24th of September, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Vietnam: Da Nang
Linh is seventeen years old and even though she and her family are from Sapa, North Vietnam, they live for a few years in Saigon. They are going to Da Nang so she can make her German exams. They have relatives in Germany, and she hopes to go studying there soon. I can only describe Linh as super lovely and sweet girl, determined and very intelligent, who studies a lot and put a lot of effort in everything she does, but mostly regarding her studies. She often says that she knows how much her parents are investing in her education, so she wants to make them proud and make all their effort worth it, by doing her best.
The parents of Linh, Khánh and Thẩm are also really nice people, super kind and lovely! I can see from where Linh got all her kindness. She tells me that when her mum first saw me on the road and read my sign, she immediately told her husband to stop. As I explain everything about my travels to Linh and she translate to her parents, they are very surprised.
Linh and I keep chatting about many different things on the way. I try to give her some advice about some stuff, and also to her boyfriend, mostly regarding choosing career and other things connected to their future.
We ask around for recommendations to a nice restaurant, and Khánh follows the directions from a lady. She was absolutely right! The restaurant seems simple but nice at the same time. They have a great team work, as Linh and I observe, and are very efficient. Also, the Cam Ga we have (chicken rice) is way better the one I had near Phan Rang, because the chicken is actually deep fried so it gets super crispy. Plus the rice is also very nice and warm. As me and Linh are still eating, because we keep chatting even during dinner, Thẩm goes to a shop and buys me some amazing food! They are mostly snacks, packed ones, which is great so I can keep them for the next few days without needing to worry about they getting spoiled. And they are delicious! Most of them are fluffy pastries with some feeling, either sweet corn or chocolate. I love it!
As we approach Hoi An, I explain to them that they can simply drop me off at the highway, so I will camp somewhere for the night and carry on to Hoi An tomorrow, because now it’s late night already. They are reluctant to accept, and keep saying that’s dangerous, but as I know it’s OK, I insist that everything will be fine. If I survived doing this in India, at 11 p.m., I’m sure I will be OK here in Vietnam.
But when it starts raining, they win me over and I accept to come all the way to Da Nang with them. It’s only a 45 minutes driving from Hoi An, and they offered for me to stay in the same hotel room where they are staying, as there will be two king beds, and I can share one with Linh. It’s super generous and kind of them, and I am happy to accept. For my entirely surprised, when we arrive at the hotel and there is a small fee to be paid for the extra person (me), Linh tells me that she would happily pay for it, as she is the one covering the costs of the trip. Yeah, she is just that awesome!
The hotel is great, of course, spacious and very clean. And the beds are a dream! It’s also very well located, only a few blocks from the busy beaches. I take a quick shower, as tomorrow morning I don’t want to disturb their routine, and then go to sleep. We all sleep soundless.
In the morning, we walk to a restaurant nearby and have some breakfast. It is run by a lady from Hanoi, therefore she makes the famous Bun Cha from Hanoi, which is a slightly sweet and sour pork soup, in which the pork is small grilled pork patties. It is actually really good. We also have some fried spring rolls, also very nice! The name of the restaurant is Nam Béo – Bún Mọc & Bún Chả Hà Nội, and here is the location: 25 An Cư 6, An Hải Bắc, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000 เวียดนาม.
We then walk to the beach, which is so cool! Khánh and I have some ice coffee on the way, yay! The beach is huge and surrounded by huge and fancy hotels. From one of them, a big group of Indians is leaving, and Thẩm asks one gorgeous Indian senior lady to take a photo with her. I think it’s kind of ironic, as I explain later to Linh, because in India, most foreigners kind of suffer with the harassment of being asked for photos, and now here, in Vietnam, the opposite just happened. But the Indian lady was happy with the moment, and surprised when I greet and said thank you to her in Hindi.
At the beach, a very cultural and interesting moment happened. Fishermen and fisherwomen were doing an exhausting task of pulling the fishing nets from the sea, a very slow and time-consuming task. I think it’s awesome when Thẩm decides to quickly join them, and soon I do the same.
We walk back to the hotel and I grab my stuff. They will drop me off on an intersection, from where I can hitchhike back to Hoi An, and from where they can go and check out the location for Linh’s exam. But as they still have a few hours until then, they will go back to the hotel and rest for some time. I have to say goodbye to this lovely, kind and super generous family, who not only helped me, but with whom I spent some great moments!
10 Years Around the World 