🇻🇳 Review (Well-matched, intermediate-level Da Nang trip 5-day course) Day 2

Day 2 of our perfectly matched Da Nang free travel trip! Day 2 is all about exploring Hoi An. If riding a motorbike is difficult for you, please note that it's a distance you can cover by rental car or Grab. It's not like we've been to Da Nang that many times, but it seems like Hoi An has always been our first accommodation on every Da Nang trip. You'll absolutely regret it if you miss the morning in Hoi An. Usually, people go to watch the sunrise at the Central Market marked on the map below (the bridge next to the dawn market), but this time we tried moving further up, to a spot a bit farther away.

I set out to catch the exact moment the sun rises. With a motorbike, you can go anywhere! Since the front was wide open, I got to see an even more beautiful sunrise! (During the rainy season, it's hard to catch the sunrise.) During the dry season you can see it every day, so if you want to watch the sunrise, remember 5 a.m.

I came back from watching the sunrise and it's breakfast time. Our accommodation serves breakfast, but before that I went out to have some local food. It's a famous Hoi An dish called "banh mi op la" — ham, meat, egg, cheese and more grilled on a hot plate, eaten by dipping or piling onto grilled banh mi. It's one of the most popular Vietnamese breakfast foods. It's also nice to have it with a cup of warm soy milk. I can't promise you'll like the warm soy milk though — opinions on it are really split. The grilled banh mi was truly delicious.

On the way back to our accommodation after dinner, near the entrance of an alley past the central market, I bought durian and mango from a lady selling them right on the street. The durian was 100,000 dong per kilo. The green mango was also in season in May, so it wasn't sour at all and was really delicious. I packed them up to eat later!!!

When I arrived at the accommodation, breakfast was already in full swing. I had already eaten Paris Baguette bread for breakfast, but there's no way I could pass up a free breakfast!! You could choose one main dish among scrambled eggs, omelette, and pancakes. Everything else, like fruit and coffee, was self-serve!! It was a simple breakfast, but it was more than enough.

After a short rest following breakfast, I'm going to start the morning course!! I'll check the destination on Google Maps and head out!!

It's about a 30-minute drive if you go slowly. If you have some time to spare, I'd recommend giving it a visit. Since it's double-cropped, the scenery repeats every 6 months, but if you time it right, you can see it in green or golden colors. I hear black rice is grown here. You can buy it as a local specialty at the café. From what I looked into, it seems a small amount of rice is allowed to be brought in.

Rogatgu Cafe It's known for its kiln made of old bricks. There are stairs, but since there's no railing, climbing them is dangerous. I climbed up, but it really is dangerous. I ordered a drink and took a little break. Since the harvest had just finished, we goofed around and played on the dry rice paddy field.

I ate the mangoes and durian I bought this morning. I got the cafe owner's permission, haha.

Hoi An Pottery Village. It's located west of Hoi An. It's a place that's always included in package tours. The admission fee is 50,000 VND per person. There's no air conditioning inside. It's really hot. I tried to bear with it, but it was so hot that I just looked around briefly and came out quickly. Behind the main building there's another building with an experience center and a cafe. I'd recommend looking around unhurriedly if you have the time.

The garden is filled with miniature clay landmarks from all around the world. At the entrance there's a small shop and a souvenir store — it felt like an oasis. Haha.

On the way from the Pottery Village over to Hoi An, near (Cam Thanh) there's another street market that's formed. I was passing by and lychees caught my eye, so I bought a bunch. Since they're in season they're cheap, but thinking about it now, I think I paid a bit too much — I think I ended up paying about 60,000 dong.

It was so hot that after finishing our morning activities, we took a two-to-three-hour rest at the accommodation. My brother-in-law's couple, who love swimming, rented out the pool for themselves, while we cranked up the AC to full blast in our room and enjoyed watching them swim, haha.

After resting well, I'm starting the afternoon schedule!!! The afternoon plan is a loop around near Anbang Beach!! I'm starting with a nice lunch at a nearby restaurant!!

It's a famous restaurant~ This is the Posyu x Riverside branch. There's an air-conditioned room on the 2nd floor, but we chose a seat under the natural riverside parasol instead. The breeze was cool, so it was just the perfect temperature.

Had a delicious meal, now heading off to Anbang Beach!!!!

I parked in the parking lot and dipped my feet in the sea for a bit at Anbang Beach. It was so hot, haha! Please check the map for where to wash your feet!!! Showers are paid, but washing your feet is free!

Next stop, we went to Cua Dai Beach. All the young folks were there haha. Late afternoon, the weather was nice and cool, so we had a drink at a street nước mía (sugarcane juice) stall!!! Don't think about hygiene. If you drink it quickly before the ice melts and dilutes it, you'll be fine lol.

And the viewpoint! Places where photos come out beautifully are always bustling with young people~ This spot seemed to be a photo spot for young Vietnamese women too. Many of them were dressed up beautifully in white dresses, taking lots of pictures.

After fully enjoying the sunset, we came back to our lodging when it started to get dark. After a short rest, we took a walk around the neighborhood and stopped by a Mi Quang Cao Lau restaurant. Every single table was taken by foreigners! One bowl was 40,000 dong — a price that's neither expensive nor cheap — but the portion was so small it'd disappear in just a couple of bites, haha. Here's the location!

We went to Olta side for a light bite and a short walk. We tried the newly opened Greek souvlaki spot! We ordered a chicken wrap with chicken in pita bread and a platter!!! They were short on pita bread, but it was still delicious.

I took a leisurely walk across Ortakoy toward the accommodation. It seemed to take about 30 minutes.

As we got close to our accommodation, my friend said washing her hair was too much of a hassle and that she wanted a shampoo treatment, so we ended up getting a 30-minute shampoo massage before heading in.

The second day was also packed from 5am to midnight!!! On day 3, we'll move to our accommodation in Da Nang and enjoy some more there ^^

Day 2 was really fulfilling too — we had a great time!