As we have done in other cities throughout our trip, we organised a walking tour via the app GuruWalk. This connects you to a local who over a couple of hours shows you around their city.

To get us in the mood, we headed off from the hotel late morning and walked the 3 miles or so to the Da Nang Museum of Cham.

The route took us across the Han River and the previously visited Dragon bridge. It’s a magnificent structure up close, with the yellow steel dragon wrapped around the central section.

We took the opportunity to walk across early afternoon outside of rush hour when we could stop and get some close up photos.

The bridge is one of nine that sits along the section of the Han River, with six having been constructed in the last 20yrs as part of the plans to expand and develop the waterfront for tourism.

Within a hour we arrived at the Cham sculpture museum, which first opened some 100yrs ago having been designed and constructed by the French during the colonial years.

The museum was something of a tardis, not looking like much from the outside, but once inside it became clear it had been extended several times over the years and now houses the world’s largest collection of Cham sculpture.

Champa was a southeast Asian civilisation that flourished along the coasts of what is now central and southern Vietnam between 500 and 1700.

This area has had major influences from India, Indonesia, Islamic and Chinese cultures, alongside religions including Hinduism and Buddhism

The artefacts were so beautiful and ornately sculptured despite their age, with symbolism of the many gods and animals that are so sacred in this part of South Asia, notably the elephant, lion and dragon. The latter can be seen in numerous pieces and is the imperial symbol for both the Chinese and Vietnamese. The Rong beast is a hybrid of a dragon and sea monster within Indian mythology and serves to highlight the blend of cultures between the Champa and Dai Viet people. The country’s name actually means Viet people living in the south (Nam).

The Cham people lived on the coastal plains of South central Vietnam and live within a matrilineal families, where the mother is the central figure of the community.

When the walking tour started we found out we were the only guests so we had the tour guide Hung to ourselves.

He was a friendly guy and incredibly knowledgeable about all things Da Nang, having worked in tourism for over 15yrs. Since Covid this is much diminished, with visitor numbers still only 60-70% of what they were before the pandemic.

He gave us a more detailed tour of the museum before we moved on to visit the Long An Temple. This is one of the oldest pagodas in the area and definitely had a lived in feel of it. In fact parts were a work in progress with building materials strewn along the floor. The main section however was stunningly beautiful with rich vivid colours and a real eye to behold.

We then took a walk along the riverfront which has undergone significant change since 2000, having once been a place where the homeless frequently, it’s now a clean and safe place modelled on Singapore, a favourite city of the local governor who led the expansion and redevelopment of the city through the early 2000’s.

The Han market is a bustling trading hub and provides an insight into the local cuisine and culture.

A final point on our walking tour was a visit to Tan Dinh church. It was built in the 1870s when Vietnam was part of French Indochina. It has been painted pastel-pink both on the exterior and interior since 1957, earning it the nickname “the pink church”.

After saying our goodbyes to Hung our guide for the day, we found a corner cafe for a drink and an opportunity to watch the locals at work and play.

The cafe was located at a busy intersection where there were no lights and the traffic guides its way across by a combination of peeping their horns and careful judgement about when to slow down and speed up.

It’s an amazing sight and it’s a wonder no one gets hit, but somehow they seem to avoid each other.

After our busy day, we walked down to the river front and treated ourselves to a pizza and enjoyed a relaxing hour or so before heading back to our hotel in a Grab. The evening was local key, Andy went down to the hotel gym and pool while Michelle caught up with her reading. Later on we spoke to our daughter Amelia back in England to see how she’s settling in post holiday and to hear her plans for moving into her new home in Loughborough.

Tomorrow we are back in the city for an early evening river cruise and plan to explore Da Dang a little more by foot.