Dang Da Nang
Da Nang was the most “at home” we have felt since Chiang Mai. All the stops between Chiang Mai and Da Nang have been shorter and/or more hotel based stops, with less of the full apartment amenities.
Our apartment for our one month stay was in an amazing location one block from the beach, with a well stocked convenience store in the lobby, and a quick walk to ALL the restaurants and larger grocery stores. The only downside was the building was HUGE and crowded. You would never not have to stop at least twice on the elevator (and we were on floor 37 of 41).
Our first day in Da Nang we went to a HUGE Sams/Costco like hypermarket and stocked UP on things for our month in Da Nang. The rest of our days were spent enjoying our amazing view, walking to the beach, watching TV (like The Good Place, highly recommend), cooking, watching sunset (and the occasional sunrise), and just living a chill life.
Our favorite part about Da Nang was our “daily” commute. Most days we would wake up, cook some breakfast before packing our beach bag and heading down to the convenience store in the building for provisions (beer, snacks, etc. depending on how we were feeling that day). Then we would cross the street to the long, beautiful white sandy beach.
Most days we would rent a “cabana” from our favorite cabana rental guys (yes they knew us well by the time we left). For about $3 USD we would get two padded chairs, towels, and a thatched umbrella to sit under. That's it. We would read, sunbathe, swim, play with our favorite water toy (Waboba ball) and drink refreshing beverages (which you could purchase from the vendors).
Also, we have seen more fireworks in our travels than we have ever seen in our life up to this point (thank you Lunar New Year). That was reinforced when we coincidently arrived in Da Nang just after night 1 of the month-long Da Nang International Fireworks Festival. For the next 4 Saturdays we were treated to spectacular fireworks displays, from international teams across the globe. Best part. We could watch every second from our balcony. All by coincidence. Talk about the right place, right time, for 4 straight magical weekends.
With such a chill setup we only did one of two planned short trips from Da Nang (we did 3 nights in Hoi An, but we didn’t do Hue). Otherwise, we just enjoyed our time in Vietnam’s most livable city.