Danang! What a place

We flew out of Ho Chi Minh City early this morning but not before I had my first bowl of pho for breakfast. One of many, I’m sure.

We arrived in Da Nang on time, but our taxi was running late. It ended up quite fortuitously, as I saw Nikki headed toward us. Apparently, her accommodations are near the airport, so she had come by to welcome us. It was a great surprise! Before the driver arrived, we had just enough time to say hello, take a photo, and make plans to connect this evening for dinner. We whizzed off and were delivered to our hotel across from the beach. Our hotel room looks,all the way down the coastline. We didn’t wait long to get across the street and dip our toes in the South China Sea. The water was very warm, as was the air temperature. We walked about a mile and a half down the beach. We stopped to watch a guy row out in his round fishing boat. These fiberglass boats were scattered all over the beach. They literally look like tea cups. I couldn’t figure out how the rowing motion actually works but it was mesmerizing. We also spent some time watching people hauling in their fishing nets. It’s an operation that requires four or more people. They take up a large portion of the beach, cooperatively pulling the line in, as they stand in a row. As they make progress, the person at the end of the line rotates to the front of the line, usually a few feet into the water. And so it goes. It seems to take quite a while to eventually pull in the huge net. We had walked all the way up the beach and back, when the group in front of our hotel finally got their net into the beach. A large crowd gathered to assess the results. We took a quick peek then headed to get some water. It’s ridiculously hot in the sun, and I’m pretty sure I had just shed a gallon of water through every pore in my body.

Nikki came over for dinner (pho) and described her adventures so far. She has been working on the Son Tra Peninsula, where above and below the water there are a variety of amazing animals, birds, insects, and marine life. Our hotel is very near the peninsula, and we have a nice view of Lady Buddha, who dominates one of the hills and stands close to a neighboring pagoda. I’m sure all of those animals are very blessed in the presence of these holy objects. Kim and I will take a tour of the peninsula with the same organization that Nikki is working with. I feel like that my life will not be complete without seeing the red shanked douc langurs. These endangered primates look like monkeys wearing red pants. I’m sure they’re just like the guy that welcomed us at the airport! Nikki said she’s seen them every time she’s been in the park, so I’m hopeful.Read more