Da Nang and Hội An

We did not arrive at Chan May port until 1:30, meaning we had half a sea day in the morning. The port itself is rather odd: halfway between Da Nang and Hue, it’s crammed up against the hills with nothing around it. I’m not sure why it’s here, but it’s where we docked. The day was cloudy and cool and felt great. It was a good 25º cooler than it had been in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.

We’d arranged a private tour through Tours by Locals to take us around Da Nang and Hoi An. We met Nguyen (guide) and Vinh (driver) at the dock and hopped into their van. There was plenty of room for the six of us. Our first stop was at a nearby lagoon where the locals farm oysters. They use old motorbike tires as a foundation for the oysters to grow on, then pull them up and pull off the oysters.

From there it was off to Da Nang. This is a city of over a million people, but I only knew of it from its association with the war. This is where US Marines came ashore in March of 1965, beginning ten years of US combat troops operating in Vietnam. Our goal was to see the Dragon Bridge. Ideally this would have been at night, when the bridge spews fire and water, but with our 8:30 all-aboard time we couldn’t make that happen. It was still very impressive in the daytime, spanning the Han River.

After the Dragon Bridge we made a stop at a marble factory. This had the feel of one of those “shopping stops” on a regular excursion, and sure enough we saw Oceania tour buses as we pulled up. But we enjoyed it more than I expected. They had marble statues and figures in all imaginable shapes and sizes, and in multiple colors. Marble statuary is not generally my thing, but some of these were very nice. It was also a nice bathroom break.

From Da Nang we made our way to Hoi An, which is a world heritage site and the hometown of our guide. Our first activity was to cruise the river in round boats that fishermen have used for generations. While similar to the canoeing we did in the Mekong Delta, it was much quieter here. After the river we went into the historic center of Hoi An, which is when we really fell in love with the city. It reminded me a bit of Venice with its windy alleyways and pedestrian streets. It was dusk, and lanterns were being lit all over. We were able to light a lantern and set it afloat on the lake, making a wish as we did so. Dinner was a banh mi sandwich from a little hole in the wall that Anthony Bourdain made famous in his travels. We ate these in the van on the way back, which we loved as it meant no wasted time.

It was a terrific day. We enjoyed all of our activities and really loved Hoi An. Having a local guide do a custom tour for us meant we just did what we wanted to do and wasted no time. It was really great.Read more