A Week in Da Nang

Da Nang, the third largest city in Vietnam. The annual Université d’été des étudiants hosted by the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, in which I participated, was held in Da Nang for the third consecutive year. Located in roughly the middle of the country, Da Nang generally serves as the gateway to access the more historically and culturally significant destinations of Hoi An and Hue. Nevertheless, the city boasts, in my opinion, the best urban beaches in the world. The Vietnamese are so afraid of tanning that the beaches are practically abandoned between the hours of 9am and 5pm, which is prime beach-going time for those of us who wouldn’t even consider going to the beach at 5am. That means that the pristine, sandy, perfectly warm beach feels like a private beach exactly when you want it. For 20,000 VND (a little less than US$1), you can rent beach chairs for an entire afternoon and play in the water without worrying about overcrowding. Vendors are ready to sell you fresh coconut or ice cold beer at very reasonable prices just steps away from your seat. Needless to say, it was very tempting to skip class and just relax at the beach.

Luckily, the Université d’été classes were pretty fun. We spent a fair time working on arts and crafts, which led one of the workshop instructors to call the week-long program, “la maternelle” (kindergarten). “Classwork” definitely took a back seat, though, since building connections between young francophones across eight Asian countries was the most important goal. The theme of this year’s program was environmental protection, so in the above photo, my group in the marketing class can be seen making a poster to raise awareness about deforestation.

After classes, we went on organized excursions to local sites with French-speaking tour guides. One of the visits was to My Son, a sanctuary of abandoned Hindu temples built by the Cham minority group between the 4th and 14th century AD. A UNESCO world heritage site, My Son is stylistically similar to its more famous cousin, Angkor Wat, but has far fewer visitors. The temples are also in far worse condition, which the tour guide blamed on American bombing during the Vietnam War (in contrast, he lauded the French for discovering the site). “If it weren’t for the Americans, then tourists would be swarming,” lamented the tour guide.

Unfortunately for our group, however, right as we were in the middle of exploring one of My Son’s many temple plots, the afternoon downpour arrived, forcing us into the temples to seek refuge from the rain, which didn’t stop for the rest of the afternoon. For many, especially the umbrella-less, the interior of this temple was all they saw before heading back to Da Nang for dinner.

Here’s a shot of the group of Université d’été des étudiants delegates from all around Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, China, South Korea, and India. Can you spot me?

A mere half hour away from Da Nang by taxi, Hoi An is yet another UNESCO world heritage site. The town is a beautifully preserved town featuring Chinese, Japanese, and local Vietnamese influences. I was lucky enough to visit the town during the monthly lantern festival, during which street lights are largely turned off and lanterns float along the river to illuminate the atmosphere.

Lanterns are central to the identity of Hoi An, as demonstrated by the decor of Q Bar, a swanky watering hole for the hordes of travelers passing through.

This certainly isn’t limited to Hoi An, but I found out that soap and shampoo is often sold in sample size packets in this part of the world. Many households can’t afford to purchase large bottles of soap and shampoo, so they purchase these small packets in large denominations (often with promotions like Buy 12, Get 1). The per-volume cost is much higher than when purchasing conventional bottles, and there is also a lot more waste. There must be a more efficient solution to selling toiletries to lower income households.

Thanks to a friend who won a raffle, I also got to spend some time at one of the many five-star resorts in Hoi An. With seaside bungalows, American-style breakfast buffet (you should’ve seen my excitement when I had something besides pho for breakfast for the first time in a month), swimming pools, and a private beach, the resort was amazing. Its sticker price is also a fraction of any North American or European equivalent.

Guess where this photo was taken! Haussmannian buildings only exist in Paris, right? Well, this was taken atop Ba Na Hills, near Da Nang, next to the Gare de l’Indochine at the French-themed amusement park. Talk about reviving Indochina.