02-10-20

Long  "night" flying from Tokyo to DaNang, but the fight was an easy one.    I had actually paid for "Priority Boarding" which was funny since it did mean that I was able to have priority checkin at the counter

(I was in one line all by myself  and everyone else was queued up for the other windows).   That was great and worked well.   However at the gate they boarded back-of-plane first, so I had to wait for the back half

of the plane to board.     Seemed odd to pay more and not be able to board first, but it all worked out well because most people didn't pay for a pre-assigned seat near the front -- so while the flight was somewhat full

the entire first 4 rows were nearly empty.   I had 3 seats to myself!    

Anyway, after landing and clearing customs/immigration I did have to wait for my bag (carry on meant one small bag ONLY) but it all worked out again -- my bag did make it without getting redirected elsewhere!  

Once exiting the airport security gate my friends Bob and Shirley were waiting for me curbside.    We made a quick stop at an ATM for me to get some local "dong" (currency) and Bob ordered up a "Grab" car (like Uber/Lyft).  Within a minute we had a driver and were off to the city - perhaps a 15 minute drive from the airport.     It was quite interesting seeing the driving here as the number of scooters/motorbikes whizzing around traffic seemed quite chaotic.   Bob explained the pecking order to me -- bigger has right-of-way.   So big trucks, then cars, then scooters simply made way for the larger.   Also people fit between cars and scooters with the rule being "the scooter will get out of your way -- just don't stop" but "cars will not, so don't get run over by one!".     

Bob had arranged for an apartment for me in the same building they were renting in.    It was huge and fully equipped, though Shirley had pre-stocked paper towels, toilet paper, some fizzy perrier water and some

fresh croissants from the local bakery for me too!     Wow!    Also came with 'safe' water cooler big tank of drinking water as it is not advisable to drink 'city water' here in Da Nang.    There was even a washing machine on the deck/lanai although Bob explained that 'same day' laundry service (pickup and delivery) was also available for about $2.

Video of my apartment  will be posed below in a bit...

We all decided to have a very small bite to eat and headed to a local bakery a block or two away to have some vietnamese coffees and pastry.   Just a bite before our planned walking lunch tour.

After the pastry we took a walk to the beach,  only about 3 blocks away.    I found quite a few open cabanas as well as a  very big fish! 

On the  way back Shirley showed me where they buy fresh fruit and I bought some apple bananas and some mango to take back to the apartment.    We also  stopped at a local mom&pop store so I could

pickup  some shampoo and soap for the apartment.  

After  returning to the apartment and putting the shopping away we ordered another grab-car to head off to the meeting point for our lunch walking tour.

Our first stop was at a dumpling restaurant where we sampled a variety of dumplings.

Our second stop was a Bun Cha Ca restaurant -- fish cake soup.

Our third stop was at a Mi Quang Restaurant for shrimp and pork mi quang with a  hard boiled fermented egg.

Our fourth  stop was at a Bahn Xeo Restaurant where we sampled Bahn Xeo with beef skewers

Our fifth stop was for dessert at an ice cream restaurant where we had coconut ice cream with avocado and dried sweet coconut flakes

We then rolled back to the apartment building and I passed out for about 3 hours!   Then it was time for dinner!

Since none of us were starving we decided to have a light meal of more Bahn Xeo at Miss Nhi's, a local place that Bob and Shirley have been enjoying during their stay.

It was only about 2 blocks from the apartment building.    We ordered an appetizer of crispy shrimp spring rolls and shared a plate of veggie Bahn Xeo.

Wow!  What a day!   Headed back to the apartment where I uploaded all the days fun  to the web site and went to sleep!