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Danang And Hoi An - UNESCO Heritage Town & The Hills
Travel here, travel there. See this, see that. Life is a wonderful experience which gives us an opportunity to celebrate it. Life is not boring but it depends on what you make of it. Life can be as exciting as you want it to be or as boring as dull as you're able to imagine it to be.
My travels bring me to Vietnam this time round. As we touched down at the airport, we took a cab straight to Hoi An where we put up for two night. During travels, I normally keep my mind blank, devoid of any expectations and would leave it to the location to satisfy my curiosity. As it is with every place that we visit, it never fails to make us leave with a tinge of sadness as we fly away into the skies.
Now, back to Hoi An.The cab took all about 45 minutes from Danang International Airport to Hoi An. No taxi touts to harass us but a commercially registered Toyota took us through Danang town to the stretch of seaside before coming to a rest at Thanh Van hotel (http://www.thanhvanhotelhoian.com/) which was recommended by a fellow traveller. A rustic building with air conditioning a pool in the middle of it. What did I tell you about visiting a place with a blank mind? This hotel already wowed me to bits!
After checking in and looking over the room, it's time for local food! What do you do in Vietnam? Get their pho, baguette and coffee, of course! And so, with our biological compass, off we went for a walk to check out the town. Old as it is, there's nary a plastic bag on the streets nor grafitti on the walls of buildings. It's a UNESCO heritage old town, befitting it's recognition. We plonked ourselves at one comfortable looking cafe and called for our pho and coffee. After 10 minutes, we were working our way through the meal that defined Vietnam. A meal of flat noodles with plenty of basil leaves and bean sprouts to go with it, not to miss the chillie padi accompaniment. Ah, this is Life.
With our stomachs filled, let's take a walk through the old town. And did I mention that it's 21 degrees here? It's a welcome relief after experiencing the 36 degrees back home. The whole town is on air conditioning! When it comes to purchasing, divide their dong with 5,000 to get it's equivalent in ringgit. After a while, you'll get used to it. And there's plenty of purchases to be made if you're not in control of yourself! Lots of handicraft to fill your imagination. However, be mindful how much you can bring on board the airplane.
The entire town is filled with tourists satisfying their curiosity of this little heritage town. Locals occupy the streets selling their stuff and wares, while shutterbugs click away and supported by the super fast, local free Wifi service to help upload photos pronto. It's a very good strategy and investment by the local council, to help themselves publicise to the world and promoting the heritage town in a big way. With more tweets and postings in Facebook, the world's attention will be drawn to it by the tourists who flock this quaint, peaceful town.
One thing's for sure. There's plenty of food around to satisfy your gastronomic curiosity. If you're not fussy about hygiene, you'll enjoy the local food more by squatting with the locals to enjoy the food in this paradise. If you're not conversant in their local language, it wont be a hindrance to partake in the food and culture. Just point your fingers to what you want, and the calculator will be used to display the price. Always bargain to half the price displayed. That's what I've learned when buying things within the Asia Pacific region. Unlike Malaysians who sulk if you don't make the purchase after the bargain, they will still offer a smile. Who'll not return, one may ask.
When we arrived, it just so happened that there was a Food Festival organised for the night. No need for such a grand welcome, we told ourselves. Ho ho ho The event only lasted the night and that too, while we there. How lucky we were! With all the fanfare and games, the atmosphere was electic. Laughter and merriment was the other of the night. The popular game was hitting a earthern pot hung in front of you while blindfolded. It looked easy but it's certainly not. The spectators certainly enjoyed laughing their hearts out, at the antics of the participants.
If you're planning to visit this town, take note that fees are collected to help maintain the place. So, do support them and it doesn't cost much. For a minimal fee, the entire town is offered clean and neat. The thing about little heritage towns is their abundance of boutique cafes, for you to enjoy their local cuisine. As you bask in awe at their creative designs to prick the interests of potential clients, take more photos if you'd rather keep yourselves out of these cafes. No worries about theft but it's good to be careful. But don't your worry hinder your enjoyment of the place.
Once you've had enough of the town, head down to the beach which is just about 5 km away. An Bang beach, facing the South China Sea offered waves for your enjoyment, blowing off sand dust and mist with their strength. Although the beach was out of bounds for swimmers, tourists threw caution to the wind and jumped in. It was evening and winds were too cold for me to follow them into the waters. Therefore, I just stood there watching hoards of tourists getting themselves wet. For them, the free showers are available on the shore.
