That Da Nang Thang.

We left Hanoi after a morning coffee (or caphe). I love the stuff here, it's so strong and bitter and tastes great on its own. The Vietnamese then add condensed milk to it and it is perfect. I never normally have milk in my coffee but it works so well over here. 

After buying a couple of obligatory Bia Hoi t-shirts we jumped into our taxi to the airport. It had already been a bit confusing, with two different times listed for our flight. We had been driving for about five minutes when a group of policeman waved us over from the side of the road. Other vehicles were being stopped. Our driver looked like he was going to shit himself. A cop saluted him and what followed was over half an hour of suspense as he moved between the axe and the cops, his head in his hands, speaking no English whatsoever. I think I developed at least one stomach ulcer as I nearly managed to miss yet another flight in Vietnam. 

We cut it fine but made our flight on time and before we knew it we had entered Da Nang. It seemed so much more open than the congested streets of Hanoi. The place where we are staying is right on the beach. There are some signs of the recent typhoon along the shore, and I found a dead pig by the sea in an isolated area. It reminded me of when I am brining a pork shoulder. 

Walking around Da Nang I sensed less of a tourist atmosphere and more of a working city. The fact that it was a Sunday obviously had an effect because it turns out that there is a large Catholic population, and they were all pulling their bikes and scooters in to mass. I had a nice bowl of noodles, peanut-coated chicken and salad, with a beer, for £1, including a 10% tip. Talk about value. There were few real sites to see but I wandered through an indoor market that was so full of different smells - ginger, incense and what seemed to be rotting meat - that I nearly passed out. 

Everyone was very friendly here. People said hello to me in the street and asked me where I was from, not to sell me anything but out of curiosity. Some kids seemed to find my shorts funny (for the record they are tie-dye and too short). I left my sunglasses in a coffee shop (where I annoyingly found a posh English couple trying to speak Vietnamese and playing that stupid logo game on their phone) and when I realised my mistake, the girl behind the counter had them ready for me. Honest town. Though she could probably tell they were fake. 

I am off for a quick visit to Hoi An now, a town that is a Unesco World Heritage site in its own right. I'll let you know how the bia goes down further down the coast, and hopefully my next plane down to Saigon tomorrow is an easier ride than the last two!