Da Nang: Viet Beach Vibes

It's known as the Miami of Vietnam, and with its long stretches of sandy beaches lined with posh hotels, beach bars, seafood restaurants, and nightlife options, I can see why.

Figuring I would need a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, I booked a week stay at the DLG Hotel, a classy beachfront resort with two pools and a great location in the center of the action.

Although I did spend a decent amount of time relaxing in the pool at the hotel, there were two main attractions in Da Nang that I couldn’t miss: Ba Na Hills and Marble Mountain.

Ba Na Hills is part resort, theme park, and 100% spectacle located atop the Annamese Mountains. I opted for a group tour and after an hour bus ride up to the theme park, we took the 15 minute cable car ride up the mountain to see the famous Golden Bridge. The cable car is a feat, holding a few world records including the longest 1 wire cable car in the world.

The bridge was packed with tourists, but at an elevation of almost a mile above sea level, the views were amazing. A group of Kiwis on my tour were kind enough to snap a few photos of me on the bridge.

Another popular attraction is the French wine cellar. The wine cellar was built by French colonists 100 years ago, and runs 100m deep. Drinking a nice glass of red wine in a 100 year old mountaintop cellar was a real treat.

While the Golden Bridge and French wine cellar are really cool and the lunch buffet included with the tour was an impressive display of food, the rest of the Ba Na Hills theme park is kind of weird. It has attractions like alpine coasters, a medieval carnival, and live music performances that somehow combine songs from the movie Grease and tropical house music with live brass performers. I don’t really understand it.

At a much lower elevation and much easier to access, the Marble Mountains really impressed me. A cluster of 5 marble and limestone hills, the site contains numerous pagodas, statues and carvings, caves, and shrines.

The most impressive cave is the Huyen Khong Cave which features a giant Buddha statue perched above the cave floor. It’s quite magnificent and is one of my favorite Buddha statues I have seen in all of Asia.

In addition to Ba Na Hills and the Marble Mountains, I found some great sushi and a great cocktail bar in Da Nang.

I spent at least 3 nights enjoying fine cocktails and high end spirits at Bar Libre. Dimly lit, quaint and cozy, Libre has a great cocktail list both innovative and classic, and a seriously impressive collection of spirits. It upholds the Japanese traditions of its sister bars in Tokyo.

Oh, and of course there is a fire breathing dragon that happens to be a bridge connecting the beach to the rest of the city.