In `da Nang

Becks' diary:

The train to Da Nang is breathtaking, along the "Reunification Express" line - there is only one line so slower trains spend a lot of time waiting for faster ones to pass. We shake our way around the coast, shrounded in sea mist. Hills appear to the west leading down to the shore. As we chug along the wild coast we are a million a miles from the clogged, hectic cities of Vietnam.

Da Nang is a nice surprise - one of these places the guidebook recommends you miss for its lack of 'sights'. There are none per se - but being able to experience Vietnam's 4th biggest city without any of the hassle of a more toursity place is worth some time. People are instantly friendlier and more interested.

Settled in at hotel we headed down in search of magazine shop for Ben to buy the "E" - no such luck - but we did come across Father Christmas in a grotto and lots of excited kids in the same outfit.

We walked down to the river and Ben snapped me in a "let's make it look like it's really hot and sunny" with my jumper off. Immediately a young guy is over and asks if he can have his photo taken with me... well I was exposing marginal shoulder - shocking! Anyway I obliged and he seemed happy enough but I always wish I could approve/doctor these shots afterwards.

A department store across the road was scaring away the crowds with 200dcbl George MIchael in Christmas spirit - the biggest amps you've ever seen - we braved the entrance and bought a beach badminton set - yes beach!

Indeed the next day we headed to China Beach - apparently where GIs went for a bit of R&R before returning to the front line. We'd planned to cycle there, having done NO exercise for 2 months we kind of felt like we should make the effort. Best intentions and all that... all the hotels with signs advertising bicycle hire turned us away with no bikes. When asked, all of their employees just stared blankly at us as if we'd just asked them who Gordon Brown was.

So we walked and it wasn't that far - over a very impressive suspension bridge and along a road gradually getting quieter and quieter until we reached the coast. The local council clearly had big ambitions for this place and has paved and planted heautiful tree-lined beachside boardwalks which would look more at home in Malibu than Da Nang. There are blocks of maybe 50 showers - none of which looks like it gets much use. You see, the problem is, people here don't like the sun, they don't want to tan so why would they come to the beach. Men and women all over Asia are slapping on more skin whitening cream than Michael Jackson and girls even wear full arm gloves and socks under standals to prevent any unsightly tanning. So, we have the beach to ourselves - and what a beach! It stretches south to Hoi An and north to "Monkey Mountain" - a wide, clean strip of creamy white sand lapped with crystal clear water. Out to sea and under palms along the shore are the woven coracles of the local fisherman. Looking like tea cups you wonder how they ever go in the same direction for more than a minute.

Lunch is prawnocide - those very same little sea cockroaches we saw swimming in a tank moments earlier end up on our plate in a spicy tamarind sauce - they didn't die in vain and we both agreed it was our best meal in Vietnam so far. One of those long memorable lunches - great, simple food in a gorgeous location.

Another memorable meal that night (oh dear - Vietname is turning into a gastro-tour, a taste of things to come). This one for different reasons. We had trekked out of town a long way to a place which did a great local pancake thing - anyway, when we arrived it was a mess of tables down an alleyway, very busy - but I have never bean stared at so much. There were no tables left and I didn't fancy having to get cosy with one of the tables who were all having an eye-full.

We ended up at a great little place with officially the world's biggest menu. Each dish was printed on a business card (about 30% of them translated into English) and slotted into a fat business card wallet. Delicious bechamel and fish spring rolls followed by tender beef in coconut, which is what it sounds like - served in a coconut and cooked in the milk. Vietnam were playing Singapore in the SE Asia championship. Singapore were faves for the title. Anyway Vietnam scored and won, the atmosphere was great even if Ben and I did find the post-match analyis pretty weird. It consisted of a couple of men in communist party uniform and some women in pretty dresses sitting aroudn chatting, presumably about how awesome Vietnam were, in front of a studio audience of a few hundred other party members in uniform. Lineker and Lawro better watch out, this is biased analysis at its very best.

Day 3 and we were off to Hoi An. We caught the buss from the end of our road and had been warned of over-charging foreigners but no one we'd asked seemed to know the real price to Hoi An... useful! Anyway, the guy quotes us  50,000 Dong each ($1.90) and the guy next to us coughs up his and we follow suit. Yep, you gussed it, he was a plant to get more out of tourists, of which there were none others on the bus. Oh dear, we must be approaching tourist town again.