The U.S. Military comes to welcome me to Da Nang
I wasn't expecting such a wonderful welcome to my new home and I suspect other factors might be at play other than simply visiting me and making sure that every possible aspect of Da Nang is safe, but yesterday the U.S. Navy arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
source
This vessel, along with its support ships of a guided missile cruiser and a destroyer, has a total of 6,500 crew which I thought was a bit excessive considering I am just one person.
All jokes aside, this is a pretty momentous event since this is only the 2nd time one of these ships has been to Vietnam since that little skirmish the two countries had back in the 60's / 70's.
There is a lot of speculation about how this move is more than just a show of friendship but also a bit of a discovery and diplomatic mission on the part of USA now that The Philippines has stopped being as friendly towards the US Navy using their country as a staging point in the Pacific region.
So I figured I would head out to the area where they are keeping the carrier and have a look. It was a long walk but eventually I arrived at the suspension bridge which is as close as the snipers will let us get to the vessels.
I'm not a huge fan of great heights for some reason, especially when it is in an windy environment where the guard rail barely goes past my waist, so this part of the journey was a bit scary to me. A fall off the side of this bridge is certain death after you get a little ways in.
This was disappointing to see, because I was definitely going to climb up there. It made me very nervous from this point forward because the bridge was actually moving in the wind a bit. I have to admit that there were times I probably looked like a crazy person because i was gripping the guard rail pretty hard.
In the end this was the best shot I could get of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. There were tons of other people there taking this photo as well and I would imagine all of them got just as wonderful a shot as I did. While I did get a lot more exercise as a consequence of this walk (nearly 20km) it was exceptionally anti-climatic... that pic above is zoomed in all the way also. We were not allowed very close at all.
I appreciate the gesture of them sending, as what I presume is absolutely massive expense, a group to make certain I settle in properly, I would have appreciated at least a tour of the deck of the carrier.
Since I spent a good part of the feature of my tour in a state of near panic and terror due to the near complete lack of safety precautions in place, I likely will not ever return to this bridge. Plus a 20km walk is a bit much even for a super athlete like me :P
Looks like a very stormy day. Good thing you didn't fall off.
i don't think i was ever in any real danger of that happening. I just didn't like it one bit though, because: scary.
I think the major achievement is that you didn't get shot by the snipers and you didn't fall off. I'm scared of heights too, I still can't explain it.
at points on the bridge I was feeling like i would imagine what someone who is prone to panic attacks might feel. It was too far in either direction for me to quickly get out of there and the narrow pedestrian area combined with high winds was really freaking me out.
I was joking about the snipers but I would be willing to bet that an aircraft carrier has some pretty serious perimeter security :)
That is a pretty impressive hike! I don't know as though I have ever walked that far. It might have felt like it when I was a little kid being toted around Washington DC. I think you did a fairly good job with the picture given the circumstances. That is very interesting that they are heading there. I think it is good that for the most part there is little "bad blood" still lingering.
I had intended to take a bus but after sitting at the bus stop for something crazy like 20 minutes i just decided to walk. It did take a lot longer than I had hoped and I wouldn't do it again. I think it may be time to get a bicycle in the not too distant future.
A bicycle would be cool... Oh the places you will go!
20km? I think you're losing it!!! I just walked 5 miles and am hobbling around the house, but I'm not a super athlete like yourself.
well, i walked most of it... The original intention was to catch a bus but the bus took too long so i just walked for 4 hours instead. My feet hurt :P
Your welcome! I chipped in a few tax dollars to get that nuclear powered puppy over there. Did you see the fireworks and flyover that I paid extra for?? I saw an old non-nuclear powered carrier up close once, in my past life. I was working at the Philadelphia Navel Base for quite a while, and would take my lunch down to the docks and watch the guys paint every day. They started at one end and in about a year and a few months were at the other.. then to the other side and so on.. Painting never ended. A city on the seas they called it.
Heights don't bother me, but I don't like it when I can feel a massive bridge swaying in the wind. Also you walked too far! You need a vespa or something. Get Nadi a little helmet too! I can picture it hehe.
i really like the idea of a Nadi helmet. I'll get my pet shop people working on that right away!
oh good! Cant wait to see it.. ;-P
Glad you hadn't been drinking but you found a new route for the Hash group lol. That is not close at all and obviously safety protocol is definitely being followed. I would have thought that was just a warm up for our super athlete.
lol..very good sir gooddream. That WAS awful kind and thoughtful of them.