Cao Dai Temple, Da Nang Cathedral, Da Nang International Airport, Da Nang

It was the day where we'll be leaving Da Nang, the most (fill in the blanks) journey that we ever had. We woke up and made a simple breakfast, Vietnam very own instant noodles, Mi Chay and Pho Chay (obviously halal, as per stated on the packets). Shockingly, it was delicious! Rugi tak beli lebih!

Since our flight scheduled at 4.30pm, we still have time to go back to the city. Pak Ein’s wife decided to get some souvenirs for her daughters, so did I. 

“I need to find fridge magnets for TravelholicAwesome lah.” Dan Arif already get them Hoi An’s fridge magnets, indirectly, I need to get them the Da Nang’s edition.

After sipping coke at the opposite shop, we rode to the city, heading to Han Market, for the second time. 

Guess what? THERE WASN’T ANY FRIDGE MAGNET WITH DA NANG WORD ON IT! PFFTTT!

So I settled with the most “common” Vietnam fridge magnet, the 3 ladies from South, Central, and North Vietnam. Jadi la…dari takde kan…hope they like it.

“We still have two spots to visit, to wrap up the trip.” Hubby told me.

I opened the Tour Cookbook and looked for itinerary sections, where we had to visit two holy buildings, each has its very own believers. The Da Nang Cathedral and Da Nang Cao Dai Temple.

Having experience visiting Cao Dai Temple back in Ho Chi Minh has led us to the second temple in Da Nang, but what they have in Da Nang was clearly unable to shadow the temple in Ho Chi Minh. The building was smaller and simpler. Besides, there weren’t any colorful prayers, not the right time to pray perhaps.

Unable to peek inside the temple (well, no fee required), we moved to another location, the Da Nang Cathedral. The gothic structure and design was the reason why we wanted to visit this church. Anyhow, the gate was closed! Takkan nak pepandai bukak kan? (One should climb the tall tower to view the city.)

Pfft! Fine! We put our camera in between the grille, and clicked, clicked, clicked!

The edifice is painted pale pink, goes well with colorful stained-glass windows and bell tower, topped with a rooster weathercock. That is why it was called, the Rooster Church.

“THE SKY IS BLUE! WHYYYYY? WHYYYYYYYY? On the very last day?”

Pfft! Fine! Where’s Jesus? Ah, there you go. (Doa pada Allah, jangan disesatkan manusia di muka bumi ini…)

“Jom balik.”

We rode back to the hotel and took our things, called a cab, and headed to the Da Nang International Airport. Once we reached the airport, Pak Ein quickly took one trolley and put all of his things (bags full with conical hats and t-shirts and key-chains and what not). He and his wife then, told me that they were happy and thanked hubby and I, for bringing them to Da Nang.

“Err…takpe, we will be on the same flight. I’m not going to stay here.”

Pat on Abah’s back.

“So, when is the next trip? Abah and Makcik ON JER!”

Gulp!

-The end-

Cham Museum, Han River, Han Market, Mumtaz Restaurant, Da Nang

The journey from Hai Van Pass back to town, in fact, fun and interesting. We blended well with locals who were on their bikes, crossing and honking here and there, without any shouts or accidents. Trust me, they REALLY good in avoiding street walkers and other vehicles. C-curve, S-curve, U-curve, name it, they know how to steer clear of the obstacles.

Approaching the town, we stopped by the road side, to discuss on the next destination. Looking at the map, Cham Museum located somewhere along the Han River.

“Han River is from there to there.” The long stretch of the road is located along the Han River. How to find la weh?

Lucky us, we finally found the Museum, just by comparing the printed picture in my Tour Cookbook, with the real-life building. Great!

We went into the compound and parked our bikes near the entrance gate. The ticket booth was 10 meters away, so we had no choice but to pay the fee, VND30,000 each. Haha! To the far left, in front of one info board, there was a group of visitor (foreigners), who were listening to the tour guide, who explained on Champa history.

This building was opened in 1919, dedicated to keep Cham sculptures that were collected from various sites. A French archeologist took some of the sculptures back to Paris, while some were transported to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

Due to the location of this building (near junction), this two storey building was designed in triangle shape with corridors on both sides. Alongside artifacts, gift shop and refreshment are available too.

