Morning Market At the Beach

To the far left, the huge white 67m-tall statue of the Goddess of Mercy
(Quan Am or Kuan Yin) stands in the Linh Ứng Bãi Bụt Pagoda,
keeping the people safe from storms and sea creatures.

I love beaches and being in the water. Not to swim in it though. Just to wade around. Dislike swimming in the open sea unless I'm in full dive gear. Đà Nẵng's beaches are still relatively unspoiled. They're also working beaches in the sense that fishing boats are still anchored out and go to work between 10pm to 4am, returning to shore in time with fresh catches for the morning boisterous seafood market. The public beaches are clean. Refuse washed up doesn't look too horrifying. Unlike Hội An's battle with coastal erosion, especially on Cua Dai Beach, Đà Nẵng is still okay. Non Nước Beach is home to many expansive resorts.

Further along to Son Tra Peninsula is My Khe beach (or otherwise known as 'China Beach') has a wide expanse of space and a few deck chairs for people to hang out. Seafood restaurants still mainly cater to the locals. Outside of these resorts, unlike Thailand, there're no souvenir or tourist traps nearby. WOOT. You can't like...walk out to lunch or something. There's nothing near outside of the resort. Everything is a 20-minute walk either way filled with roads and not particularly interesting sights. Unless you count the shoreline and beaches as a welcome sight. No massage parlors dot the roads, save for one or two for the locals which don't resemble the ambience or smells of a typical spa. Any decent spas are found within the resorts or a 45-minute ride to Hội An. Đà Nẵng is gloriously uncrowded for the now. However, the entire stretch of shoreline here is ear-marked for the development of five-star resorts and two more golf courses. This area has changed so much and in another five years, it would be more...touristy.

I didn't linger at the public beaches except to take a walk through and turn up at first light one morning to smell the fish and check out the informal seafood market. Didn't understand a single word of the bargaining that went on. Didn't dare to snap photos at will. Couldn't buy anything, but at least my companions and guides could. They were on their daily sourcing and buying tasks for eateries and restaurants. But it was a good walk. There's something magical about early mornings. Totally enjoyed checking out the buzz.