Greetings From the Other Side of the World, Day 7: Da Nang Me

 For the younger readers of this blog, you might not be familiar with the film Good Morning, Viet Nam! in which Army DJ Adrian Cronauer, played by the inimitable Robin Williams, crows on his first broadcast: “Good morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test. This is rock and roll. Time to rock it from the delta to the DMZ! Is that me, or does that sound like an Elvis Presley movie? Viva Da Nang. Oh, viva, Da Nang. Da Nang me, Da Nang me. Why don't they get a rope and hang me?"  Readers of a certain age, I'm guessing you may consider Williams' performance among his best.

Dan sang the Da Nang Me line as we walked down the gangplank to the buses for the Da Nang shore tour and it pretty much stuck with me most of the day.

Different parts of any country present differently, right?  Not surprisingly, Da Nang in the Central Highlands showed itself to be significantly distinct from Hanoi.  Historically, once again French colonialism is influential, although not to the extent we saw in Hanoi.  Our guide focused primarily on the Viet Nam war, as Da Nang was a major strategic site for the US and South Vietnamese Forces.  Fighting was heavy in this area, with surrounding areas permanently scarred, foliage and people ruined by Agent Orange.  In my opinion, well worth the click through to read about how this herbicidal warfare tactic decimated the country, its people and American soldiers exposed to it.   I found it chilling when we drove past the rusted remnants of hangers used to protect American planes during the war. When we first drove along the beach, our guide talked about how the soldiers came to the shore for R and R, both beer and women.  He mentioned the many children fathered by American soldiers.  Estimates indicate between 20,000 and 50,000 Amerasian children were left behind.  These children were discriminated against because of their mixed heritage.  In 1987, President Regan signed the Amerasian Homecoming Act, allowing Vietnamese born Americans and their immediate families to immigrate to the US.

In the post war era, according to our guide, food shortages were the norm, negatively influencing the development of Da Nang's subsequent generation of children.  He indicated that corrupt government hindered reconstruction of the city until the early 2000s.  He also cited COVID as having taken a major toll on the economy.  We saw evidence of that multiple times along the beaches, where properties sat vacant, crumbling, in ruins, in various stages of abandoned construction.

Today Da Nang is moving forward in the manufacture of semiconductor and microchips, as well as microchip design, because, if I heard the guide correctly, there is access to the rare minerals necessary for such production (and what the Chinese appear to have as a hold over DJT, yes?).  There is a bit of a snag, however.  All of Viet Nam, not just Da Nang, lags behind in intellectual capacity needed to sustain this work.  Education in this Communist country is not free, although both guides expressed that it is relatively inexpensive which, I always think, is relatively inexpensive if you have the money in the first place.  There is a dearth of institutions of higher learning that would produce workers in-country, and God knows the US isn't making good on its promise to help out the South Vietnamese (now the Republic of Viet Nam, more on that) by allowing student visas that would move the industry forward in a manner Da Nang hopes to see happen.

A second major industry for Da Nang is tourism.  Because the city is located on the shores of the South China Sea, it is an ideal locale for vacationers, in particularly Laotians whose country is land locked.  On our tour we saw many hotels, including American chains, crowding the avenue across the street from the beaches.  We had a quick stop at My Khe beach; I dodged the rain drops to put my feet in the South China Sea. 

I kinda look like a beaver in this photo, don't I.  Aging teeth...dental phobia...

In fact, we dodged the torrential rains everywhere we stopped yesterday, the saving grace, at least for me, being that while it was deluging, both the air and rain temperature were warm, making it as acceptable as a day touring in the tropical rainstorm can be.

A couple observations--please recognize this is based on 5 hours primarily based on viewing through bus windows.

The best way I can describe the architecture and organization of Da Nang is as a hodge podge.  While the architecture in Hanoi was decidedly more uniform--you'd be able to say it had a particular look--Da Nang, not so much.  Buildings are primarily less than 5 stories, save for the hotels near the beach, and they are narrow but that's about it for consistency.  You would see a fairly modern structure next to one that might be under construction next to ruins next to perhaps a stall that was going to be mucked out in the future but for now seemed to be serving as a repository for junk.  Dan noted that the tall buildings had windows facing outward but none on the sides, perhaps noting that future construction is planned with party walls (walls up against the building next door).  Another thing we noted was that while it was very common to see flags with the Vietnam star as well as the hammer and sickle side by side in Hanoi, the predominance in Da Nang is the Vietnam starred flag and nothing celebrating Ho Chi Minh. The city itself seems to still be in a state of come back; while the beach area is thriving, the interior streets are struggling.  We noted much more garbage strewn about, as well as graffiti on the walls, something there was literally none of in Hanoi.  All of this, of course, colored by the overcast and rain and Sunday.  

Below are photographs Monkey Mountain, where we toured the shrines at the site of the Lady Buddha.  (Did you know there is a Lady Buddha?  News to me.)

The Lady Buddha (not the doused one making a peace sign.  Always in awe at how serene the Buddha appears.  

Doubt I could ever achieve that level of serenity).

You may be getting tired of the photos of the pagodas, but I find them absolutely fascinating.  These were the first that requested the removal of shoes before entering.  I have to figure out how to use the Google translate better so I understand what it is I'm seeing.

I will not tire of the dragons.  In Vietnamese culture, they signify power, prosperity and wisdom.  So far our guides make frequent reference to them, and they are everywhere.  

In fact, there is a Golden Dragon Bridge in Da Nang.

We were fortunate enough to see monkeys on Monkey Mountain!

We toured the museum of Champa culture.  Their artifacts reflect more of a Hindu and Islam background.

Just about everyone returning from shore tours got drenched/soaked to the bone as they made a dash from the bus to the ship.  We dried off, then enjoyed a Viking tradition of afternoon tea before heading outside to watch as the crew pulled up the gangplank, tossed off the lines, and the ship set sail for Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon.  Our guide in Hanoi referred to it as Ho Chi Minh City.  Our Da Nang guide called it Saigon.  Following dinner, we emerged victorious in another round of Trivia.  Could be we're getting a reputation among our fellow game players, since we also won Name That Tune and were in the top 3 for the previous Trivia game.

Today is a day at sea.  I woke up to a sun rise!  And it is, as My Friend Jeanieᵀᴹ might say, hotter than the fires of hell outside.  Humid, too.  (I love it.  My Friend Jeanieᵀᴹ, not so much.).  At least it's not raining, for the moment.