Danang Airport To My Khe Beach

That was one quick ride. We left the parking area of Danang's Domestic Terminal at 1855H, and I arrived at the lobby of Holiday Beach Hotel at 1914H. Just 19 minutes!

For 7 kilometers? That was 22+ kilometers per hour hahaha! But I considered it fast because, in the Philippines, travel from an airport to anywhere usually takes "years"!

Oh well, this is where "the psychology of waiting" comes in. I was pre-occupied with watching those places we passed-by. I was excited, so I did not at all feel impatient!

Excited because, I was back after two decades, and our Chritmas Eve Party, among the craziest of my friends, was already brewing. Cocktails at 8, Dinner at 9PM. Woh!

I had 45 minutes to wash-up and go down to the venue, on the sand, Holiday Beach Club of this hotel (across the road, actually). Kayang-kaya! More about that later na!

But as I always say, let's have a blow-by-blow account of my way to their city center. I found it challengingly fun, because many things changed since I've last been here!

There are many roundabouts in Danang. Going south from the airport, this is one...

I clicked a bit too late. We were already past the rotunda itself. Most of their rotunds here are just circular islands with garden parks - no distracting spectacular edifices.

Why did I take that photo? Aw, me nagtanong sa FB messenger, sabi asan ka na? eh malay ko ba, di naman ako marunong bumasa ng kapaligiran, so yan, kinodakan ko!

Yung nagtanong actually is taga-QC na hayok sa sasakyan. So he knows this corner too much! Tulo-laway daw sya pag dumadaan dito sa dami ng showrooms ng kotse.

As for me, I salivated at this sight... [the scooters-for-rent lang ha, not the VIP thing]!

Ang dami nila 'no? You can rent them per hour or even for all-of-your-time in Danang. But as for me.., personal social official familial protocols say "bawal na yan". Haiszt!

Okay now... about that big red and white VIP signage... for your information, para sa iyong kaalaman.., yes ikaw na hayok sa langit ng lupa, that is not what you think it is!

Hindi beerhouse yan oy! Nakakita ka lang ng malalaking letrang VIP kumati na agad iyang ano mo! Wala ka sa Pasay o Fields Ave! Walang nakahelerang mga GRO dyan!

Restaurant yan! A big restaurant with different sections and function areas, actually. Vuon, I think, means garden. So it means VIP Garden? Not your type of Beer Garden!

Hindi yan yung Pinoy-style na bahay aliwan haha umayos ka! Khong Gian VIP means VIP Space Restuarant. Yun ang name ng resto! Tunay na pagkain ang nilalapa diyan!

It has a popular buffet restaurant, a cafe, and an event place (madalas kasalan)!

Onwards, I had to snap this photo. Good enough for me, even if it came out blurred.

Why, what for, what is it anyway? Aw it's a hotel and a hip venue for bigger events or gatherings, that I haven't seen yet, as it begun operating just in 2013. Maganda daw.

What I do remember from years ago is that the area (at right) is/was a military camp (parang Aguinaldo or Crame natin), and there are/were many sports venues around.

I hope all of those are still around. It is/was not just 'some' sports building. It is/was a vast field with golf course, track oval, olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, a basketball stadium (with indoor/outdoor courts), a big gym for indoor sports, etc.!

I could imagine even in the dark, this hotel occupies part of the façade of the camp.

It's a big hotel. I was told sometime ago that it has more than a hundred rooms, two restaurants, 4 conference venues, and it can accommodate a 1,000-guest wedding!

Woah! Danang is progressing too fast!

Ah, I knew this was going to happen, but I still clicked my phone's camera anyway!

That is right next to Eden Hotel (that was not there yet during my last visit) and that, is the gate to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Park (Danang). Another spacious place.

It's also a very wide expanse of gardens and buildings, but with airplanes, tanks and helicopters! Oh I remember, there was even a 1:1 copy of Ho Chi Minh's little nipa hut!

I am not joking about the "airplanes, tanks and helicopters". They are even a highlight of their entire park and museum display, labelled as "captured from the Americans".

Yes I have seen them, but that was decades ago! It would be great to visit the place once again - especially that it looks like already spruced up. Okay, maybe tomorrow.

Oops, di na pala tomorrow.., mamaya na yan, umaga na (2AM) as I write this eh!

But let's talk pa more, about things I saw along the way, from airport to city. Like this:

That was to my right, as we rounded another rotunda, while approaching the bridge. What caught my attention is the style of that arch over the street. Ay plural pala yan!

Unique 'no? Those are made of steel tubes as frames, forming some kind of a giant circular toblerone! It's 3D, so you can put welcome or whatever signs on both sides.

Structurally sturdier than many we see in our country. Magaling, mahusay!

Then I was told by a friend at this evening's party, that it was good I took a photo of the said 'arko', since it's going to be dismantled soon, to make way for a skyway. Da!

Then we approached one of the big bridges. I also took this photo, even if blurred!

The interesting thing for me here was that, there are now many restaurants or other commercial enterprises on the banks near the foot of this bridge over the Han River.

Wow, it is even actually a park surrounding the base of the bridge! That's new to me. Yes new to my delighted chinky eyes, since 2 decades ago, it was not like this at all.

On the bridge.., double wow, as I told my self, I don't remember being on this bridge!

I asked the driver and he told me "this one is new Trần Thị Lý Bridge opened in 2013." In reasonably understandable English yan, by the way! Yep, many drivers in Vietnam now talk in English -pag hindi, ay nagkukunwari lang yan, baka mandarambong pa yan!

