24 HOURS IN DA NANG - VIETNAM

To be honest, Vietnam wasn't on the main list of my travel destination. I was wondering why people always talked about Vietnam lately as they said this country is one of the "most happening" tourist destinations. I didn't believe so until I got there earlier this year.

I went there for a very short trip. Departed from Indonesia at noon, arrived at Ho Chi Minh at twilight and departed again to Danang around 8.30 pm. Finally touched down in Da Nang around 10.00 pm and I found the city had slept already. There were just a few of cars and motorcycles around the airport and my hotel. And here was my adventure started. My very first destination here was Chợ Đêm Sơn Trà Đà Nẵng - Danang Night Market.

I stayed at Salem Riverside Hotel. I suggest you to stay around the riverside area because it is the central of the city. You might be able to take a walk along the riverside as well since there are a lot of cafes there. However, 11 pm at Da Nang is a bit quieter than Ho Chi Minh. I was about to grab some foods for my late dinner but there were no online taxi anymore at that night that would like to pick me up at hotel. I wanted to take a walk but I was too afraid because the street seemed so empty and Vietnam is also well-known with the thief pocket. So, I decided to ask my hotel for a taxi. It only took around 5 minutes and costed for around VND 45,000 / IDR 29,000 anyway to reach Chợ Đêm Sơn Trà Đà Nẵng - Danang Night Market. One thing you should note, not many Vietnamese are fluent in English, including the taxi drivers. It is better for you to ask some help from the hotel reception to direct the driver.
Too bad, as I got the market, there were only several stalls left. The rest had sold out and even closed their stalls already since there were no longer customers left. But thank God I still got 1 stall left, located on the very end of the street, it was Pho! Yeay, since Da Nang was a bit chill and breezy in January, having a bowl of Pho was a very brilliant idea.
Pho Ga (Pho Chicken) - VND 50,000 / IDR 30,000
(Usually Pho comes along with Coriander by the way. But since I don't like it much, I ask them to make it plain without coriander. Looks not good but still tasty tho).

You are in Vietnam when you spot sets of tables and short chairs along the street. I woke up on the next day to get some fresh air of Da Nang and found out there were a lot of mini coffee shops and breakfast places along the riverside. It seemed like Vietnamese really enjoyed sipping their coffee in the morning while watching people passing by. Here are some pictures that I took before I got ready to Bà Nà Hills.

My second destination was Sun World Bà Nà Hills. It was just 40 minutes away from the city. As I reached Bà Nà Hills station, I saw everything was green and there were no theme park, at all. Well in fact it was only the beginning of the journey guys because theme park was located up on the hill. So what I had to do was taking a cable car! Bà Nà Hills cable car opened since 2013. They claimed as the longest non-stop single track cable car at 5,801 meters. 
The main entrance before you get to your cable car.

Bà Nà Hills has become one of the most popular tourist destination lately in Vietnam. Many travelers said that Bà Nà Hills is the local Disneyland of Vietnam, and I think it's true. Its design and decoration was dominated by Parisian style since Vietnam was colonized by France back then. However, visiting Bà Nà Hills is cheaper than Disneyland. It only costs VND 750,000 / IDR 480,000 for adults and VND 600,000 / IDR 380,000 for Children with 1 - 1,4 meters heights. If you are a budget traveler, this theme park actually has an entrance fee reduction if you visit after 4 pm, but I suggest you to just come in the morning because you will miss a lot of things if you get into after 4 pm, because I tell you guys, this place is really really something. Visiting Bà Nà Hills at the beginning would be really exciting. But before you got lost (literally lost because this theme park is really big), here by I attached the theme park map.

The latest and very famous attraction, Golden Hand Bridge was really amazing. The weather was really nice as well, not too cold and not too hot. It was really chilly and calming. Too bad it was really crowded back then so I decided to just take a selfie. A little selfie won't hurt right?
Wine testing cost start from 120,000 VNS / 77,000 IDR (depends on the wine).


Vietnamese Doughnut VND 50,000 / IDR 30,000 for 2 Doughnut (In Indonesia we call it Onde-onde. It has a bigger size and more chewy tho so you have to try it.


Notredame Cathedral inside Bà Nà Hills.

Buffet lunch at Beer Plaza cost for 250,000 VND / 155,000 IDR. It's all you can eat restaurant and seems legit. You have a lot of food variation, from Vietnam local foods, western and Chinese foods.

After spending almost my half day in Bà Nà Hills, I got back to the city to visit Hàn Market. It is really famous as a tourist central market. You will get a lot of stuff here, from apparels, traditional costumes, fabrics, cosmetics, foods, and souvenirs. But beware that Vietnam local shop sell a lot of fake goods. So you have to be a smart shopper. I suggest you to buy some snacks such as Durian Pia here. And the most important thing is, you have to bargain the price. Some of the sellers will give you such a high price. All you need to do is just bargain it, if she/he doesn't want to deal with it, then leave it. Just take a walk to the other seller then. The market seemed so packed and crowded by the way, so you have to be very careful of thief pockets as well.

I recommend you to buy this Durian Pia as souvenirs. It costs 80,000 VND at the airport. But in Hàn Market you can get around 40,000-45,000 VND. Much cheaper right?

The last stop was Dragon Bridge which located at the central of the city. It is the longest bridge in Vietnam which crosses the Han River. I was mesmerized with the beautiful colors and lights along the bridge. Too bad that I went there on Friday. I suggest you to cross by on weekend or any festive season because this bridge is scheduled to breathe fire from its mouth from 9 pm onwards. So here I was, only got a chance to stop by for a while and here by I finally ended my 24 hours adventure in Da Nang.

Chợ Đêm Sơn Trà Đà Nẵng - Danang Night Market
Opening Hours : Daily 17.00 - 23.30
Mai Hắc Đế, An Hải Trung, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam

Opening Hours : Daily 07.00 - 18.00
Tuyến cáp treo lên Bà Nà Hills, Hoà Ninh, Hòa Vang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam
Telp : +84 236 3791 999

Opening Hours: Daily 05:00 – 19:00
Address: 119, Tran Phu Street, Hau Chai District, Da Nang

Address: An Hải, Hải Châu District, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam

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