Pak Ein and his wife straight away looked for a spot to rest their bums. Fortunately, there was one small chamber with long wooden benches in it. In a second, I saw Pak Ein positioned himself horizontally on the bench! Haha! Pity him. I know he wasn’t into museum and artifacts, but he willingly followed and joined us. Thanks dad!

Meanwhile, Dan Arif, hubby, and I went in and enjoyed the sculptures. This museum allows visitor to take photo and video, but special filming might require special permission. Most of the statues like apsara, temple guardian, Cham head, “boobies”, were taken from My Son, which clearly reflected Buddhism and Hinduism. That was the ground floor.

We went up to the first floor and things they kept here were artifacts of culture, mainly Chinese-oriented stuff. Enough with history and symbolic statues, we went out and met Pak Ein, his wife, and Aqram.

On the way back to where we parked our bikes, suddenly, something caught our eyes. THERE WAS A SNAKE IN ONE OF THE STATUE! OMG! That is why, NEVER EVER stay close to historical artifacts, ESPECIALLY stone statues! Jom, jom blah!

“Eh, remember those marble sculptures by the river? How bout few minutes of photo session?”

“Can…jom…” Everyone agreed.

On the bike, we figured out how to stop by the Han River, right where those sculptures located. There was neither legal nor illegal parking space at all. We had to do what we had to do. We parked on the pedestrian! Hahaha! Hubby and Dan Arif had turned into two crazy paparazzi where they snapped pixies, non-stop.

Then I had my jaw dropped! WOW! This kind of statue, by the busy road side???

GREAT! More please?

So, no photo session for today. Pfft!

“Han Market, anyone?” *Wink! Wink!* I lured Pak Ein and his wife.

“Shopping timeeeee.” I saw “nur” on both faces. Hahaha!

Few minutes from the sculptures site, there were Han Market, one of the major markets in Da Nang. This market comprises of Tran Hung Dao Street, Hung Vuong Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street. So, you will NEVER miss it. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE...BUT YOU CAN DRINK AND RIDE?

It is originally a small trading port for a period of time, under French occupancy. Established in 1940s, original market was completely gone after a major reconstruction in 1989. The design was less chaotic than other street market, with two floors, ranging from local foods to garments to cell phones. So, Pak Ein played once, the seller :)

"Mua một xin vui lòng giá rẻ..." means buy one please, cheap price. Hahaha!

Dissimilar to Con Market, the largest outdoor market in Da Nang, this market is less noisy, BUT STILL, smelly, like toxic! This smell genuinely came from wet market downstairs. Pak Ein’s wife and I were forced to pinch our noses, ALL THE TIME, while choosing t-shirts and fabrics for “baju kurung”.

“Ok, let’s play bargain game. Let see who wins.”

Pak Ein used his grandpa aura, told the salesgirl, that he wanted 12 adult t-shirts, 9 kid t-shirts, and 1 for a baby, WITH various sizes.

“OMG! Untuk satu kampung ke bahhhhh?” Well, they were for my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.

“Ayang, why not include us in? Dan, you want?” They nodded.

I took off my sling bag, pulled up my jeans, and sat on a small chair, right in front of the salesgirl, who in the midst of taking out the stocks.

“15 adults! Cheap! Cheap! I go no other shop! Only here! How much? How much?” I started bargaining. Well, just use broken English, look more Asian though.

“Pity grandpa, pity grandma, walk so far, tired you know, come, come, give me good price. Tomorrow we go back, we tell friends.” I continued. Pak Ein and his wife quickly showed their sad face.

The salesgirl cum the owner of the shop, tried to offer me with lower but still higher price, that I was pretty sure that we can get lower than that. The alley was quite small, so when we sat down to pick the sizes, the front shop started to get jealous. She asked us to sit a bit further, not to “block” her shop. Wow. Cat fight alertttt!

Well, the salesgirl did tell us, that’s the culture.

Back to the t-shirt story. I finally managed to get VND45,000 per piece that was approximately RM6. Better price than what Pak Ein got in Hoi An, few days earlier. Kids and extra large were ranging from RM5 to RM10.