And he pointed to me the old, lower and narrower one (that I knew) to our left, that's now called Nguyen Van Troi Walking Bridge. Can't be seen in that pic, nasa baba eh!

That is the historic one. I hope I have time to see it tomorrow or the next day. It was built in 1950 as a rail bridge during the French occupation. This one was built 2013!

Yep, this one we were crossing-on is a modern cable-stayed bridge - the red cables artistically mimicking the sail of a boat. 4 lanes for vehicles, and 2 for motorcycles!

I saw signage telling that outer lanes are for motorcycles and biycles; the sidewalks (obviously) for pedestrians; and no trucks allowed 6:30~8:30AM and 6~8PM. Nice!

Driver told me, Trần Thị Lý Bridge is a tourist spot. He pronouces it like 'ChanTi Lee'! But he further told me too, that this is not their most famous of tourist-spot-bridges.

And what/where is that most famous bridge of Danang? Ayun, by the middle of this picture - those arch of lights, left of the tall building. It is called the "Dragon Bridge"!

Aw, I am surely passing by that Dragon Bridge later during the day, since that would be on the way to Danang Cathedral, where we will attend some Christmas activities.

This is as we neared the end of Trần Thị Lý Bridge, and I have some trivia for you!

On my personal count, there are probably more than a dozen bridges that cross the Han River (Danang, hindi Seoul ha?). But driver said there could be more than 20 all in all! We started counting (mentally) and I knew this would happen... we lost count!

From Danang Bay, this Trần Thị Lý Bridge is the 5th of many, inluding the now just a walking bridge Cầu đi bộ Nguyễn Văn Trỗi - dyan sa ibaba, sa kaliwa ng tulay na ito.

All of them, plus the 6th (to the right) are notable, therefore must-see (or must-pass) especially for 1st-time visitors to Danang. Each bridge has an amusing story to tell!

You want a sample? Well, we've been talking about Trần Thị Lý (this bridge I was on) and the Dragon Bridge. Both opened to traffic on 29MAR2013 - the 38th anniversary of the "Capture of Da Nang City by North Vietnamese Forces" (from the Americans)!

O diba? History over history. Oo na, olats ang mga Kano at anniversary nila ang date na iyan! But 2 bridges, as in dalawang tulay sabay sinimulan at tinapos, 1 km apart?

Eto pa ang amazing: ground-breaking for the 2 bridges (Dragon & Tran Thi Ly) were made same day/ceremony as the inauguration of Thuận Phước Bridge, 19JUL2009.

Ah, that's what we should call hayok sa tulay hahaha! That's already 3 bridges out of many, enmeshed in an amazing, intertwined historical snippets about Danang, right?

There are more of such interesting titillating facts. But, let's move forward!

Down from the bridge, I think this is already Ngũ Hành Sơn district, I saw a church.

Nah, that is not the cathedral we are visiting tomorrow. It's probably the Evangelical Church by the roadside. It reminded me just the same, that it is now Christmas Eve!

Yes yes, resort town na! That's what I call this area with a lot of resorts and hotels.

I knew it would be blurry, but I still took a pic of Risemount Premier Resort's façade!

I silently laughed at the creative name of this hotel... Charming! Walang kokontra!

This thing suddenly dangerously crossed our path, my driver even said "ngu ngốc"!

Anyway, all in my mind was: we were about to reach the waterfront and turn right.

That is Song Cong Hotel at left, while at right is, I think, Toan Thang Hotel. After one more building should be a beachfront road on Mỹ Khê Beach. I was almost there na!

This, is that corner! Better seen at day, but nice too in the evening. I said "turn right"!

I think the driver laughed a little when he heard me say that. Kasi naka-Waze naman sya 'no! Well, I was just anxious ba't nasa left lane sya, eh we were turning right. Da!

As I said before, Vietnam also drives on the right side of the road, just us in our dear lupang hinirang! So, dapat nasa kanan na sya, dahil nagmamarunong nanaman ako!

Anyway, that darkness in front of us, is already the waters of My Khe Beach - ay, pag nilangoy mo yan ng dere-derecho makakarating ka ng Zambales. Like that ahahaha!

Finally the cab turned right, this is still about 800 meters pa to Holiday Beach Hotel, and some folks were already messaging me "wer na u". I said "now at 27 Seafood"!

And I expected the reactions! One said "ang gago namasyal pa andito na kami hoy"!

I laughed but didn't reply, for in fact I was in front of a restaurant on this strip that all of us know. That corner at right - sorry lampas na ng konti lang ang picture ko hehe!

That restaurant, where the black car is emerging from, has a long name that is hard to memorize. But its a seafood resto, and there is a big number 27 on its signboard.

We call it 27 seafood. Yun ang isinagot ko, eh sa talagang nasa tapat ako nyan eh!

My Klook driver detected that people were already looking for me so he went faster!

But I told him to take it easy and go slow. Why? Aba well, ninamnam ko ang daming pagbabago sa kahabaang ito! It's getting to look very much like a Pattaya or Phuket.

Like Roxas Blvd., tall buildings at right dagat at left, but with 'real' white-sand beach!

Oist, look at that building with bluish-white vertical strips of light. If you can't read it, the name says Haian Beach Hotel & Spa. Familiar name? Aw, yung bagyo meron "y".

And I finally reached my destination - this building with blue and red columns.

You see that brightly lit area at left edge of the picture (across the road)? That is the Beach Club of my hotel. Andun ang mga animal kong ka-Christmas Dinner, waiting!

But that's another story, hehe!

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