The HAWAII of Asia... and It's INSANELY CHEAP 🇻🇳 Da Nang Vietnam

Welcome to Da Nang, Vietnam. Da Nang feels like the kind of place people discover and then never want to leave. One minute, it feels like Hawaii. The next, you're eating incredible food for only $2, walking through night markets or exploring temples hidden in the mountains. After spending two months living here, we started wondering, could this actually be one of the best cities to live in in Southeast Asia? This is our first time visiting Da Nang and we are experiencing what beach town life in Vietnam is and if this is somewhere that we could see ourselves living or that we would recommend other people to stay, visit, long-term, retire. This place will surprise you. This is not what we expected from Vietnam. So let's get into it and let's explore Da Nang, Vietnam. We just arrived after a long travel day. We just checked into our hotel. We got a little apartment-style boutique hotel, living room, and a little kitchen area for all the cooking that we probably won't do. This, shockingly, was $15 US per night, which is crazy. So this is where we'll be for a couple weeks while we experience and explore Da Nang. We dropped our bags and hurried to see the long stretch of sandy coastline for the first time. The beaches of Mai Khe and Mai An are part of one long stretch of sand that runs for around 30 kilometers. It's hard to imagine today that the beautiful sandy stretch of beach was once the site where the first US combat troops landed during the Vietnam War in 1965. As far as city beaches go, this is definitely up there. This is very clean, pristine. The water is clear and clean. Yeah, no garbage. No garbage. The sand is just light, fluffy. Yeah, it's pretty nice. Even the boardwalk area is pristine and well-manicured. So, yeah, we're really enjoying it and looking forward to the rest of our time here in Da Nang. So we just stopped in for our first non-grab meal. We were off to a good start with food. The prices are so good. And this is, like, just a few dollars each. So lunch with a view. You can't beat that. One of the things we are exploring and noticing first here in Da Nang are these little alleyways. You think there's nothing down them, but all of a sudden, then there's just trendy cafes and Belgian waffle bars and taco restaurants. And it's very similar to wandering the kind of narrow, trendy streets of Chiang Mai. So we're really enjoying that. It's really cool. Yeah, we have a lot to explore in this town. We're just scratching the surface so far. So are we excited to see more? Yes, absolutely. This is epic. I love these little streets. I'm trying to get lost in Da Nang. The next day, we went to go check out Da Nang's most popular market, Han Market. So today we're visiting the Han Market. We're just getting absolutely lost in all these little narrow lanes full of clothing. But, man, you can get everything here. Like, kind of knock-off North Face, Arcteryx, Patagonia. Likely they're not even knock-offs because these brands are manufactured in Vietnam, so they probably come from the same factory floor for a fraction of the price. Nearby, we explored the Da Nang Fresco Village, an open-air street art community project that transformed this decaying neighborhood into a vibrant canvas. It's just like being in Malaysia. Yeah, we're finding more street art. This is definitely a theme on our trip through Southeast Asia this time. It's just finding small little alleyways with really cool street art randomly. This is definitely not very touristy. There's no one else down here. But, wow, really cool. Look at this. Just paintings all down the street here. Hidden little works of art. I think one thing I forgot about Vietnam since last time we were in here is just how much Vietnamese people love karaoke. Our street right now is shut down with like a private karaoke party in the middle of the street. But, hey, check out this amazing rooftop pool area that we have here. Yeah, you're just jamming, jiving with sweet music. Nice little bar here that's never open. So we're moving out of this place tomorrow. We're a little further away here. And it's not the most pedestrian-friendly city. You end up walking in the street a lot. So we're going to get a little closer to the beach. We're actually going to be just a block or two from the beach. And there's this really cool neighborhood over there that's just kind of these little walking streets with a bunch of trendy bars and restaurants and cafes. And that seems to be where all the expats are kind of hanging out. So we're going to experience a different side to Da Nang starting tomorrow. So looking forward to that. We're going to crack a beer on this rooftop patio. And we're just going to have some nice Vietnamese people serenading us while we drink a rooftop beer. Tonight we are checking out the Son Tra Night Market. And then we will check out the famous Dragon Bridge and the fire show. But that's going to be in an hour. So we have about an hour to check out this night market, which is the most popular night market in Da Nang. This is a lot of people. Wow. So one side of the market just has a lot of goods. We've got some jewelry and bags and clothing. And the other side is all food. Fun. Fun? Yeah. Busy. A little busy. Too many people. Can't even move in here. Here is the food side. A little bit mental. Snails. This is hard to navigate. People just trying to pull you in all directions here. The Son Tra Market was a little bit hectic for us. We saw it, we did it. We've never seen a bridge breathe fire before. No, that is a first. It's short but sweet. Worth a visit. So the biggest thing that we're surprised about so far, we've only been here a few days, is just the vibe and the liveliness and the atmosphere of the actual city itself. There are so many cool little areas of this town to explore. So many little side streets, lush greenery, trendy restaurants and cafes and bars just dotted all over the place. And that's what surprised us so far. It just seems like such a cool vibe. And it's just really fun to just go down a random street and explore and see what it has in store for you. So this is somewhere that we've already said we can see ourselves being for a long time. Yeah. And it definitely seems like a place that would be really cool to settle and retire. Today we're on a bit of a side mission. If you're on the beach in Da Nang, it's hard to miss on the mountains to the side of the beach a large Buddha statue. And today we are heading to the Lin Ong Pagoda to see the 67 meter tall Lady Buddha statue. Hopefully worth seeing. So let's go check it out. Seems like there's lots to see here. It's a huge complex. Including this gigantic pagoda here. We haven't even got to the statue part yet. It's already impressive. So this complex was built in 2004 with the emergence of Buddhism becoming more popular in Vietnam. So it is the largest Buddhist temple in this area. There's