I jumped wide awake thinking that Danang was being carpet-bombed! It was midnight on 29 January 2025. Tet in Danang (the Lunar New Year) had officially begun. I got a decent view of the show from my hotel window and didn’t feel the need to head towards it. Fireworks are pretty and all, but I can’t stop thinking of all the fallout that ends up in the waters and in the ears of animals.
I went to view the carnage in the daylight. I could see and smell firework corpses everywhere. It was strangely quiet and felt like the whole city was recovering from a terrible hangover. Not even a single food stall was operating! I suppose it was the one official day to shut up shop in Nam.
There was a crowd of humans at the far end of Bach Dang Walking Street and it was all very colourful, with tons of flowers (some real, some fake), balloons, toys, and children. It very much felt like a day for the kids. The highlight was loads of snake sculptures and artworks to celebrate the Year of the Snake. I walked slow and spent a lot of time dodging photoshoots.
I had arrived well before Tet in Danang had begun. If I were to ever live in Vietnam, then that would be my city of choice. It’s bustling but spread out and has a good balance of tourists versus locals. There are also plenty of expats living in Danang.
One suggestion was to check out The Bunker. A very talented French man with a keyboard piano and a pipe was playing at this somewhat unassuming/unknown musical hideout. I sat with a couple from California after choosing a cocktail with ingredients unknown to my tongue, such as pear vodka and spicey rum. It turned out that Paxton was a professional drummer who has played in several countries along with the French man on stage!
They Be Pimping
I had been approached by three different pimps on different nights while walking back to my shwanky hotel (which I was paying peanuts for, rather unbelievably). They show you photos of half-naked girls and ask you to “just come have a look”, and if you’re not keen, then it’s fine. I was feeling brazen/drunk enough to have a look the one night. I wanted to get a gauge on the emotional state of the girls.
It was horrible… He called in about six girls who all looked terribly drained and traumatised… I very politely left by saying that it’s not the girls, but that I was simply too drunk. Shame. Vietnam is a country where prostitution is illegal, but publicly known and fairly obvious. Vaping is now also illegal, but you can get 1-5 years in prison for peddling within that industry. Makes you think.
What also makes me sad is passing by all the tanks containing marine life at seafood restaurants. Some include baby sharks, cuttlefish and moray eels. I’ve never had more than a single scallop during all my days in Vietnam, not because I don’t believe in consuming seafood, it’s more that I don’t trust the pollution levels in the water. That single scallop might have been 50% microplastic. Or part firework.
The best night I had by FAR was meeting up with a good friend of a good friend who lives in Danang, and a further eight or so people for a big night out. We ate, we drank, we laughed and we danced – right up until 3am! I woke up with a huge smile on my face after that.
The best experiences really are ones that are shared.
Next: Danang Downtown & Cosplay Competition
Previously: Vietnam Football Frenzy & Tet Prep
Discover more from Roaming Unbound
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
