Day 10: Da Nang – When the City Isn’t Your Scene

After Ninh Binh’s valleys and several days in Hoi An, Da Nang felt like quite a change. Bigger roads, taller buildings and a much more modern seafront made an immediate impression. We had only a short stay, and my sore knee was still influencing the programme. This was our experience of one day, rather than a verdict on everything the city has to offer.

After breakfast, we left Hoi An and caught a quick ride north. The drive is pleasant enough, with glimpses of the sea and lush countryside, but rolling into Da Nang, you immediately sense the shift: bigger, busier, brasher.

Marble Mountains—Solo Style

Our first stop was the Marble Mountains. Lizz went up to explore the caves and pagodas, while I stayed below to give my knee a break. Vietnam Tourism describes the site as a group of five limestone peaks with caves and places of worship. It is more than a viewpoint, although I was in no position to do it justice on foot.

I found some shade, had an iced coffee and watched the tour buses come and go. Lizz returned hot from the climb, with descriptions of caves and temples. We had managed two quite different versions of the same stop. Mine contained fewer steps and considerably more sitting.

My Khe Beach – Not My Kind of Paradise

Later we visited My Khe Beach. The sand was clean and the beach broad, but the line of high-rise hotels behind it was not what we were looking for after Hoi An. There was nothing wrong with wanting a different kind of seaside setting; this one simply did not appeal to us that day.

We did not stay long. The scale of the development felt impersonal to us, and we preferred the atmosphere we had just left behind. Someone wanting a large beach city might respond very differently. A place does not need to be universally disappointing for it to miss the mark for two particular visitors.

Into the Han Market

Han Market gave us a different side of the city: crowded aisles, clothing, fruit, dried foods and souvenirs. There was plenty to look at, even if the crowds demanded some patience. After the big hotels along the beach, browsing a busy market made a welcome change of scene.

Final Thoughts on Da Nang

Back at the hotel, we agreed that Da Nang had not been our favourite stop. We were tired, working around an injury and leaving early the next morning. Those things inevitably coloured the day. We had not explored enough to dismiss the whole city, but we did know which parts of our trip had felt more comfortable.

That is part of travelling too. You can appreciate what a place offers and still be ready to move on. For us, Hoi An had been the better fit on this journey.

What I Would Keep in Mind Next Time

I would allow more room for my energy and mobility rather than expecting every destination to work with the same itinerary. Lizz could enjoy the Marble Mountains while I sat out the climb; we did not have to do every activity together for the day to count.

Next: A Day of Airports

An early flight would take us to Ho Chi Minh City, followed by another flight to Phnom Penh. The next diary is mostly about planes, waiting and finally reaching Cambodia. A change of country was coming, even if a change of chair came first.