Looking at their gorgeous designs, I then decided to get some fabrics for my “baju kurung”. They were selling standard length, 4 meters for top, 4 meters for bottom, best length for their national costume, Ao Dai. I grabbed three sets that cost me VND300,000 each (RM30 per set).

“Time to eat!”

EVERYONE HAD MOUTH WIDE OPENED WITH SALIVA EXPLODED.

Lapar gile kot. Masing-masing dah sunburn plak tu.

Everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, agreed to spend our last Dong, on delicious halal food. Where else? Mumtaz Restaurant, an authentic Indian food with halal signboard, without a doubt. 6 plates of rice, with veggies, fish, chickens, and eggs, we had never tasted anything good like this, throughout the journey. Yummeh!

Surprisingly, the price was affordable. Approximately VND800,000, about RM100 for 6 person, around RM17 per pax. Ok la kan?

Note : Click link for Sekupang version (Stone Arts of Champa).

Hai Van Pass, Da Nang

“So, Hai Van Pass, anyone?” Hubby suggested, as per planned itinerary.

“Jom!” None of us declined.

As usual, Dan Arif was the same person who led the way, since he had a quick glance on google map back in the hotel, the night before. The road here in Da Nang seemed less users, in good condition, and easy to use. Thus, riding in Da Nang wasn’t a big challenge to us compared to other big cities in Vietnam, like Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

Before we pursued the journey, we stopped at the same place to refuel. The auntie gave the impression that she had won lottery when 4 bikes asked for full tank. She gladly joined Pak Ein and his wife (took off her con hat, hand-combed her hair) and posed for a picture.

We then passed by My Khe beach and headed straight to the longest suspension bridge in Vietnam, named Thuan Phuoc Bridge. Along the bay, there were lots of fishing boats that were inline, together with few traditional used and unused coracles. The scenery was breathtaking, more or less, like what we have back in our fishing village in Perak or Penang.

While passing the bridge, Dan Arif did strike a peace-sign. That showed how leisure we were in enduring the journey, crossing the 1.8km length of suspension bridge. The excitement got higher and I can see that we were so thrill to reach Hai Van.

It is said that Hai Van is one of the most scenic hillside roads in Vietnam, winding roads of a paved mountains, a peaceful and quiet place to discover. It is indeed, an impressive landscape, that awe-ed us when we locked our feet at one of the corner.

“Hai Van…Sea Clouds…” that’s what I read my tour cookbook. Means, the peak is in the clouds while the foot is close to the sea.

We thought of stopping by to have a quick lunch at one of the corner, but the smell of cow dung had killed the initial intention. So we continued riding and riding, guess what, group of cows were sitting right in the middle of the road, just before one corner!

We finally stopped at another open area, complete with water pipe (broken pipe I guess) almost appropriate place to have our meal. Who knows that suddenly, a lorry of pinkies passed by, which later left behind a super stinky odor right on our nose! Fresh meat on delivery, babes! Hooo! Busuk gile! There goes our second try. No lunch for that day.

Riding again, and again.

Not furlong, we decided to stop to have a group pose and crazy jumps.

Well, I normally like to lay flat on the road (like what I did in NZ) but this time, no ah-ah, pinkies pee all the way down to Hue!

While jumping dozen’s of time, hubby told me that he saw one train tunnel, in between mountains. This might be one of the vital mode of transports during the Vietnam war back in the 70s. It is estimated that Hai Van mountain itself, held seven tunnels along the 3km stretch. Wow! Whether it is still being used or abandoned, honestly, I can’t tell.

The journey continued. On Allah’s will, we didn’t face the danger of bended roads, uphill, where we reached the most top, where we could view both south and north of Vietnam. How do we know this? The fortifications of French were seen, right before the huge Da Nang map.

Here, we enjoyed the whole vista of Da Nang, the Tien Sa Seaport, Son Tra Peninsula, Cu Lao Cham island, and long sandy beaches of Lang Cho, that we initially thought of Hue. Misty and foggy, we stood right on the highest peak, 500 meters above sea level. While hubby and Dan Arif explored the French forts, the rest of us sat next to the signage, and later posed with the one and only road sign of Hai Van.

