Though there was still a LOT of traffic in Da Nang, it was much quieter than Ho Chi Minh. Everywhere we looked there were Vietnamese flags, and we were told that there was some sort of anniversary happening. Amy had said that Da Nang was small but we still saw lots of familiar sights- like KFC.
We turned down an especially busy street and parked outside of a building that had some sort of office out front. This was Amy's family business, and they lived above and behind it. Amy's grandparents were there to greet us and they were a lot like Amy- short and friendly. You definitely can see where she came from. We were quickly ushered past the shop into the house and up to our "apartment." Amy's dad recently remodeled the room in the house and it is very nice. Big TV, new sink and shower, etc It was like a nice hotel. We took a few minutes to settle in and then went out with the Aunt and Uncle who had picked us up and the Grandpa for dinner.
They took us to a food court which was nice in that we could choose our food. I secretly wanted a pizza (mostly because it looked pretty American which can be hard to find in Japan) but settle for a suggestion from Amy and Kym. It was a spring roll set where you wrap them yourself and came with this fired egg type pancake that was really good. We were joined at dinner by two of Amy's younger cousins, one of whom is quite the little comedian. When told to, talk to us in English, he asked, "Who are you?" He also sang along to some Korean pop songs on an iphone and told us he will never have a girlfriend.
After dinner we took a walk along the river in Da Nang. It is very modern and not what I expected at all. There was lots of live music and other people walking, rollerblading, and taking pictures. We stopped at a small road side stand and the aunt bought us coconut water. It was very sweet and I didn't really like it, but I drank it to be polite.
The next day we got woken up EARLY by Amy's grandma. She told us to come down and eat (like any other grandma would in any other country). I was the first to the table and there was a choice of this white noodle dish that was topped with what looked like Japanese fish flakes, or a sandwich (made on long French baguettes). Not wanting to be "the foreigner" I tried the noodle dish. It was pretty good, so I was surprised when Amy and Kym, the natives, chose the sandwich. The grandma seemed pleased that I liked her food and offered to send it home with me to Japan.
After breakfast we got whisked away to a message parlor by Amy's aunt. I thought we were just getting back rubs but us three girls were taken to a room and asked to strip to our underwear. We were then covered by a towel and given full body massages including the thing where they put hot stones on your back. I am not a fan of massages and this was my first time, so I don't know if it was relaxing or not, but it was an interesting experience. I think mostly I was just unsure of what to do and a little embarrassed because compared to the average Vietnamese, I am OBESE. I think if I were to do it again, though, I would know what to expect and relax. And it was cheap.
After massages Amy's aunt came to pick us up with a friend of the family. They drove us out of Da Nang to the beach where we had a huge lunch at an ocean side resort. Since it was still spring and a little cool (though hot compared to Japan) there weren't many people at the resort and we had the outdoor restaurant to ourselves. We ate hot clams with lime and salt, french fries, and spring rolls that we wrapped ourselves with fish and veggies. Extremely delicious, though I was nervous about getting sick (I had heard horror stories about people having to go the bathroom every five minutes).
We went to the beach for a little big but I didn't have a towel so I didn't get in. Amy and Kym also decided to sit out, but the sun was nice.
We then drove back through Da Nang to the other side where we went to a more traditional/more touristy village. Here we saw a lot of tourists. They had some fabulous tailors where you could get things made. I kind of wanted to get a coat made but thought it might take too long or be too expensive (well, not really expensive, but since I thought we were just going to the beach for the day I didn't pack much money). I had always read about people getting clothes made in Vietnam and it was kind of something I wanted to do... I did buy postcards, though, and a nice card to frame. The other girls were also waiting to buy things as well so we mostly just window shopped before stopping at a small shop for cokes.
After that we went to yet another beach, one that is under a lot of development. In Vietnam we saw a lot of building going on of what are going to be posh resorts. It makes me want to go back in five years to see if things work out. I hope so. The beach is beautiful so it would be a nice vacation spot. We walked along the beach and then went to a restaurant for even more food. We were seriously stuffed at this point, but so far all of the food had been great and I hadn't been sick.
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