Good Morning Vietnam 😀 - Had a wonder visit to Da Nang and surrounding areas. Stayed by My Khe beach at the ‘Eco Green Boutique Hotel’ which was perfectly located for the beach, restaurants and everything else. Couldn’t fault the hotel apart from having an indoor pool. I didn’t really mind this as I had the pool to myself every day for a swim! When you fly into Da Nang pick up a local sim card at the airport for £10. Download the Grab app which is like Uber. We used Grab to go everywhere as it was so reasonable and you can hire one for the day to take you to the sights for about £30. Local journeys £1- £1.50. Hour journeys £10- £15. Airport is 15 mins away from from My Khe beach. For a city the beach area is very relaxed and not packed in March apart from at sunset. The food experience was amazing. Food costs between £1.50 up to £10 pp. We had lots of sea food dishes (lobster, oysters, scallops, razor clams), seafood and meat skewers cooked on the barbecue, wood fired pizza, wontons, sea food spring rolls, local meat and veg dishes, duck cooked three ways, sashimi and sushi, great burgers, and of course ‘Banh Mi’ the local inexpensive stuffed bread rolls. I thought I had died and gone to food heaven! The coffee in Vietnam is so good. I brought lots home! You have to try the egg and salt coffee for the experience. Loads of fresh fruit, juices, smoothies, milkshakes to. Massage and beauty places are everywhere. I had a hand and foot manicure with gel painted nails £12. Body massage (60 mins) £7. Foot and leg massage (30 mins) £3. I had the battery and screen protector changed on my phone for £13. We visited a couple of local market in the city and stopped to see the dragon bridge on a Sat night light up with fire. Very impressive. We enjoyed our trips into the city at night and it felt safe. We took a taxi to the Ba Na hills for the day to ride on the cable car and visit the theme park at the top of the mountain. Wonderful views. It was a fantastic day out. Only an hour from Da Nang. We visited marble Mountain to see the breath taking Buddha caves which were near by to. We took a taxi to Hoi An and spent three days there just the other side of the river. We stayed in a home stay with a pool £15 per night. We walked around Hoi An old town and had some more great meals and visits the local temples and sights. Very pretty and busy but manageable. I didn’t really mind. I can imagine it’s unbearable in May-Aug. I booked a motorbike tour and went out around the villages and into the mountains to a water fall. I went on the tropical river on a round boat which was fun and it was interesting to see the people and houses of those who lived on the river. Motorbiking was great way to see and experience the local area. There are some nice beaches not far from town so we got a taxi to them. Hidden Beach. Small and quiet. It had one small restaurant there and the food turned out to be amazing! The best shrimp and crab spring rolls and mango wontons I have ever tasted at a very reasonable price! An Bang which is bigger and busier and Cua Dai Beach which is in between and you can find quiet spots away from people. They all have something different to offer. My friend got some shirts and leather belts made in Hoi An. I think it was about £20 per shirt. You can get them made cheaper but you get what you pay for. He also brought his old belt buckles from home and got new belts made for them. We left Hoi An and headed for ‘My Son’ temple complex by taxi on the way back to Da Nang. About an hour drive. Not to be missed with the wonderful backdrop of the mountains. It was very hot that day and a struggle to walk around in the heat. I would recommend getting there as early as possible. I had a wonderful time in central Vietnam. I found the place to be safe, stimulating, and relaxing. I found the people to be friendly, accommodating and not pushy. I found it safe walking around alone as a woman. There were a lot of people travelling on their own. It wasn’t a big deal going into restaurants and bars by myself. I usually got talking to others. What more can I say other than I will definitely be back!