7 Must-Sees in Da Nang

When I was asked to write a post about my experiences from the recent trip for the newly released City Pass Coastal Vietnam guidebook, I sat at my computer for a few minutes reflecting.

The team, which comprised of Alex, our distribution/driver, Fred in Sales or “Mr. Logistics” and I worked from 8 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 3 weeks to compile the information that makes up the new Coastal Guidebook for Vietnam. After finishing our on-location research, I took a quick flight back from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City and was straight in the office for the next few days ensuring that “all the I’s have been dotted and the T’s have been crossed.”

You would think that a trip like this would be a blur and mostly, it was. However, there are moments from each destination that I vividly remember that will stay in my head for a lifetime.

• Spending the magic sunset hour on the rooftop patio of Princess Spa overlooking Vung Tau’s Front Beach with Andy the owner, a few beers, some dried squid, and his trusty bottle of Sriracha chili sauce.

• Hooking up my nearly dead iPhone into a mysterious USB cable on our rental vehicle in hopes of getting some power for directions to Phan Thiet. A second later, a song from the band Mars Volta came up on the sound system. On top of the fact that we now had music for the trip, my phone started charging. Double bonus!
• The mist showers at Déjà Vu in Mui Ne keeping us cool after a long day of running around checking out Phan Thiet’s many attractions.
• Talking with Keith from epi[K]urean at the An Lam Ninh Van Bay Villas restaurant about our shared experiences living in the states and our respective journeys back to Vietnam.
• The Vietdog in Nha Trang. Imagine standard American hot dog, vietified it by adding some pickled vegetables, mayo and Sriracha chili sauce. Pure genius from Quinn and co from Guava.

• Taking a stroll at night in the Old Town of Hoi An and enjoying on the growth of the area I previously visited in 2003. More tourists and shops for sure but thankfully, the city has still managed to keep it’s charm.
• Chatting up Michael from Luna Pub in Danang about the town’s booming economy and growing tourism scene. It looks like Hoi An might have some competition in the near future.

Many thanks to all the clients and friends of City Pass Guide that helped us with the trip and the Coastal Guide.