Day 6 - Breakfast And Morning Swim in Đà Nẵng

August 22, 2019 Matthew Johnson

Our first full day in Đà Nẵng started with a bowl of pho and assorted other breakfast food. The breakfasts at our hotels so far have been outstanding!

While we waited for Tien’s sister to arrive I walked across the street from our hotel to a coffee shop for an espresso. This was one of the best coffees I’ve had in a long time. ☕️

That’s our hotel just visible in the upper right.

Then it was beach time! 🏝 🏖

We had a covered area with chairs for our stay on the beach. Very necessary to keep the heat of the sun off of us.

We were so buoyant and the water was so warm that floating like this felt like floating on a cloud.

This was a fantastic start to our stay in Đà Nẵng.

Up next, Hội An! Rated as the best small town destination in the world!

Day 5 - Night Swimming in Da Nang

August 21, 2019 Matthew Johnson

Start from the beginning

Blog index

We arrived safely in Da Nang. On the way to the hotel we drove across the Dragon Bridge. As my nephew points out, it breathes fire and water, but only on the weekends.

The first thing we did after checking in was to walk two blocks to the beach. The boys stripped down to their underwear and went for a night swim.

Those three little dots below all the fishing boat lights are Caelan, Jaedan and Noah.

Hailey says Da Nang reminds her of Miami Beach.

Credit goes to Jaedan for these gorgeous photos of the beach hotels reflected in the water at night.

We bought a late dinner from this motorbike vendor. Check out the wood fired oven on the back. 🤯 He was selling Bánh bao. There were delicious and had a smoky flavor from the wood fire. Credit to Hailey for this photo. 👍

Day 5 - Delayed Flight

August 19, 2019 Matthew Johnson

Start from the beginning

Blog index

Our flight was delayed getting us to Da Nang due to a huge thunderstorm over the airport in Hai Phong.

We eventually did take off and now we’re in Da Nang. Yay!

Day 5 - Ha Long

August 19, 2019 Matthew Johnson

The day started off early at 5:15 for sunrise over the Bay. Lam and I both were up for the spectacle. There was an oppressive closeness in the air as soon as we walkout onto the deck. Something about the humidity and the way the clouds appeared to push the islands closer to us gave a sense of being lost in some other time. I’ll never forget that fleeting feeling.

We then motored over to “Surprise Cavern” to tour the cave. Seeing lots of boats and a few fisher people along the way.

Women came up along side to try and sell trinkets.

It was about 300 steps up to the entrance of the cave. Beautiful views along the way.

Once inside the cave the name became apparent. It’s surprisingly big. The biggest cave in Ha Long Bay.

The walk back down to the boat, through a different area, was equally gorgeous.

A light lunch and short cruise back to the dock and our overnight adventure came to a close. We all agreed this was one of our favorite spots ever on a trip.

One other message we got from this trip is how important it is to eliminate plastic waste from our daily lives as much as possible. The Bay was full of floating plastic bottles and bags and other types of plastic waste. Fortunately, it seems our cruise company at least is working on cleanup and hopefully other businesses in Ha Long are too. And we can all contribute. Grab a reusable water bottle next time instead of a disposable plastic bottle of water. Bring reusable bags to the grocery store and don’t use plastic when shopping. We can each do our part.

Day 4 - Hanoi and Ha Long - Part 4

August 19, 2019 Matthew Johnson

Start from the beginning

Blog index

After lunch and a short cruise to our destination, we were shuttled from the boat to a floating kayak stand where we donned our personal floatation devices and took to the water.

Trying to look tough in our bright orange personal flotation devices and floppy hats.

Watching the crazy humans doing crazy human things.

Shelby says she likes kayaking with me… because I do most of the paddling. 😂

After kayaking we were taking to this secluded swimming beach. We had to walk through a cave to reach the beach. So beautiful!

A happy couple. Rest and relaxation, yes!

It gets crowded. Ha Long is definitely a tourist destination.

Another expectation exceeded… sunset over Ha Long Bay.

Finishing the day with some well prepared dinner and squid fishing.

Giving squid fishing a try. We didn’t have any luck. Still super fun to hang out at the back of the boat and see the fish in the light.

Whew! We were exhausted by the end of the day. Big day! Off to the comfort of our cabins with the A/C blasting cold air at maximum force. It’s so hot and humid here!