We wake up to another grey day, but at least it’s not raining! Our balcony door kept howling all night, so Joe had a very bad sleep (he’s the lightest sleeper of us all). He calls down, and they offer to move our room. I happily agree, but I prefer moving our things directly from one room to the next, not storing our bags. We agree to come back to the hotel for 12pm to pack up and move or store, depending if the new room is ready or not.
After a slow morning and a long breakfast, we head out for a walk. Téa and I have researched a couple of cute cafés we want to go to, but Option A is too far for a walk, so we aim for Option B.
We cross the river and walk along busy roads. Suddenly, we enter an alley way and find a calmer street a block off the busy area.
As we get closer to our destination, we see taxis stopping and dropping off tourists at “our” café. I guess we are not alone in discovering this place!
The café is a koi café, a popular option to draw customers. This one is like a calm little garden inside a huge café, with a koi pond stretching the length of the block. The café counter is at the very back, so at least you get to see all your seating options before taking your pick. We choose to sit on a little platform in the middle of the koi pond, and they actually sell koi food at the café, so we’ve got everything we need!
After our little platform got super busy with other guests, and the solo guy at the table next to ours started speaking loudly on his phone and smoking, we left. Our walk back was more pleasant, with the sun really trying to peek out from the clouds. But it was getting close to noon, and we still had a room to pack up, so we walked back along the river and then back across the bridge.
After packing our bags and choosing our new room (they let us see two options while dirty), we stored our bags with the front desk, and headed out for lunch. I had found a restaurant on Google Maps, and we taxied there. It was raining when our taxi pulled up, and unlike most drivers, our driver dropped us off at the opposite side of the street. Suddenly, a parking guard from the restaurant comes running through traffic, carrying two umbrellas! He escorted us safe and dry back across and into the restaurant. Only when seated and looking around at the walls, did I realize this was one of the more famous places in all of Da Nang…
I have had my eye on a dish we see everywhere but haven’t tried yet – beef stew with bread. The idea is you break the bread and then dip it in the beef stew. I order a bowl of that, and Maylin picks a pork cheek dish, which Joe decides is a sharing dish. In the end, we end up sharing these two dishes, and everyone gets enough for lunch.
As luck would have it, the rain stops. We are heading for the Da Nang museum, which is only three blocks away. The museum tells the history of the city of Da Nang, which used to be called Tourane, back when the French ruled the town (1858-1954).
The history section of the museum started around 2500 years ago, so Maylin and I were wondering if there had ever been dinosaurs here. From further digging, most likely there were dinosaurs in Vietnam, but there hasn’t been any real finds here, only in neighbouring countries.
By the time we emerge from the museum, it’s 4pm and the hotel has messaged us saying that our new room is ready. All our bags have been brought upstairs, and we head back to unpack.
Once unpacked and settled into our new room, we’re now ready to explore somewhere new for dinner. Joe has been researching this, and we have a 20 minute walk to tonight’s restaurant.
We absolutely roll out of the restaurant in the end. It was such a delicious meal, there’s no room for dessert. We absolutely did not need the 5th dish, the plate of vegetables. As the evening progressed, Joe finished Maylin’s spring rolls, Téa’s summer roll, and my noodles. Next time I think we’d cap it at four dishes, if not three…
We taxi back to the hotel, and call it a night. Joe gets the single bed, and I keep the peace by sleeping between the girls. It’s been a long day, and we’re all out like lights…