Adventures with Jack and Julia

After a very short car ride (and a sad goodbye to Gordon) from Hoi An, we arrived at our next sunny destination: Da Nang. Another beautiful coastal beach town. The vibes here reminded us of California with the more laid back feel in the streets and crashing waves at the beach. We checked into our new hotel and went out exploring. We settled on a steak restaurant for lunch and Julia had a delicious steak, potatoes and egg for lunch, while Jack had a hamburger.

Our hotel had a lovely rooftop pool, so we spent the next few hours reading and going for dips in the water. The restaurant next door was a Mexican spot, so of course, Julia had a burrito bowl for dinner. Da Nang really surprised us with all the food options that were available for both of us. There were 2 vegan restaurants within a few blocks from our hotel so Jack didn’t have to worry about dairy. We had a hard time finding food for Julia in the first few more rural cities we visited, but in Da Nang, Mexican food was available within steps of our front door!

Day 2:

Our first full day in Da Nang was a very relaxed one. We spent the morning at the gym and picked up delicious smoothie bowls from one of the vegan restaurants on the way back to our hotel. After grabbing towels and putting swim suits on, we brought the bowls to the beach where we spent the afternoon lounging in the shade and jumping in the ocean. For dinner, we went to the other vegan restaurant near our hotel for more delicious food, and even tried their “snickers” bar for dessert.

Day 3:

Day 3 was a busy one! We got picked up early from our hotel by our tour guide “Handsome Lung,” as he referred to himself. After picking up the rest of the group from their hotels, we were driven to Monkey Mountain, where the Linh Ung Pagoda is located. The most prominent feature of the pagoda is the ginormous Lady Buddha statue, which stands at 67 metres tall! You can see her all the way from the beaches back in the city of Da Nang. Lung told us that the statue is a powerful symbol of protection and is thought to bring good luck and a sense of peace to the people of Da Nang. We also learned that since her construction began in 2004, there has been less typhoons to hit the city of Da Nang.

Our next destination on the tour was Marble Mountain. We started by going deep into Am Phu Cave, also known as the “Hell Cave.” The caves were filled with statues and carvings depicting scenes from Buddhist hell. We learned about the Buddha of Compassion, who is said to offer salvation to those who repent for their sins. When we emerged from the Hell Caves, we took the 156 stairs to The Heavens Gate, one of the highest points on Marble Mountain. We took in the beautiful panoramic views from the top before making our way back down and heading to lunch at a local spot in town.

Our tour finished after lunch, and we got dropped back at our hotel where we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool and reading our books.

Day 4:

On our final full day in Da Nang, we went to the gym in the morning and relaxed at our hotel. Later in the afternoon, we went for a walk along the beach and found an awesome local restaurant called The Tamarind Tree for dinner. The food was super fresh, delicious and not very expensive. We had an early night because we had to get up early the next morning to catch a very scenic ride on the Heritage Train to our next destination: Hue.