Finally finding Dragon City (Da Nang)
It had been a whirlwind tour of the central highlands. Meeting and spending time with a grandfather long thought deceased. Struggling with reactions to medicines in less than ideal scenarios. Finally and graciously we settled back into our apartment in Da Nang. My second home and a place I’ve come to love so very much.
The San Diego of Asia, she has beautiful beaches with amazing mountains to your back. The weather was perfect, raining occasionally in the evenings, but mostly quiet and comfortable. The temperatures now only fluctuate from the low 70’s to right at 80, and the water temperature is divine. It’s annual temperature swing is only from the mid 70’s to upper 80’s and now it was at a wonderfully comfortable 81 degrees Fahrenheit, so the water was warmer than the air. The only thing you don’t get like that in San Diego as the water there is always freezing.
And so the four of us settled into a wonderful cycle of eating, sleeping, eating and sleeping. It was just to perfect. With the windows opened and the curtains drawn, they fluttered in the breeze keeping the torrential sunlight out while letting the fresh ocean air in. At night as the slowing monsoon showers would lightly wet the evening, we would go out to the cafes for ice cream and coffee. It was truly a magical time. Nowhere to be, no appointments to make or schedules to check. We just floated on in the melting days.
Stepping Out Into The Neighborhood
And so after a day or two, My time often gets lost here in the beautiful Vietnamese countryside, I awoke early for a trip to catch the sunrise over the South China Sea. Or as it’s known in Vietnam the Eastern Sea. I woke around 4 am to no alarm, and so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to catch the city as it too was rising. I kissed my wife on the forehead and quietly informed her of my intentions and ever so gently slipped out the door.
Sunrise comes early here in central Vietnam, today it would come at 5:53 am. There was movement on the streets as was to be expected. Many of the locals here get up early, exercises or meditate in the many parks or on the beach and begin their day. At some point around 10:30 am the locals kind of disappear, seeking refuge from the sweltering jungle sun.
At some point they reemerge in the cooling afternoon and continue their business well into the evening hours. It seems more that everyone gets two four hour naps than a continuous eight hours like back home. But, when it is time to sleep it is indeed time to sleep as people can be found napping in the heat of the day anywhere from pop up hammocks on the sidewalks to curled up on the tops of their motorbikes or even in the luggage racks of charter busses. Anywhere seems to do.
And so as I walked the two blocks to the beach the neighborhood was indeed stirring. The 24 hour mart at the corner was open as usual and I with great purpose headed east towards the beach. I did however have to stop to catch a shot of a furry resident snacking on scraps a block up. Stray cat? Large rat? who knows, but I have seen both and they seem to live harmoniously in the back alley streets of Da Nang.
A Beutiful Sunrise
As I made my way across the main boulevard It was already in quite a stir. Yoga groups, vacationers, early morning Thai Chi classes, activity was everywhere. It was no surprise as the sun was not yet up and, it was an amazing 70 degrees Fahrenheit with a beautiful breeze coming off of the sea. It was in fact perfect. And with the water temperature an amazing 81 degrees, it was at least for this moment in time, sublime and almost salacious in nature. Truly a wanderlust moment.
I perched myself at a beach chair at the end of a row and pulled up a small table to set my equipment on. I was hoping to get some real steady footage of the beach and the sunrise. Get it I did. As joggers bounced past and vacationers snapped their sunrise photos, I sat quietly in the chair and let my camera do the work for me. Meanwhile I simply just enjoyed the view of the wonderful coming morning.
There was a low cloud bank on the horizon this morning. So it took till a few minutes past sunrise before the sun finally came into view. A scene of brilliant pastel purples and oranges as the sun methodically lifted in the horizon and vibrantly broke through the lavender clouds. The city was so brilliant in the morning light. The Lady Buddha stood a stark ivory across the bay. The coastal mountains behind her a solid hue of purplish gray. A beautiful beginning to another beautiful day in the city of bridges.
A Day Of Cúp Điện
As I began to walk back to the apartment the boulevard that runs parallel to the beach was blocked. I waited for a brief moment as the cause came into view. A rolling parade of motorbikes all with white flowers. Followed by an extra long van and then an army of transport vans loaded with passengers. It was a funeral procession. After realizing what it was I stood at the corner and bowed my head. Offering my respects to the deceased passenger as they in great parade, marched by. The procession went as fast as it had come and the calm frozen world all around came rapidly back to life.
As I crossed the street and headed back to the apartment something seemed to be a bit off. The corner stores were dark and the street side vendors all seemed in a state of agitation. Generators were rumbling to life and the buildings interiors were mostly dark. Bright outside and with not a single storm cloud in sight, it could only be one thing. I’ve discussed in a previous post, A sleepless night with Cúp Điện, the pitfalls of life in an up and coming nation. Rolling government regulated blackouts are often common and the phenomenon known as Cúp Điện had hit our neighborhood this morning.
In a short message, which I did not read, the landlord had informed me of the blackouts impending doom. Diem did however inform me, but it wasn’t until I was walking back through the neighborhood, that the reality of life without power became real. I could not finish my article for the day. Most of the external batteries for our cellphones were dead. I would be unable to cook and life in general was about to get tricky for the next eight hours. Yes, eight hours of a government mandated blackout. As I climbed the seven floors to the apartment, our flat had suddenly become a walk up, it dawned on me that there was only one thing to do.
