Posted:
Today was our first full day in Da Nang and 3 more of our friends were on there way to meet us, from Ho Chi Min City (Saigon).
We spent the morning exploring Da Nang, we discovered the because there are so many scooters in Vietnam car owners buy skirts for their vehicles while they are parked.

We came across a Vietnamese super-market and had a look around to see what they had for sale. I found some hats and they had some red ones so I tried them on, the first being the typical Nón lá (Vietnamese conical hat), made from palm leaves, I knew that I wanted to get one of these but didn;t want to buy one on the first day in Vietnam and carry it around all holiday. The second was a Vietnamese Army cap, as this was fabric, it would pack down small and not get damaged so this is what I bought myslef in red, Susan also got on in an olive colour.

Once we'd finished buying hats we continued our exploring and walked to the Dragon Bridge. The Dragon bridge is a golden dragon that appears to be snaking its way across the river Hàn.

We then walked along the river front and came to a very posh housing estate. The big house on the corner had huge gold gates and a round tower with a conical roof.

We walked further along the riverfront and Susan found yet another outdoor gym. We then walked back into town to get back to the hotel to welcome the others.
We arrived back at the hotel about 10 minutes before Eleanor, Tony and Sarah arrived so we sat in the reception to welcome them. It was fantastic to see them and start and new adventure on this holiday. We let them check in and we agreed to meet them in a couple of hours once they'd rested.
Susan and I went out to get some food and it wasn't long before we found Linh Bánh Mì Bread Coffee & Juice, we both had Char sui pork banh mi. It was delicious.
We then went on to Section 30 brew pub where we agreed to meet the others. It wasn't long until the all arrived. Susan went back to the hotel to attend a council meeting. Once she had finished the meeting seh messaged me and I went ot collect her. The selection of beers was exception and I had these 4:
Before we left I paid for all our beers and this was the first time I'd ever paid a 2,000,000 bill *(even if it was in VND).
For dinner we went next door to Bếp Ngon Việt and I had Beef Pho again brilliant.
After dinner we went to the beech to find a beach bar, we found Maia Beach Bar. We stayed for a few hours drinking cocktails and I danced, joyously, to house music.