Da Nang: It aint all sunshine and rainbows
For the most part I am really impressed with Da Nang, Vietnam so far. The stark contrasts between this area and places I have lived in Thailand are really impressive to me. This is true in the maintenance of public spaces and waste management particularly. The public areas are kept clean and well-maintained. It just seems a lot cleaner than many of the spots I have been to in Thailand.... or is it?
Yesterday I wandered a bit off the regular trail to discover that I might have been a little rushed in my judgement as far as all that is concerned, as these photos will show.
While the beach area, where most of the tourists end up, is kept spotless and I am yet to be there during a time when there weren't at least several people working on it, the area just about a km away, next to the river, looks as though no one has touched it in quite some time.
While the views were nice the stockpiles of garbage definitely were not.
To be fair, this area doesn't appear to get much traffic on foot: Perhaps they had high hopes that there would be and it just didn't work out that way. The beach areas are always going to attract more people and let's compare and contrast the cleanliness / maintenance, shall we?
The layout is essentially the same as far as the footpath is concerned, but one of them has what appears to be almost not maintenance. I encountered not a single person while I was walking the river-walk so it could simply be a case of "triage" as far as resources are concerned and I am personally just happy that the beach is so pristine. Perhaps they "had a go" at popularizing the riverwalk and it just didn't work. I think most of the tourists don't make it back to the river and maybe that is a good thing because they wouldn't be impressed!
Also, the north side of the beach area is almost entirely covered with construction projects and I'm not going to complain about this because it has to be done, right? Just keep in mind, if you are visiting this fine city, that it is a good idea to avoid the areas to the north side of the beach if possible since it seems as though almost all of it is under some level of construction.
So every silver lining has a cloud, it appears. I really like my new home, but it was never going to be totally perfect. For the most part I am still in awe at how fantastic Da Nang is, and I can't believe how cheap and wonderful most everything has been up to this point. I haven't ventured more than a couple km from my condo thus far, so I am quite certain I will continue to find things, both good and bad, as the days go by.
Ah! A new adventure!
People marvel about how clean and litter free Canada is. I know of some places that end up being not so tidy because some people have no pride in a community or regard for the planet. Usually not near waterfront though.
I really know next to nothing about Vietnam though the foredeck guy on our racing team is from there. Really looking forward to more shots, and the stories you tell the next while.
Hit a brewery!!
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that's a good idea to go to a brewery. They have a lot of them here...well, of the micro type anyway. Mostly I have just been in awe about how "regular" beers cost less than a dollar... less than 50 cents if you hit them at happy hour.
Mhhh 50cents is nice. How much costs a beer at a normal shop?
For me it was a surprise that beer in Thailand costs more than here in Germany (or the same if I pick a better one haha)
well the major problem with Thailand isn't the variety, it is that anything that isn't made in the country is taxed all to hell. There are plenty of shops that have tons of international brews but they all end up costing more than $10 a bottle, which is cray cray in my mind.
Beers at a shop here are extremely cheap, even the imported ones. I had an imported one the other day in a double sized can from a minimart and it was something like $2. I don't recall what it was, i think a Scottish brand called Brew Dog.
Were you able to take your bike with you or did you have to sell that and plan on buying a new one once you settle in? It is good that they are working on keeping things clean like that. It seems like if there were some community groups or corporate volunteer programs they could easily make short work of a little section of the riverwalk area once a month or every other month. Like you said, maybe the draw just isn't there to warrant it. How has the weather been?
weather is great, it's significantly cooler here than in Thailand, which appeals to me greatly. I don't know if it is seasonal or not but I hope it is like this a lot.
I didn't take the bike with me. I gave it to a friend. I will purchase a bike here once I am 100% certain that I am going to stay.
It would be nice if they did clean up the river area but it doesn't look like anyone uses it.. however it's current state could be why no one uses it.
Exploring a new place is always interesting and fascinating. You are still in the tourist phase though so give it 6 months. The river looks like a perfect spot for the HHH to run. Good to hear that it is as expected and I am sure you are going to be happy there. Construction is a good sign of the economy doing well.
well i think that in most developing countries that this ends up being the case. When i was traveling around Central America it was always like this as far as tourist area vs non tourist areas were concerned
You could fix it! Every time you walk down that area near the river pick something up. Ha ha Ha it might take the rest of your life it looks like. even around here, we have a lot of river areas near the Delaware and New Jersey border that they try to build Riverwalk’s that end up failing because nobody wants to go there. Only a few, a handful, have succeeded. The others are ugly and rundown, like what you show in your post, except the drug abusers and prostitutes seem to hang out there now. They’ve kind of claimed some of them.
Glad to see your exploring and posting about it! Keep them coming! Tell Nadi hello!!!!
I'll have to go down there at night and see if the drug dealers and prozzies are about. I like to get to know the dregs of society as well :P
hahaha.. Document that! Maybe a night run would be best ;-P
Howdy gooddream! Well with construction going on everywhere the country must be booming so that is very good. Interesting difference in beach scenes just a km apart though! lol.
well I have only been here a week so I am by no means an expert but from the people I speak to here it sounds as if they are doing exactly what they did in Phuket and are over-expanding and will experience a price crunch especially now that tourism numbers are waaaaay down.
Oh no...well I hope things pick up for them. Wouldn't that be strange if the exact thing happened as it did in the country you just left!