After two nights in this heritage town, off we went to Danang city and stayed the night at Sanouva Hotel (http://www.sanouvadanang.com/) with complimentary 30 mins massage,to enjoy the hills of Ba Na (http://www.banahills.com.vn/). Who would've thought there was a cable car ride to the hill top resort? Well, it's just a 30 minutes cab ride to the location and the cab'll wait for your return. You need to inform the driver about this, if you don't want to waste time waiting for other cabs to fetch you back to town. The view during the cable car ride was awesomely beautiful, stretching across tree tops over the 15 minutes ride, past clouds of mist. There's free Wifi at the top although there's no chance to send anything over the internet as the bandwidth is overcrowded.
This is one ride that's not available in Malaysia. It's like some kind of luge on rails, with you seated in the car, manipulating the brakes as you zip down the hill. I would release the brake all the way, if I were you, to enhance the excitement! Yes, it was fun and a unique experience indeed. There's cameras shooting you and a printed 8R sized print out costs only RM20. It's much cheaper than what we'd pay in our own theme parks. And who would not buy the photos if it was so cheap and affordable. It's a good strategy. Otherwise, they'd have to try really hard to convince visitors to buy and that's a waste of time and energy. A good strategy. With the printed photo fixed inside a cardboard frame, it'll be a collection of our memorable time on this hill.
The other local produce would be the marble carvings of statuettes, depicting the demons and angels of religious folklore. The temple at the hilltop reminds one of the Shaolin temples in China and the monks look like they're going to use their kungfu moves on you anytime. We came across one helper who guided us through the cave behind the temple while mumbling to himself. I was very worried for us because he behave like a psycho with his mumbles in the local language. Ho ho ho But it turned out well as we exited the various caves that housed Buddha statues. I was actually glad and relieved that the tour was over! Perhaps I shouldn't have over used my imagination but it's better to be careful, right?
Back to ground level, it's time to look for food again and here's another dish to satisfy our hunger. Noodles in small portions allows us to savour more of the local food varieties, so that's a good thing. However, the cost of meals isn't exactly cheap at RM6 for a bowl of noodles. At the local market, just point to the picture since the capability to read the local language is next to nothing. And that'll do, for the seller understands that perfectly well.
The flight and accomodation cost us RM2,000 for the flight was booked a year prior. Spending on land costs another RM2,000 for the entire family. It's an affordable holiday and it's good to see the world, so that we can appreciate what we have or not. Vietnam is a good place for a holiday besides Thailand. Take a break once a while and travel to a place you've never been before. Till the next travel, take an interest in the world!
My travels bring me to Vietnam this time round. As we touched down at the airport, we took a cab straight to Hoi An where we put up for two night. During travels, I normally keep my mind blank, devoid of any expectations and would leave it to the location to satisfy my curiosity. As it is with every place that we visit, it never fails to make us leave with a tinge of sadness as we fly away into the skies.
Now, back to Hoi An.The cab took all about 45 minutes from Danang International Airport to Hoi An. No taxi touts to harass us but a commercially registered Toyota took us through Danang town to the stretch of seaside before coming to a rest at Thanh Van hotel (http://www.thanhvanhotelhoian.com/) which was recommended by a fellow traveller. A rustic building with air conditioning a pool in the middle of it. What did I tell you about visiting a place with a blank mind? This hotel already wowed me to bits!
After checking in and looking over the room, it's time for local food! What do you do in Vietnam? Get their pho, baguette and coffee, of course! And so, with our biological compass, off we went for a walk to check out the town. Old as it is, there's nary a plastic bag on the streets nor grafitti on the walls of buildings. It's a UNESCO heritage old town, befitting it's recognition. We plonked ourselves at one comfortable looking cafe and called for our pho and coffee. After 10 minutes, we were working our way through the meal that defined Vietnam. A meal of flat noodles with plenty of basil leaves and bean sprouts to go with it, not to miss the chillie padi accompaniment. Ah, this is Life.
With our stomachs filled, let's take a walk through the old town. And did I mention that it's 21 degrees here? It's a welcome relief after experiencing the 36 degrees back home. The whole town is on air conditioning! When it comes to purchasing, divide their dong with 5,000 to get it's equivalent in ringgit. After a while, you'll get used to it. And there's plenty of purchases to be made if you're not in control of yourself! Lots of handicraft to fill your imagination. However, be mindful how much you can bring on board the airplane.
