MY VIETNAM TRIP: PART TWO 

Hello readers! So let’s pick up where we left off eh?

So this is the 3^rd day of our trip, i.e. the fourth of July. In the morning before breakfast we decided to go use the swimming pool. So we woke up at around 7 A.M. and changed to our pool clothes and headed down. To our surprise it was totally empty even though the hotel was filled with guests. We enjoyed a good half an hour in the pool and caught a cold. Later on we had a proper 5 star breakfast (for which we paid 7,00,000 Dong) on the 4^th floor of our hotel.

After getting ready we headed out to explore Da Nang. Our first stop was the famous My Khe beach near the edge of the city. It wasn’t too far from our hotel so we booked a bike from Grab. Pro tip: If you’re in Vietnam and you want to go somewhere that’s less than 3 kilometres away, book a bike from Grab. It’s much cheaper and much faster.

My Khe beach was really beautiful. Spick and span cleanliness. Beautiful sand, clean waters, and a lot of water sports activities. My friend even went for para-sailing and came back on the jet ski. And the good part was that at every single corner, there were sunloungers available to rent for the entire day. They were completely shaded and cost only about 40,000 Dong per person.

So we took 2 sunloungers, kept our stuff down and explored the beach end to end. After about an hour or so we decided to go for lunch to a café on the hills nearby called as Sơn Trà Marina. We thought it would be a nice cozy café on the sea-side with a nice place to sit along the breeze. But unfortunately it was packed with tourists and it only offered snacks and drinks. So we just had 2 mango juices and left. By the time we left it was already around 3 PM. And I had read online that during our stay, we’d get to experience the famous Da Nang International Fireworks Festivals. But silly me had not googled the dates properly and we thought that the fireworks would happen every Saturday and Sunday. And as far as we had read online, apparently on the day of the fireworks, the whole city would gather together on the roads. At around 4 PM onwards road closures and public services would all stop. The DIFF was a big thing for them. So we were back at the hotel thinking that in the evening we’d go near the Dragon bridge and see the fireworks. But unfortunately, we later found out that 4^th was not scheduled as a fireworks day. So instead we went back to the pool in the evening and spent some time there.

The next day would be really fun. Because today we were gonna go to Bà Nà Hills. The Bà Nà Hills were the heart and soul of Da Nang if I may. It was made and managed by Sun World and there were tons of things to do there. In the morning we left our hotel early on without having any breakfast. We booked a Grab car and would reach there within 40 to 50 minutes or so. On the way, the driver asked us if we had purchased a ticket already or not. Since we hadn’t known about a ticket of any sorts we were visibly confused. So the driver, in his broken English, told us he’d help us get the tickets. We mostly brushed off his claims and thought he meant he’d point out to the ticket window.

Then, when we were about to reach the Hills, he stopped at a nearby shop on the road. He introduced us to a salesman who offered us the tickets for 13,52,000 Dong per person. Very obviously we were taken aback as 13 lakh Dong was genuinely a big amount. We weren’t carrying that much cash so we were really hesitant. Then my friend looked up online and the tickets available there were almost the same price. Plus, the salesman was offering us lunch in Bharata restaurant on the Hills. It was a part of our ticket. Ultimately we decided to bite the bullet and paid the salesman for the ticket. Needless to say, we were still on high alert. There was even a customer service number on the ticket. Half of my mind thought we’d get stopped at the entrance and find out we just paid for a ticket illegally.

But thankfully nothing like that happened. We entered the Hills without any issues. Now, the best part about Bà Nà Hills was that it was really tourist friendly. They had kept a free bus service that would take you from the car park/drop-off point to the entrance.

Then at the entrance too, there were multiple places you could buy tickets, take a rest stop, eat something, etc. So far so good.

Our first attraction was going to be the cable car. And oh boy, was it a long and ardous attraction. The cable car that took us to the top was at least a 10-15 minute ride. So when you think about it, in the morning when I woke up (I was already feeling acidity in my stomach), we skipped breakfast, took a 50 minute cab ride, then hopped on a bus and then took the lengthiest looking cable car ride ever! By the time we reached to the top, my stomach gave away and I was almost gagging. I had to stop at the restroom and vomit last night’s dinner. But thankfully, after that ordeal I felt much better and activated. When we entered the Hills, it was magnificent. Completely surrounded by lush greenery, extreme winds blowing everywhere, clouds almost touching our faces! We were in for a treat. We stopped at a small café to have some banana bread. And then we went out to explore the whole thing.

So, just to give you an idea. What is Bà Nà Hills? Well, it is basically a small hill station near Da Nang which has been completely transformed into a theme park of sorts. Imagine Disney World, but on the top of a mountain. And yes, as impossible as that sounds, Sun World actually did it. There were adventure rides, cable cars, hotels, restaurants, bridges, etc. To new travellers, please spend the entire day at Bà Nà Hills. Totally worth it.

There was so much to do here that we actually got lost. First off we decided to finish Vietnam’s iconic Golden Bridge.

As expected this was a tourist hotspot so there was a lot of rush here. Barely any space to stand, much less take a photo. Still, a tick mark off the bucket list.

Then we went to explore the French village via tram. Basically, Bà Nà Hills was divided into 3 sections. You could go in and around those sections via cable cars. There’s a lot of walking and a lot of figuring out you might have to do. But I can promise you that each attraction is different from the other. Explore one section first fully, then move to the other. Each spot is picturesque and beautiful. They also have an app which will help you in figuring out where everything is. But by far the best thing in Bà Nà Hills was the Fantasy Park. Located near the famous Alpine coaster, Fantasy Park is a multilevel indoor gaming zone cum theme park. There was a mini theatre, a Jurassic Park exhibit, 4D theatre, rock climbing, arcade games and so much more. Fantasy Park in itself took us around an hour and a half to explore. And we did not even sit in all the rides! And the best part? Almost everything was free entry. That was in fact the best thing about Bà Nà Hills. Once you got in, you can very easily explore the whole area without paying a single Dong. Finally, when it was time for lunch, we were a little concerned. First off, on the app we could not find Bharata restaurant at all. We tried searching for signs nearby too, but nothing. I was almost sure that we had been scammed.

But thankfully, after a little searching we found the restaurant hidden in some corner of the Hills. And to be honest, this was the best restaurant ever. First off, it was massive. There were so many places to sit and eat. The restaurant was absolutely full with people. Yet, many spaces were completely empty. Secondly, there were tons of food options. As many options as Novotel if I may. And as a matter of fact, the food was actually really very tasty. We had a good and satisfying lunch. After that, we explored the area a little more but by around 3:30 or 4 PM, we were exhausted. So, we decided to head back to our hotel.

Overall, Bà Nà Hills was a really good experience. Definitely worth the 13,52,000 Dong for sure.

The rest of our trip will be covered in my next article, the final one in the Vietnam series. Thank you for reading.