Opposite those forts, there were local vendors having their business, selling local foods, handicrafts, and souvenirs. Few tourists were also found, sipping coffee while enjoying the mountain view. Breaking the silence, a couple of Caucasians rode with locals, on German old classic bikes, that produced loud echo in the area.

We later decided to ride down the hill, before sunset. Looking at the road condition, with no road lights, we better made a move before we lost our good vision. Our tummies were playing hardcore song, asking for late lunch or perhaps, dinner. A very, very good dinner.

Leaving Hai Van with emotions of the past, this path can be considered as the most impressive route, with the presence of green trees and blue sea, herein the beauty of Hai Van.

"Sakit bontot ka Pak Ein??" Hahahaha!

Note : Click link for Sekupang version (Pass of the Ocean Clouds).

Marble Mountain, Da Nang

“Wait, I think we might need another motorbike for Aqram.” Said Dan Ariff.

We got Aqram a bike and re-fueled for all our bikes at the shop opposite our hotel. Pak Ein quickly advised Arqam to follow our tempo, scared that he might lose in Danang’s busy traffic. As usual, we enjoyed the ride and smiled to each other whenever we overtook others.

Our next destination was Marble Mountain, the one that we saw on the way from Hoi An to Danang, yesterday. It is called Non Nuoc or Ngu Hanh Son, popularly known as Five Elements Mountains. It is named after ancient philosophy that are metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

Thanks to yesterday (where we saw the signage) that actually ease our journey in finding the entrance. The road wasn’t that good that we had to carefully ride onto, about few hundred meters inside. We then stopped at one souvenir shop and parked under the covered parking spot (VND5000 each), more likely someone’s house or carving store.

“Hmm…bracelet!” Pak Ein’s wife started to get crazy, looking at those jade and marble-made bracelets.

“Makcik, no…no…” I grabbed her hand and walked towards the ticket booth.

We stopped for a while to discuss, whether to go up by lift or climb on foot. Dan Arif looked at Arqam and quickly surrendered. So did the rest of us. Well, what’s wrong taking the elevator, right? We don’t have this in Malaysia…hahaha hmmm… *panicked*

“How many?” The ticket officer asked me with slight Viet slang.

“6 please.” We paid VND30,000 each, VND15,000 for entrance fee and another VND15,000 for one way lift. Pfft!

On the right hand side, we saw steps heading to the peak. We walked to the lift door, where someone welcomed us into the not-so-clean-see-thru lift. The lift stopped nowhere except the top platform of Thuy Son mountain (highest peak and the only accessible among the five mountains) near Xa Loi tower.

The tower is 5-tier tower that has two marble dragons sitting at both sides. Pak Ein and I started to play fun with them while Dan Arif captured us on camera. Hubby? Played Nat Geo’s photographer, maybe.

After a while, we continued walking between the two caves, where visitors can stop to enjoy coconut drink. Aqram, Pak Ein and his wife looked for a place to sit, while waiting for Dan Arif, who finally decided to follow us into the cave.

The Van Thong cave entrance was really small and slippery. Despite the shallowness and darkness, I still saw few locals in heels and skirts! Hahaha! Inside the cave, there was one little Buddha in yellow wrap, sitting in the middle of the pathway. We passed by and walked straight up, climbed those super steep steps into another opening. Dan Arif and I started to play Tom Jones and Lara Croft, climb-posing the cave wall, with minimal lights from above.

Satisfied with the exploration, we climbed down and walked out from the cave. Dan Arif, Hubby and I decided to prolong the exploration to the other site where they kept the sitting Buddha that facing the sea.

Next to this place, there was the highest viewpoint called Vong Giang Dai. With full forced, Dan Arif, Hubby and I climbed the watchtower.

“Oh my Goddddd! This place looks like Ipoh laaaaaaaaaaaa!” I shouted and hubby agreed.

The marble mountains, scattered low-rise buildings, green hill tops, under the hot sun, it did remind us of Ipoh. The scenery was breathtaking so we grabbed the chance to snap more pictures up there, before we turned back to the other three members.

With flowing sweats that wet our clothes, we again, took an elevator down the hill, with VND15,000 each. Weh, cannot tahan laaaaaaaa…156 steps kottttt…

Note : Click link for Sekupang version (Mountains of Five Elements).