like 50 hectares to explore here. So you gotta cover up. Nice. Okay, let's go check out that big mama. We made it to the Lady Buddha statue. And this is over 67 meters tall. Which is like a 30 floor skyrise. There's apparently numerous different floors throughout the level of this thing. Each one having 21 Buddha statues inside. So it is not just a statue but like a whole complex. How cool is that? Another point worth mentioning about Da Nang that we've experienced is there are a load of hotel options here. Everything from hostels to just luxury hotels with rooftop pools and seaside views. So we decided to move and be closer to the beach. We're a block from the beach now. In this hotel that's above like a Vietnamese pho restaurant. But we have this whole private terrace to ourselves here. We're right in the tourist area with all the little walking streets. And this was about $20 US per night. So let me show you the view off this balcony of our little street down here. That's not bad for $20 US per night. We're going to take advantage of staying in this touristy area here and we're going to hit a couple bars, go for dinner, get a couple drinks and walk on the beach at night and check out the Malecon during the night which is like a really cool experience. And of course you can't ignore Bun Bao guy who drives around all night every night with his speaker going. Bun Bao man is relentless. What do you think of Bun Bao? It has to stop. This town is almost as epic at night as it is during the day. Everything on the beach boardwalk here just lights up. The palm trees are lit up. All the displays are lit up. And it's quite a cool vibe. There's a lot of beach bars here that we hope to partake in. Coming from other beach towns that we've stayed in for longer, this is one of the coolest kind of beach fronts. Even though it's got a busy road right on one side, the other side is really cool. There's a lot of comparisons to Waikiki and the beach front there in Honolulu. And I was kind of like, yeah, I'm sure. But being here, you definitely see the parallels. The difference here is you can have the Waikiki experience for a fraction of the price. We're going to go find the coolest beach bar we can find and grab a late night drink. Okay, our last touristy thing that we're checking off our list in Da Nang today is the Marble Mountains. There's pagodas and temples, caves, statues, everywhere to see. It's 40,000 dong each. So we've got some stairs to climb. Let's check it out. These are really steep. I feel like it's going to be harder going down based on how some people are getting on. Just a short drive from Da Nang, you'll find one of Central Vietnam's most famous landmarks, the Marble Mountains. The Marble Mountains are named after the five elements earth, water, fire, metal, and wood. Into a cave. First cave. For centuries, the Marble Mountains have been an important spiritual and religious site. Local legend says the mountains were formed from the shell of a giant dragon egg, adding to the mystical atmosphere. That's only one of the sites to see here. That's just like the first one. It was worth the trip for sure. Cave number two. During the Vietnam War, the caves inside the Marble Mountains were used as hiding places and field hospitals by Vietnamese soldiers. Just look at the scale of this cave. We've seen some cool caves on this trip, but this one's up there for sure. Worth the trip from town? Oh yeah. There's just like more and more to this the further you go. There's just some kind of like peaceful Japanese village up here. Traditional Japanese village in the middle of Vietnam. Or on the top of Vietnam I guess. Because we are up on a mountain. So after a week or two of staying down at Mae An Beach, which is the more touristy side, we wanted to try something different. So now we are further down the beach in the My K Beach area. And it's still busy. There are still tourists here, but the beach is much longer and it's not necessarily empty, but you can find spaces away from people to kind of claim to yourself. Restaurants are a little more local, fewer and far between. There's also a little more distance here from the beach to the road. So it's just a little quieter. But yeah, we are just enjoying being beach bums here in our nice kind of apartment that we rented with a roof pool. So this is us for a while. We'll take you along later and we'll see what this place looks like at night. And it's areas like this that you could just believe that you were in Waikiki instead of Vietnam. This area is also a little bit different because instead of little kind of beach bars and huts, it's a little more established restaurants, seafood restaurants. There's like a brewery back there. It's definitely a different vibe over here. I have to say that the beaches of Da Nang have been nothing short from surprising. The water is clear and clean and blue and warm. Really enjoyed having beach days here. More than I would most city beaches for sure. Of course there are some negatives here. You're not going to get a lot of culture. You're not going to experience a lot of Vietnam here. But if you're just looking for a nice city beach with delicious cheap food and cheap accommodation, then this is the place. There are other downsides like I said, like the skyline right behind the beach and the fact that it blocks the sun at a certain point in the afternoon. And also there are a ton of skyscrapers all down the beach of just incomplete construction projects where they were never finished and they're just kind of eyesores. There's also so much to see and do while you're here. But if you want to experience more culture, a little more history, you can go to Hue or you can go to Hoi An. Only like 45 minutes away from here. So you could definitely feel like a good couple weeks just in this area. But definitely see other parts of Vietnam, not just Da Nang. It's for a full Vietnam experience. No night is complete without Bun Bao making an appearance. Thank you for your service Bun Bao. The local Da Nang scooter bike gang. Out in full force tonight. Okay, down to the beach now. Let's see what's going on down here. That was kind of just a dance party for nobody. And there might be another one up here, but this looks a little more chill with some beanbag chairs ahead of me. Pretty good vibes for a weekday. I mean, they're trying. Not many people are here, but they're still giving it a go. Definitely more than I expected in Da Nang. Like, even the night time stuff. Like, didn't really expect there to be this cool kind of light displays in all these buildings and like a lot of night life and just stuff happening. It's very lively. Finish this beer up and just enjoy being here for one of our last nights in Da Nang and just really take it in. Really appreciate it. Cheers. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe for more travel content. We'll see you in the next video for more travels throughout Vietnam.