Danang, day 1

hanhminhthinks — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:30:00 GMT

As the plane was approaching the city, Danang appeared below us. “Is it really the city?” Hien questioned; I could sense real disappointment in her voice. I wasn’t sitting beside the window, so I had to stand up and crane my neck to capture the very first image of the city into my eyes. “Oh!” she was right. There was nothing but a dark black zone waiting for us beneath. “What a bummer!” I sighed. That was not what we had expected about the “best place to live in Vietnam”.

But just a few minutes later, Danang sent us her reply. A beautiful scene of lit-up streets and buildings opened up, leaving us in total amusement and surprise. Looked from above, the city is spectacularly sparkle and gorgeous.

Now that I am seeing the city, and for the first time in the past 2 weeks I start to feel this trip is not going to be a mistake, that I’m going to have 5 awesome days. I will not have a chance to get bored with all these beautiful beaches and amazing local cuisine beckoning.

We were greeted by a friendly but empty airport. There were only a few tourists, which first gave us the impression that the city is quite sad and boring. The taxi driver then told us it’s because of the time we arrived and the fact that the airline we used is expensive, so there was just a handful of visitors like we saw.

What struck me as the biggest surprise (well, I sort of had known about it, but still did not expect much) is the people. They are really really nice. Back home we go everywhere in Hanoi with a sin of being a customer. Here we go with a privilege. People talk easy and the way the talk is way more friendly and sincere than in the North.

The funny cabbie took us to the hotel. He did not even know the way, and we were the ones that searched google maps. But even that could not stop us from liking him. At the hotel, the receptionist was so nice that she easily offered us a cheaper suite. This could hardly happen in Hanoi, for what I know. Holy crap, what the hell with these Danang people? Were them born just that nice, or was it so easy to be lovely in this city?

So we spent the very first night wandering along the beach. We walked with our bare feet on the sand and slowly strolling towards the scary sea at night. We could hear the sea roaring as white waves hit the shore. Under the half-moon light, the sea looked dangerously mesmerizing, and I was madly in love with her. God, could it be a him? I was madly in love with The Sea at my very first sight. At night, under the moon, and I would have loved to get wet for him if it hadn’t been for the insecure feeling. Not a problem though, ’cause we might as well meet the next morning.

We tried the very first local food: Mi Quang. Delicious if you ask me. What’s funny is that we met a fight in the foodstall, and hell, no one really cared. Even in a fight did I not find these people scary at all. Good Lord, I’m struck dumb by their sweet voice and manner.

What is waiting for us the next day then?

The Poor Child outside the luxurious Tomb

hanhminhthinks — Thu, 15 May 2014 14:49:33 GMT

20km of riding a motorbike without knowing the way was not the hardest part of our trip. What bothered me after the trip and ingrained it into my mind was a child’s begging, and that I refused her.
Earlier that morning, we were so sure that the tombs of the Emperors couldn’t be anywhere out of Hue City. We were completely wrong. After about 20 minutes heated both by our excitement and the sunshine, we started to turn into a road embraced by mountains. The road got steeper and steeper; we could see the lakes surrounded by rice paddies sinking lower and lower on either side of the road. To make it more interesting, there were not a single vehicle. No one. There we were, two girls on a motorbike, and absolutely did not know the way.
“Where the hell are we? Any chance we got lost?” – Hien asked me.
“It would be awesome getting lost somewhere this beautiful anyway!” – I wasn’t just trying to console my companion. The mesmerizing painting of mountain and the sky in front of us really calmed me down. So we kept on going, following our intuition. Intuition had never helped me win any lottery before, but this time it led me straight to destination: Khai Dinh tomb.
I was struck dumb by the luxury of the tomb. Tomb, literally, is where the corpse lies. The Emperors of Nguyen Dynasty strongly believed that they would have an after-life, so traditionally the crown prince would build a tomb for his deceased father to rest forever in peace. In Khai Dinh Tomb where we were visiting, it was a giant palace with two lines of stone soldiers and royal officials outside, guarding his sleep. Walking further into the tomb, the rooms were full of sun light from giant windows, making it nothing like somewhere the dead reigns.
As we bid farewell to Khai Dinh’s Tomb and were walking out to the parking, a poor local woman who dressed in a white-turned-grey shirt and an old pair of pants were calling us from her tiny water hole. We did not want water, so we said “Sorry” and kept on walking. She just did not let us go. She called her daughter, and as we were just several steps away from her cabin, her little daughter caught us and begged “Ladies, would you give me some money for my study and books?” We were shocked hearing that. The little girl repeated again and again. “Go home with Mom, sweetie” we said and walked faster. As we turned at the end of the road, I looked back and caught the girl’s eyes. They looked all vacant and sad.

The world awaits.

Danang, day 1

The Poor Child outside the luxurious Tomb