A Few Days in Da Nang & Hue (Vietnam) – 2024
I’m catching up on all the missing travel logs from Vietnam. It’s June 2024, and after Thailand, we’re looking for a place to land in Vietnam, before heading to Hanoi and flying back to France. I choose Hue because it’s a city I don’t know very well.
There’s a direct flight between Bangkok and Da Nang. We spend a night there because I want to take the scenic train to Hue the next day.
At the airport, I find out that the international fireworks competition is happening that very evening. I’m very surprised, because in my head, it’s in October, not June. Whatever! I’ve seen it on TV, it’s always impressive. For several weeks, every Saturday, two countries compete, each firing for 30 minutes on a specific theme. I try to find two tickets to get a good spot, but it’s already sold out.
You have to go there several hours in advance; the bridge over the Han River might be blocked soon… so we quickly drop our bags at the hotel and walk to the river. After asking around, I understand that without tickets, we’ll have a worse view, but we can still watch the fireworks for free from the quays. But where??? I spot the point where the police block the road, and I ask the plastic chair renters. We get there an hour before the show, so we’re in the front row, but I think I should have taken more time to think and observe. In the end, we should have moved further forward and got as close as possible to the Novotel. But hey, we’ll know for next time. The city has thought of everything: we get speakers all along the quays, so we can watch the fireworks and enjoy the music at the same time.
The Da Nang – Hue Scenic Train
JB bought the tickets online. All we have to do is take a taxi to Da Nang station. We take a long time to find a Grab (like Uber) because for a departure at rush hour and such a short distance, not many drivers are interested.
Once there, we find our train without any trouble, and it’s well equipped: comfortable seats, big windows, a food carriage selling sandwiches and fresh fruit. It’s the middle of school holidays, so it’s very noisy with kids running around everywhere.
Hue
Arriving in Hue, we hop into the first taxi. Here, people are still very kind, authentic, and don’t try to scam us. The taxi driver tells us he plays football several times a week with other taxi drivers, and we ask if JB can join in too. The meet-up is set for the next day.
Hue is an ancient royal city. Vietnamese tourists spend at most two days there and sleep outside the old town. I decide to rent an Airbnb inside the old town. It’s more of a homestay. Houses in the old town can’t have more than two floors; that’s an old law imposed by the former Nguyen kings, which still holds today. So there are never any big hotels in the old town, and Vietnamese, who often travel in groups, all have to sleep outside. Our homestay is simple, but just minutes from the royal palace (which we won’t even visit during our stay). It’s a difficult city to visit: either it rains or it’s too hot. Anyway, there’s never a good time to visit. During our stay, we also get a heatwave, so we stay home with the AC until late afternoon. We only go out to eat and play football.
But first, we need to find a football jersey for JB. The taxi team plays in white and recommends JB buy an England jersey. No way, JB! We go to a shop found on Google Maps and find a France jersey for JB. 8 euros, including the shorts!
The royal palace is surrounded by moats, and they had the good idea to plant lotus flowers there. And it’s the season too! It’s so pleasant! In the evening, drink vendors set up tables there and sell us sugarcane juice.
Other than that, we ate a lot, especially the “bo bun” soups, which are a Hue specialty. I try the same dish at different restaurants and conclude that the bo bun soups I’ve had until now are just imitations. The original is much better. There’s one restaurant so famous and so crowded that about ten people are always waiting outside.
I really can’t be bothered to write a long description for each dish, so I’ll just give you the list of restaurants:
- Bún thịt nướng O Thơm
- Bún bò O Chi
- QUÁN ĂN AN TÂM
- Bánh khoái Hồng Mai
- Les Jardins de la Carambole
I opt for a facial at some random spa, and it’s a disaster. The esthetician criticizes my entire face, and I come out with my self-esteem reduced by 90%. I have to ask JB if my skin is really that horrible, and if so, I’m going to wear a mask instead. JB reassures me and says that these spas always try to upsell, and their technique is to criticize everyone. I’d forgotten; it’s very Vietnamese! That’s why I don’t go to spas anymore, because it’s the only sales technique they know.
JB goes to the football match with the taxi driver and struggles with the pace. He’s afraid of getting injured but does pretty well for a first game. At the end, he even manages to score a nice goal. The pitch rental fee is split among the players. It’s simple: if a team wins, its members put in 40,000 VND each. If the team loses, its members put in 60,000 VND each. So there’s no high stakes, but it’s still motivating.
As I leave the pitch, I hear a “ohhhh” and quickly realize a ball is flying straight toward… my head. I dodge it by five centimeters. I’m unhurt, but I keep seeing poorly for two days, as if the ball had actually hit me—it’s strange! Sometimes you can have or avoid an accident by a split second, and I can’t explain it otherwise than by luck or bad luck. When I had a major bike accident over 20 years ago, there were so many factors that could have prevented it, just seconds away…
For the second game, JB doesn’t warm up enough, and on the first touch of the ball, he feels something’s off—he has a sharp pain in his thigh. If he continues, he risks a muscle tear and is even worried about the GR20he has to do in September. JB will later get treatment from his favorite masseuse in Hanoi, who heals him in three sessions. An injury like that could have dragged on for months without proper care.
Custom clothing
Near our homestay, there’s a tailor. Since he specializes in suits, I figure he’ll have no trouble making shirts for JB. The first shirt isn’t perfect, as he doesn’t yet know JB’s preferences, but he’s happy to make adjustments with a smile. Each shirt is made in under 36 hours.
JB ends up ordering five shirts from him. Expect to pay 13 to 16 euros per shirt. Once he has your measurements, he can make clothes for you and ship internationally if needed. His address: 5 Phung Hung Street. It’s always a good idea to get custom clothes made in Hue, as the city is still very traditional. Locals themselves still use tailors, unlike big cities like Hanoi or Saigon, where the craft is fading.
Today, we head a bit further out (30 min by motorbike) to visit a workshop I found on Facebook (Lavin Home). The house belongs to a very pretty young woman who works with a group of hearing-impaired women. They make paper flowers, sell them, and also offer workshops to learn how to make flowers. At first, we’re taught to communicate in sign language. Once I have the basics, I get to learn how to make a paper flower of my choice, assisted by a hearing-impaired woman, with no interpreter this time. I choose the lotus flower, which symbolizes Vietnam. I had already made plenty of paper flowers during Covid,but now I understand the mistakes I made: sometimes the petals aren’t placed precisely enough, and I don’t stretch the paper enough. Anyway, for about 150,000 VND, I leave with a flower I made myself, a vase, and I give whatever I want for the drink.
Not far away, there’s a village that produces incense. It’s not as pretty as the Instagram photos, but there are arranged spots for taking great pictures. It costs the price of a drink. It’s particularly popular with Instagrammers.
After Hue, we take a flight back to Hanoi.
