dandy but you'll never convince me that they wash that comforter after every stranger has slept on it. I call the man back to my room and show him and I tell him I will not sleep in that bed and that I want two clean sheets and two clean pillows. He strips the bed and takes the sheets, comforter and pillows with him. I guess they don't have a flat and a fitted sheet here so I tell him just to give me two fitted sheets and I will make it work. The man is apologetic. He tells me that the cleaning supervisor doesn't work Sundays so there was no one to follow up and inspect the work of the cleaning staff. I actually think he was quite embarrassed.
There was a lot more in the room that was disgusting as well but I will spare the details. Yuck!
The man from the hotel is going to arrange for a car to take me to Hoi An in the morning at 10:00 AM for 200,000 VND which is a real deal considering it cost 100,000 to get from the airport to my hotel last night.
When I awake the first think I do is open the drapes to take a look at the ocean. Oh... it's a lot further away than I had thought it was. Even though it's a gray day, it's still nice to look at.
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| Danang |
I lug my suitcase down the four flights of stairs. The man's wife apologizes for the dirty sheets and gives me 50% off my room rate. That is good customer service!
My driver is a guy in his 20's with a very fancy car. It was perhaps a very high end Toyota of some sort. He doesn't speak any English but when the lady from the hotel tells him the name of the Hoi An hotel he says he knows exactly where it's located. I enjoy riding in luxury.
Now, I'm skipping ahead an entire week here and will tell you about my last few hours spent in Danang. After spending a full week in Hoi An, I am flying out of Danang at 6:00 PM. My Hoi An hotel arranges for a driver to take me to Danang as I want to see Marble Mountain and Lady Buddha and then be dropped off at the airport. I stress the importance of having a driver who speaks English. The hotel says they can arrange a driver who speaks "some" English. The man can take me to Danang and show me around for 550,000 VND. That's a bit pricey in my estimation but being as I know Lady Buddha is quite a ways out of the city I decide what the hell and commit to it.
My driver is an elderly man with a nice car - a Toyota Corolla (I think). The man is listening to a radio station that is playing the A, B, C's song. You know the song: A, B, C, D, E, F, G ... I'm thinking, okay so this is how he is learning English. Good for him in his advanced age. We don't have any conversation because I am quickly getting the impression that his English is VERY limited.
As we approach Marble Mountain he points it out to me and asks "Marble Mountain, now or later?" I tell him that it doesn't matter to me, we can do it now or later, whatever is easiest for him. He continues on past. We pass by the gorgeous beaches of Danang and I am snapping photos through the car window. He pulls over and stops so I can take a few photos.
This beach looks gorgeous. It goes on for a few miles, palm trees, loungers, people enjoying all that a beach can offer.
I can see Lady Buddha off in the distance. W-O-W! It looks not dissimilar to what I imagine the statue of Christ the Redeemer looks like watching over Rio de Janeiro.
As we drove on past a massive fishing village I was really wishing I had spent some time exploring the beaches of Danang. Looked totally up my alley.
Lady Buddha is really not all that far from Danang city. I would estimate perhaps a 10 minute car ride. My driver tells me I have one hour to look around.
My driver is an elderly man with a nice car - a Toyota Corolla (I think). The man is listening to a radio station that is playing the A, B, C's song. You know the song: A, B, C, D, E, F, G ... I'm thinking, okay so this is how he is learning English. Good for him in his advanced age. We don't have any conversation because I am quickly getting the impression that his English is VERY limited.
As we approach Marble Mountain he points it out to me and asks "Marble Mountain, now or later?" I tell him that it doesn't matter to me, we can do it now or later, whatever is easiest for him. He continues on past. We pass by the gorgeous beaches of Danang and I am snapping photos through the car window. He pulls over and stops so I can take a few photos.
This beach looks gorgeous. It goes on for a few miles, palm trees, loungers, people enjoying all that a beach can offer.
I can see Lady Buddha off in the distance. W-O-W! It looks not dissimilar to what I imagine the statue of Christ the Redeemer looks like watching over Rio de Janeiro.
As we drove on past a massive fishing village I was really wishing I had spent some time exploring the beaches of Danang. Looked totally up my alley.
Lady Buddha is really not all that far from Danang city. I would estimate perhaps a 10 minute car ride. My driver tells me I have one hour to look around.
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| Lady Buddha |
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| Happy Buddha |
An hour is sufficient time up here on the mountain. It's unfortunate about the smog though as you can't get a good view of the city like you would get if the air was clear.
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| Smoggy Danang |
I return to the car and the driver heads back towards the city. Once inside the city limits he takes me on a scenic route through the business district. Then he comes up to a toll booth and pays. What the hell? We are at the airport! What about Marble Mountain? My flight doesn't leave for another 3 hours, we had plenty of time to see Marble Mountain. I don't say anything to him because I'm fairly positive he wouldn't understand what I was saying. Talk about being disappointed. I absolutely expected to see Marble Mountain and I am sure I will probably never come back this way again. Ahh geez. Lesson learned. In the future, absolutely insist on a English speaking driver and don't accept "limited English" in lieu.
I'm so early for my flight that I can't even check in yet. There is very limited seating in the Danang airport. Restaurants aside, I would guess there might be 25 seats at most and they are filthy as hell. Yuck!
Eventually the time comes to check in. I am flying Vietjet which, in hindsight, I learn is a very low cost carrier. They weigh hand luggage and my purse. Thankfully everything weighs in below the Kilogram weight limit allowed for each piece except for my suitcase but I had already purchased an extra 5 Kg of weight allowance. Too bad all airlines don't offer that option. I'd rather pay a few extra $$ than have to check a second bag (even if a second bag is permitted).
I have never been on a plane where the seats are crammed together so tightly. Oh my word! I look for my seat and see that it is actually in the exit row. Massive leg room. I guess I had thought ahead many months ago and purchased this seat. That's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.
Next stop will be Hanoi but before I tell you about Hanoi, I have to back up a bit to tell you about Hoi An. Hoi An was my destination after spending a night in Danang.
I'm so early for my flight that I can't even check in yet. There is very limited seating in the Danang airport. Restaurants aside, I would guess there might be 25 seats at most and they are filthy as hell. Yuck!
Eventually the time comes to check in. I am flying Vietjet which, in hindsight, I learn is a very low cost carrier. They weigh hand luggage and my purse. Thankfully everything weighs in below the Kilogram weight limit allowed for each piece except for my suitcase but I had already purchased an extra 5 Kg of weight allowance. Too bad all airlines don't offer that option. I'd rather pay a few extra $$ than have to check a second bag (even if a second bag is permitted).
I have never been on a plane where the seats are crammed together so tightly. Oh my word! I look for my seat and see that it is actually in the exit row. Massive leg room. I guess I had thought ahead many months ago and purchased this seat. That's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.
Next stop will be Hanoi but before I tell you about Hanoi, I have to back up a bit to tell you about Hoi An. Hoi An was my destination after spending a night in Danang.
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