The entire town is filled with tourists satisfying their curiosity of this little heritage town. Locals occupy the streets selling their stuff and wares, while shutterbugs click away and supported by the super fast, local free Wifi service to help upload photos pronto. It's a very good strategy and investment by the local council, to help themselves publicise to the world and promoting the heritage town in a big way. With more tweets and postings in Facebook, the world's attention will be drawn to it by the tourists who flock this quaint, peaceful town.
One thing's for sure. There's plenty of food around to satisfy your gastronomic curiosity. If you're not fussy about hygiene, you'll enjoy the local food more by squatting with the locals to enjoy the food in this paradise. If you're not conversant in their local language, it wont be a hindrance to partake in the food and culture. Just point your fingers to what you want, and the calculator will be used to display the price. Always bargain to half the price displayed. That's what I've learned when buying things within the Asia Pacific region. Unlike Malaysians who sulk if you don't make the purchase after the bargain, they will still offer a smile. Who'll not return, one may ask.
When we arrived, it just so happened that there was a Food Festival organised for the night. No need for such a grand welcome, we told ourselves. Ho ho ho The event only lasted the night and that too, while we there. How lucky we were! With all the fanfare and games, the atmosphere was electic. Laughter and merriment was the other of the night. The popular game was hitting a earthern pot hung in front of you while blindfolded. It looked easy but it's certainly not. The spectators certainly enjoyed laughing their hearts out, at the antics of the participants.
If you're planning to visit this town, take note that fees are collected to help maintain the place. So, do support them and it doesn't cost much. For a minimal fee, the entire town is offered clean and neat. The thing about little heritage towns is their abundance of boutique cafes, for you to enjoy their local cuisine. As you bask in awe at their creative designs to prick the interests of potential clients, take more photos if you'd rather keep yourselves out of these cafes. No worries about theft but it's good to be careful. But don't your worry hinder your enjoyment of the place.
Once you've had enough of the town, head down to the beach which is just about 5 km away. An Bang beach, facing the South China Sea offered waves for your enjoyment, blowing off sand dust and mist with their strength. Although the beach was out of bounds for swimmers, tourists threw caution to the wind and jumped in. It was evening and winds were too cold for me to follow them into the waters. Therefore, I just stood there watching hoards of tourists getting themselves wet. For them, the free showers are available on the shore.
After two nights in this heritage town, off we went to Danang city and stayed the night at Sanouva Hotel (http://www.sanouvadanang.com/) with complimentary 30 mins massage,to enjoy the hills of Ba Na (http://www.banahills.com.vn/). Who would've thought there was a cable car ride to the hill top resort? Well, it's just a 30 minutes cab ride to the location and the cab'll wait for your return. You need to inform the driver about this, if you don't want to waste time waiting for other cabs to fetch you back to town. The view during the cable car ride was awesomely beautiful, stretching across tree tops over the 15 minutes ride, past clouds of mist. There's free Wifi at the top although there's no chance to send anything over the internet as the bandwidth is overcrowded.
The other local produce would be the marble carvings of statuettes, depicting the demons and angels of religious folklore. The temple at the hilltop reminds one of the Shaolin temples in China and the monks look like they're going to use their kungfu moves on you anytime. We came across one helper who guided us through the cave behind the temple while mumbling to himself. I was very worried for us because he behave like a psycho with his mumbles in the local language. Ho ho ho But it turned out well as we exited the various caves that housed Buddha statues. I was actually glad and relieved that the tour was over! Perhaps I shouldn't have over used my imagination but it's better to be careful, right?
Back to ground level, it's time to look for food again and here's another dish to satisfy our hunger. Noodles in small portions allows us to savour more of the local food varieties, so that's a good thing. However, the cost of meals isn't exactly cheap at RM6 for a bowl of noodles. At the local market, just point to the picture since the capability to read the local language is next to nothing. And that'll do, for the seller understands that perfectly well.
The flight and accomodation cost us RM2,000 for the flight was booked a year prior. Spending on land costs another RM2,000 for the entire family. It's an affordable holiday and it's good to see the world, so that we can appreciate what we have or not. Vietnam is a good place for a holiday besides Thailand. Take a break once a while and travel to a place you've never been before. Till the next travel, take an interest in the world!
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