Since we had to check out at 10:00 AM and wanted to attend an interview appointment with YETI at the same time, we met for breakfast in the hostel shortly after 08:00 AM. The breakfast wasn’t particularly large or nutritious, but it was convenient as we didn’t have to go out to find something to eat.
We spent the time until the appointment writing two more blog articles, only to find out that the appointment was actually scheduled for an hour later. Malaysia, contrary to what we thought, is not in the same time zone as Hanoi, but one hour later. No problem. In the end, it was quite handy for us, as we still had to upload and optimize some photos.
Starting our journey was out of the question anyway, as it was raining heavily outside. So we continued to pass the time in the hostel.
An hour later, we received a message that the appointment should be postponed again. No problem for us; we are spontaneous.
At some point around 2:00 PM, however, we began to run out of tasks to do. We decided that the appointment probably wouldn’t take place and hopped onto our freshly rented mopeds to ride the approximately 200 meters to the market in Da Nang. We actually wanted to buy raincoats there, as it was supposed to continue raining in the Da Nang region over the next few days. The market was set up similarly to the one in Hanoi, but even less touristy. Still super crowded, loud, and colorful… we couldn’t stand it for long and decided to leave the market without buying raincoats.
The alternative of simply relaxing with a coffee was too tempting.
We settled into the nearest café, where Malte ordered a yogurt coffee and Leon had his usual Bac Xiu. From there, on the recommendation of Chi Trang, a cousin of Hai Yen (Malte’s girlfriend), we went to a restaurant to try Bánh bèo, a typical dish from Da Nang. We ordered a mixed platter and were served various completely unfamiliar, partly quite gelatinous dishes. We first had to be shown how to eat all of it. Some parts were delicious, while others didn’t quite suit our taste. The most important thing for us at that moment was that we had something in our stomachs and the restaurant seemed very hygienic.
From there, we rode back to the hostel to pick up our luggage and then headed towards the moped rental place, where Leon’s moped was supposed to be exchanged again. The moped he was riding was only a temporary solution until the moped he was actually supposed to get had undergone some maintenance. Of course, we got lost a few more times but finally made it there, chatted a bit, had phone mounts installed, and borrowed raincoats.
Finally, around 4:00 PM, we were ready to go. First, we were planning to make a trial ride towards Hue, a distance of about 115 km. On the way there (or on the way back), we wanted to check out the Golden Bridge. We decided to visit it on the way there, only to find that when we arrived at 5:30 PM, it was already pitch dark. We wouldn’t have been able to see the actually beautiful view at all. Furthermore, the way to Hue from there was now too far, and it was dark.
Leon, to Malte’s surprise, unusually took on the role of a cautious thinker and pointed out that it might not be the smartest idea to take the first major moped tour of the holiday (and, if we’re honest, of our lives) in the dark, through the mountains, and in the rain. Especially since we wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy the probably breathtaking landscape at all.
Initially, Malte accepted this decision somewhat reluctantly; soon, however, he was also very happy about it. We rode back towards the coast to the outskirts of Da Nang and searched for a place to sleep. At the first hotel, we were turned away because it appeared to be fully booked. Maybe it was for the best, as it led us to finally stay at Valentin’s. A hostel on a side street, right by the tracks.
We were very warmly welcomed, asked about the price, and were simply quoted 200,000 VND. We thought about it and figured about eight euros per person for a spontaneous overnight stay was reasonable, so we decided to stay. A little later, when it came time to pay, we were given back 300,000 VND from the 500,000 VND we paid. So it actually turned out to be just under four euros per person. We gladly accepted the slight wobble of the building when a train passed by occasionally.
We quickly settled in, asked for a restaurant recommendation, and rode to the nearest sub-center of Da Nang to eat fried rice accompanied by an algae soup. Very delicious!
It was just a short stay, and because we thought a little sleep would do us good, we decided to head straight home. At least until Leon saw a billiard club by the roadside on our way back.
He quickly caught up with Malte on the moped and in no time we found ourselves at a table with two Vietnamese who happened to be learning German, playing billiards. It turned out to be worth it again. We managed to tear ourselves away after three games and returned to the hostel quite early for our usual standards.
In the adjacent room, a hotel guest sunk in heartbreak entertained us with Vietnamese ballads that he sang with great dedication on karaoke until late at night.
Combined with the sound of heavy rain, the noises blended into a pleasant background hum. We were able to fall asleep well and hopefully early enough to start the next day well-rested on what was likely to be a very rainy day.
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