PART IV- DA NANG, VIETNAM

 Link to the Previous Part- https://mitalides.blogspot.com/2025/08/part-iii-last-4-days-with-group-vietnam.html

20/7

DAY 10:

Hoi An

We started the day with a restaurant called sangha. Lip Smacking Lunch and an Instagram-worthy Ambience..

 

Then we took a Grab cab to Hoi An.

We bought clothes (you will know in the end how many), mostly linen.

As the night set in, it lived up to the claim of being one of the most romantic cities.

We took a Boat ride in the river, with lanterns everywhere….colourful lanterns floating & hanging everywhere. It is as dreamy as it can get.

The custom here is to float a paper lantern with a candle into the water for your wishes to manifest.

Just like the way we float Diya’s in the Ganga.

A stroll down the riverfront leads to a dinner of dim sums & Buying Soju(how can that not be mentioned? It is the most delicious liquor I have ever tasted).

DAY 11:

We are staying at novotel da nang on the 27^th floor. View from the room= pic we can see the river and the sea.

We head out to Hue. We take a train to Hue. The train runs along the Scenic route as it curves & bends along the sea coast, the bright neon green paddy fields, small villages and raw untouched Vietnamese Landscape. It is a Heritage train and the route explains the preservation of the same and the heritage crowning of this train route.

We walk on the river bank of the perfume river.

Most part of the day we spend at the Imperial palace of Hue / the purple city. The palace is grand with the garden being my favourite. The Vietnamese / oriental Architecture is a display of the culture the traditions and the magnificence of the eras gone by.

DAY 12:

Last day at Da Nang. We take the Novotel shuttle to Bana Hills.

We had brought the wow entry pass, which gave us priority entry in the cable car queue.

The cable car is supposed to be one of the longest in the world........It is so long & climbs such a height that there is a massive difference in temperatures at the base station & the Top.

Golden Hands Bridge, the highlight of Bana hills- It is crowded by the time we reach. But the view of Da Nang and the sea compensates for the disappointment of seeing the crowds.

French village- It feels like being in Europe due to the way it is constructed/built, and also due to the slight chill in the air due to the height.

It has the European-style local town gathering place (round).

Lunar Castle: For me, this was the best part of Bana Hills.

It had a 3d roller coaster, a horror Movie with the 3d glasses, moving seats & the water being sprayed. The movie is named ‘Happy Family’.

Then ‘Eyes of the World’-  It’s tooo good for me to not give away Spoilers.

Beer Brewery: A free Beer with French fries & music. Vietnam without Beer? That is Impossible.

The Ilios Water Fountain is iconic too..

The Bana Hills is a fantasy Sun Kingdom. An amusement park for adults.

The coolness of Bana Hills is welcome and heavenly after the melting & sweating we had to face throughout the trip.

Back to Hanoi.

DAY 13:

I go mad at mini sou.

We are recommended by our group of friends to visit the Note Café. It is an innovative café where you can leave a note that you can come back to years later.

Notes are everywhere on tables, chairs, windows, lights, ceilings, and the walls. The Coffee is yum too.

We bought local art – a hanging bamboo painting and a Bamboo fan..

Water Puppet show at night- It is a local, typically Vietnamese indigenous puppet show in water.

It makes me curious how they are doing this. With puppets farming in paddy fields, dragons swimming in water while breathing out fire, puppets fishing, mythical creatures mating, and a new chick coming into being, Kings and soldiers going on wars in the water boats- How do they do this on water?

The local Vietnamese narration is on, on the side stage, accompanied by Vietnamese musical instruments and local language storytelling.

& Oh! This is all in an auditorium on a stage.

 

DAY 14:

Back to Mumbai from Hanoi.

The End would be Incomplete without the last dip, a cultural Story. I saw a Vietnamese Movie on the flight, ‘The Last Wife’.

It portrays the life of a Vietnamese with the culture woven into the story. From Water Puppets, the clothes, the agricultural life, the picturesque landscape, the food, the hats ……

The movie is a heartbreaking Story of Love, guaranteed to make you sob with its unpredictable twists and turns leading to an ending that you couldn’t have guessed.

My Dream when I visited Vietnam: Vietnam is a Role model for India with the same population density, Urbanization, poverty, yet so rich in cleanliness and Safety.

The trip ends with the warmth and awe at what the country offers, staying with us in our Hearts forever.