[Da Nang Travel Diary] Night of Day 1: Enjoying the Dragon Bridge Event & Seafood!

Xin chào! We're Yuki, a Japanese husband living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Ngoc, his Vietnamese wife. On this blog, we share information about moving to and living in Vietnam, as well as travel information from all over the country. If you find an article that catches your interest, please follow us first! ♪ Continuing on with our Da Nang trip diary, Day 1. Last time, we enjoyed a wonderful massage at Panda Relax Spa near My Khe Beach in Da Nang. This time, we continue exploring around My Khe Beach. Here's where to walk in the lively area near Da Nang's beach

Da Nang's My Khe Beach stretches from north to south, and the surrounding streets extend along with it, so it seems many people say, "I don't know where to walk." For those people, we'd really like you to walk along "Nguyen Van Thoai St." On Google Maps, it's around here. There's the Panda Relax Spa that we enjoyed earlier, and besides that, there are also souvenir shops, stylish cafes & bakeries, convenience stores, and more.

Walking toward the sea along Nguyen Van Thoai Street, this is what you find at the T-junction. I wonder if it was built recently. Inside this beautiful building, several restaurants seem to be housed. It looked like a place with Korean BBQ and multinational cuisine restaurants, so we passed on it this time. The first place we headed to was this seafood eatery called Lang Ca.

Since it's built facing the sea, I thought the view might be nice. I also drove back and forth a bit around this area (along the coast), but there weren't really any seafood diners around, so I had no other choice (-_-;)

At this seafood restaurant, all the seafood is chosen by pointing at the fish tank yourself, priced at "market rate." Having been ripped off at a different place once before, I found this a bit scary and decided not to use it (also, since it's a tourist-oriented shop, it was about 20% more expensive than the going rate). So instead, I ordered items that had their prices clearly listed on the menu. We ordered Vietnamese fried noodles, fried spring rolls, clam soup, and Vietnamese fried rice, among other things. These weren't all that expensive. However, one thing that was a bit rough was that since it's a semi-open-air space, there's no air conditioning, just fans. It seems climate control is difficult there too, so when I visited it was quite hot. My husband was sweating and said, "I couldn't really focus on the meal. I felt a little regretful, thinking maybe I should have called a taxi and moved to a different place instead. Recommended seafood restaurant "Brilliant

After doing some research, we found a nice-looking seafood restaurant right by the sea. It's a big place called Brillant Restaurant Da Nang. The prices were actually a bit cheaper than the seafood eatery we went to. It seems they offer not just seafood, but also Vietnamese food, Chinese food, and more!   Reservation │ Restaurant "Brilliant" (Da Nang) | "Brilliant" is a popular seafood restaurant on Tabi Spa Da Nang. Located right next to My Khe Beach, it offers a variety of dishes besides seafood. It's a large-scale restaurant on a scale you won't find in Japan. tabispavn.com Join the Dragon Bridge event in Da Nang

こちらは金曜～日曜の3日間の21時から開催されるドラゴン橋のイベント。20時50分頃に到着したのですが、すでに多くの現地人と外国人が集まっていました。   最初はドラゴン橋の龍の口からボッ、ボッ、と火が吹いて、その熱気はここまで伝わってきました。5分ほど火を拭いたあとは、続いて水を噴き始めます！

This turned out to be a surprisingly huge amount of water, so those of us who were near the dragon's mouth got completely soaked. But apparently that's actually the main attraction, since a lot of people come prepared with rain ponchos or umbrellas, and kids and playful Westerners were even going out of their way to get soaked on purpose! Definitely make sure to wait right by the dragon's mouth (toward the DHC Marina side). One-point advice.Dragon Bridge is located right next to the Museum of Cham Sculpture, spanning the river from there to the opposite bank in the direction of My Khe Beach. During the event, the bridge is closed to vehicle traffic and the bridge itself becomes a pedestrian-only zone. Also, since the dragon's mouth that breathes fire and water faces the sea side, you won't be able to enjoy it at all from the tail side (the museum side).After the event ends, you can simply walk down from the bridge to reach DHC Marina, so you can continue your night sightseeing without having to take a taxi! Da Nang Night Spot: DHC Marina & Walking Along the Love Bridge

We continued on foot to DHC Marina. The time was 9:30 PM. This is the statue known as the "Carp Climbing the Waterfall," resembling Singapore's Merlion. We took a commemorative photo, of course. Also, right next to it is a bridge called the "Bridge of Love," where it's apparently become a trend for couples to attach padlocks—sold at a nearby stall—to the lattice railing. Well, you see this kind of thing everywhere, don't you?

Since the earlier Dragon Bridge event turned out to be surprisingly a hassle, honestly this one wasn't all that interesting. Though it might be nice for young couples. On to Songchana Night Market. Those planning to go might want to be careful.

Just across the road from DHC Marina, the Son Tra Night Market spreads out. It's divided into areas for goods, clothing, and food, and it's a fairly large night market. However, maybe because it was right after the Dragon Bridge event, it was extremely crowded and quite hard to walk through. It might have been better to go on a weekday. Also, there's one more thing I want you to be careful about: the "way back.There were no cruising taxis, and I could barely find a Grab either, so in the end I used every trick I had with Grab and other ride-hailing apps, and it took me about 30 minutes to finally catch a taxi. I'm totally exhausted ( ;∀;) Summary and next time's preview... a night spot tour can be completed in just one day! Da Nang's signature nightspots are the classics: the weekend Dragon Bridge show, DHC Marina, and Son Tra Night Market — and since they're all within walking distance of each other, you can hit them all in a single evening. For the rest of your stay, strolling through the lively beachfront district is a great way to spend your time. Coming up next... Day 2 heads to Hoi An! Hotel check-in ♪ Next time in our Da Nang travel diary, Day 2 is all about sightseeing in Hoi An.This time I'm staying one night in Hoi An, so first up, check-in in the morning! I'll introduce the hotel I stayed at in Hoi An ♪ Please take a look! Hẹn gặp lại! ※This means "See you again!" in Vietnamese (^^)/