Coffee And A Little Breakfast
I found Diem and the girls just barely stirring and decided that today would be beach day. Everyone slowly and languidly gathered themselves up and we eventually made our way to the street. The descent down the stairwell was a bit harrowing at times as only half the floors had windows and much of our climb down was only lit by our cellphones. Once in the open air and light we began walking in search of a place with at least three requirements. Breakfast, Coffee and electricity. We walked down many streets and alleys and only found a place with two qualifications. Breakfast and Coffee.
And so we settled into the store front in the wonderfully sweet ocean breeze. We enjoyed Banh Mi and cafe sua and the girls had a little sweetened milk. We discussed the days activities as there would be no power until 3 pm and it was barely 8:30 in the morning. It was much easier to convince everyone that a day on the beach was in order, as without power and everyone becoming bored what else were we going to do. So we made our way back to the apartment and up the seven floors to change clothes and gather some towels.
The Beach
My Khe Beach was powerful, it was strong, it was moving. The surfers had begun to gather for the monstrous swells and 10 foot breaks. We settled into a thatched beach umbrella 20 yards from the surf and ordered a few drinks. Here to stay you must pay and it’s either buy something or rent the umbrella for nothing. So we bought something, seemed rather obvious actually. Diem had already loaded all of us down with sunscreen before we left the apartment so the only thing left was to get wet.
The girls followed me down to the waters edge and Su jumped right in. Xu on the other hand was a bit skeptical, she hasn’t swam in the ocean much and when the first wave came up and drenched her about knee deep she couldn’t handle it. She broke out into a thunderous cry. Diem ran down to scoop her up and it was a touching and simultaneously funny moment. The ocean as Xu would learn, plays by it’s own rules.
The Beach was a kaki brown and the waters had changed from the clear blue I had swam in last July, to a murky green. Ever churned by some system far off in the sea. It was sunny and bright, but the waves churned as if a cyclone was just off shore. I had never seen such massive waves in person. Giant swells that when braking would carve deep holes in the sea bed. Mostly the water was no greater than knee deep but I would often find pockets were the waves would carve out huge dips in the bed. So I would be knee deep one second, take a step and fall to shoulder depth, before climbing back up to knee depth with only a few steps. The ocean here was dynamic, active and warm.
Playing In The Waves
So adventurous as always I decided to try my best to get out as far as I could. At first it was rather easy. As the water stayed below waist deep it was quite easy to withstand the massive waves as they churned by. And I eventually made it past a chest deep area to climb back up to waist level about a hundred yards out. Themn the waves became increasingly powerful. They would break before me and often regroup into another wave before breaking agin closer to sore. I had made it past the last break and was facing the main break. But I would not be here for long. As I pressed on these waves became monstrous, even dangerous. There was no one out this far save for surfers as this was were th big ones were.
I put my shoulder first and faced a decent sized wave. As it passed by I opened my eyes and looked up. I stared straight up at a wave about to crest some 10 feet above me. I could feel the immediate undertow as the wave pulled everything in to build its strength. Suddenly I was flipping under the water and I could feel my sunglasses being stripped from my face.
A Close Call
The water wasn’t terribly deep, only waist high at best, but it was still enough to get thrown around in the powerful water. As my feet found purchase and my body lifted up out of the water another wave was barreling down. Only this one had a surfer in it. My eyes caught his and his caught mine. I simply put my forearms up and braced for impact. The board weighed nothing and It wasn’t a bad collision at all, much less than I was expecting. A hand grabbed mine as I was coming to my feet and I heard a recognizable Australian accent. “you alright mate” he said. “yea, sorry I was in the way”. “Ahh, It happens mate” and off he went. I needed to get closer to shore I thought, and so I did.
Under the protective shade of the thatch umbrella, the girls were busy playing and I decided to join them for a break. Diem laid peacefully on a beach chair and the girls had dug a hole and put a Ziploc bag full of water inside. The hole kept the bag from collapsing and dumping out the precious seawater, their own water supply for crafting little sculptures. Quite ingenious I must say.
An Unexpected Meeting
The sun was climbing high into the Vietnamese sky and we discussed heading home. It was many hours before the power would be restored, but everyone was getting hungry and it was about time for a cool shower and a fresh change of clothes. We gathered our things and began the short walk back to the apartment.
As we were getting ready to turn the corner and head down the street towards our apartment I was caught by a strangely familiar sight. An older gentleman about my parents age was walking towards us with the aide of a cane and wearing a Texas Longhorns t-shirt. He reminded me of a very dear friend back home, Dan Goldman, and so I struck up a conversation. Intrigued also, as I was wearing a Lovejoy UMC shirt, he immediately identified the flame and cross.
He had retired to Da Nang some 10 years ago from a long career with Verizon. Originally from Texas he had spent some time running the up and coming cellular revolution around many parts of the U.S. He invited us to a local church on Sunday and we discussed briefly the woman’s group there and how to get Diem involved. It was an answer straight from the almighty himself. He gave us tickets to Christmas in Da Nang, the only story of Christmas told in the central coast, and it truly was providence.
A lazy Afternoon
And so after the very unexpected meeting we made our way up the seven flights of often dark stairs. We still had water, though not particularly hot, and we all took turns scrubbing the sunscreen and salt away. With the temperature only in the high 70’s and a constant breeze, a nap was in order. With the way buildings are constructed here we have windows on three sides. And so as the day carried on and the power was still out, we all laid on the bed and fell into a lazy kind of jungle slumber. The breeze was so perfect and after a cool shower the bed was so comfortable. We all drifted off to the land of siesta slumber.
Click Here for a short film of our first few days back in Da Nang
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