In between our Forever Wild sessions in Krabi, Thailand and Penang, Malaysia we got to go back to our favorite city, Da Nang. We bid farewell to Thailand, we flew back to Da Nang to show Melissa, Mike, Violet, and Barrett the city we love. We spent eight days in Da Nang, and it was just as wonderful as we remember it.
We stayed in an Airbnb two blocks from the beach. We had two, two-bedroom apartments on a floor that we had all to ourselves. We let the kids stay in one apartment on their own. There may have been several late nights.
We took a few day trips to Hoi An. Mike bought custom suits in Hoi An. Melissa, the kids, and I got tattoos. We ate delicious food. I went back to my favorite restaurant in Hoi An, V-Vegan, and enjoyed the crispy rice pancake. We met a class of young students practicing English. Their teacher brings them to the Old Town in Hoi An to speak to tourists. They did an amazing job.
We spent time on the beach. The waves and water temperature in Da Nang are perfect. It is a beautiful beach. Michael, Mike, Melissa, and I all got a few massages. We tried the 90-minute four-hand massage. We are ruined for future massages once we leave Southeast Asia.
We were in Da Nang for the first night of the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival. Countries compete each week with fireworks displays over the Han River. The night we went, it was Vietnam versus France. It was hard to get a good view of the fireworks, but we enjoyed Bánh mìs, rice pancakes, and the excitement of the crowd. We started walking home after the first fireworks display, and as the second fireworks display was starting, a woman invited us into her home to watch it on TV. It was a whole different show when watching it on TV with music. The kids did not love the walking and the crowds. They asked why we did not just stay home and watch it on TV.
Pickleball was on the agenda. Michael, Melissa and Lucas played a couple of times and the rest of us went out one time to play some games. The pickleball communities we meet around the world are so welcoming.
Melissa and her family wanted to see Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge, and we were happy to go back there with them. There were more crowds than when we went last October. We arrived early, and the kids enjoyed short lines for the arcade games and rides. We walked through some of the gardens and spaces we missed on our first trip. Mostly, we ate all of the food.
Da Nang is my favorite city in Southeast Asia. We plan to come back someday.
