Da Nang is the fourth largest city in the country and sits halfway between Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in the south. The city played a prominent role in the Vietnam War. It was the landing site for the first US troops officially sent to Vietnam on March 8, 1965. Da Nang is also one of the most important port cities in Vietnam since its deep-water port makes this bustling place a convenient stop for large cruise ships and numerous high-capacity shipping vessels. With its 30 kilometers of South China Sea coastline, Da Nang is now an important landing station for submarine fiber optic cable for international communication systems. We stayed in this popular tourist destination for about a week after our visit to Hoi An. 

Sand and Sun – The beach here was our first contact with the waters of the South China Sea!  The waves were small so surfers were scarce. But the sand was filled with Asian tourists enjoying the umbrellas and lounge chairs for rent. On most days we walked several kilometers along the water’s edge while enjoying the warm sun and sand.

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Marble Mountains – We rented a motorbike and rode about 15 minutes south to the Marble Mountains, a cluster of five hills made of marble and limestone with peaks, caves, tunnels, and pagodas. The mountains are named after five elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. We opted not to ride the quick, air conditioned elevator added to the mountainside and instead climbed the many steps to explore the nooks and crannies of the water (Thuy) mountain, which is the largest and most popular. Even though it was a hot day and we perspired a lot during our ascent, the spectacular panoramic scenes we observed at the viewpoints were worth it. Many of the beautifully finished caves we visited included large marble Buddha statues.  One cave was big enough to hold several small temple buildings. During the Vietnam War some of the North Vietnamese military men made holes in several of the cave walls or ceilings in order to spy on US troops at the nearby beach. Today these holes allow sunlight into the caves, which made for beautiful photographs. Rock is no longer extracted from these mountains, but the area is still known for stone sculpture making and crafts (souvenirs). Needed marble and limestone is now brought in from quarries from another province.  We did not buy any stone items, although we saw a very pretty 2-meter-tall marble fountain that we would like. Too bad it wouldn’t fit in our luggage!

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Dragon Bridge – We loved this cleverly shaped six-lane bridge, the longest in the country. The yellow dragon body extends above and below the road surface for the entire 666 meters of the bridge, which was designed by US engineers. This piece of roadway over the River Han is not only a beautiful sight, but is also a significantly faster way to travel from the coastal part of the city to the airport. The bridge is a fun and popular tourist destination after dark. We enjoyed watching the 2,500 LED lights on the dragon frequently change colors, starting at the head and continuing to the tip of the tail. At 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays the dragon breathes fire for 2 minutes, followed by 3 minutes of water blasts from its mouth. We made a point to stake out a small bit of space on the river walkway to see this brief, but very entertaining, show! A very large crowd of people joined us and about 10 colorful river tour boats stopped near the bridge to also watch.

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More Photos – Early one morning we took a quick motorbike ride to the Han River for a photography adventure.  We had fun finding additional interesting places to capture in pictures. Here are a few photos of that short trip. 

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