While out for my morning brisk walk, I could feel the slight
haze with a PSI reading of 26, irritating my throat and almost choking my
lungs. Thoughts of Da Nang, Vietnam, where the very fresh air and wonderful sea
breeze caressing my face and hair came to my thoughts. Hence, I decided to
complete this blog started during my stay there with whatever pictures that are
ready. I will upload the rest gradually over the weeks ahead.
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| Tea in the balcony |
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| View of part of a long stretch of beach on the way to the resort |
Da Nang, Vietnam is not too expensive to fly to if you can
make your bookings early. Still not a very popular place among Singaporeans as
yet, you may still find flights a week or two ahead.
Why blog about #DaNang at this point? It’s because the air
is so fresh and clean, I noticed that I was less tired and my skin was glowing
with joy. Hence it makes a good retreat from the hazy situation here. #Vietnam is
one hour ahead of Singapore, and the sky brightens up by 6am. This is the place
I sleep and eat less, not because I am out partying—only because I feel more
energised by the crisp and fresh air, and more relaxed environment.
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| View of the wonderfully blue ocean from my suite |
Weather at Da Nang
The weather is superb when I arrived on February 16 as it warms
up to about 23 degree C. Da Nang is always
about 2-3 degrees cooler than Ho Chi Minh, especially with the sea breeze keeping temperatures
down.
#InterContinentalDaNangSunPeninsula
The resort is built on the side of a mountain, and
rooms/suites decorate the mountain side and grouped into Sky, Sea, Earth and
Beach. To me it’s a very safe place for a family with kids if they wish for a
more relaxing retreat as the resort is very clean, well-equipped with great
amenities and beautiful décor that is not in your face and one will not grow tired
admiring.
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| Suite on the beach with the other suites in the background |
#SimplyBeauty stayed at #Earth Suite 245. It’s one of the
bigger rooms with two sliding glass doors on either side of the bed. So either side you
toss to in bed, you will have a good view of the sea. The sound of the waves
pounding on the rocks seems louder in the silence of the night compared to the
day, the wonderful tinted glass doors shield out prying eyes as they filter out
all views as well as the pitch darkness. (psst, actually it's just the view of the ocean out there, no corridors so no one can look in.)
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| Looking out from the bed |
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| Great relaxing bath in store |
Contrary to what most think that press trips are a relaxing
time to rest and relax, I spent most of roaming around the resort gathering as
much information and snapping more pictures than I have time to process, while
also trying to fit into the tight schedule mapped out for us for the opening of
Bastien’s Mani Pedi Studio (a service you must try for its more than simple
manicure and pedicure, when in Da Nang). However, I strongly feel that InterContinental
Danang Sun Peninsula is the place to R&R. Instead of calling for the buggy,
it is therapeutic to take the time to stroll to breakfast at the restaurant #Citron perched
on the highest altitude in the resort, approximately 100m from sea level. It takes about 10 minutes to brisk walk from Earth
Suite 245 to the restaurant or the reception/check in level. If you are in for a workout, skip the sky lifts
which I think resemble more like dream boats floating in the air as they glide
down the tracks between the highest level of the resort to the beach.
The décor of the resort is worth exploring and it would
probably take you more than two days to relax and enjoy these unique and classy
touches at the restaurants right up to the various rest rooms dotted around the
resort.
FOOD SCENE
I shall not go into too much detail about the F&B as
these are available at their website. One thing to note is that within this
wonderful resort is a Michelin starred French Restaurant called Maison you should not miss.
ACTIVITIES AT THE RESORT
Experience and learn the art of rowing the traditional
Vietnamese boat you see around the waters of Central Vietnam. It is actually a
giant wicker basket which requires great skill to manoeuvre, or you may just
end up dancing in circles. This activity is complimentary for resort guests and
needs at least 1 day's advance booking.
#Trekking
If you are in for some working out on dry ground, another
complimentary activity is the trek to a bunch of #banyan trees close to the fringe of the resort. It requires 1 hour to
cover 2km to and fro. This may not be a watersport, but you will not be
guaranteed to be ‘left high and dry’.
What Can Kids Do?
Kids and teens will not be bored when mum and dad do a bit
of city exploration. Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has
activities for both age groups. Wii and computer games are available to
keep teens entertained, while younger kids can be left to play safely at the adventure
kids club. I was amazed that the club was as well decorated as those back in
Singapore, complete with a keyboard, slide, and children’s songs playing in
the background.
Nooks and Corners to Relax
Other than the wonderful guest rooms and restaurants, and deck
chairs on the beach, there are plenty to places to lie back and read a book. In
particular, I love the #LongBar, decorated with comfy seats with a wonderful
view of the relaxing sea. More importantly, it is in the shade, an arm’s length
away from the drinks bar, close to the kid’s adventure club (if you have kids)
and as well as the wash room. (think picnic at Marine Parade and the need to walk 10 minutes in search of the nearest rest room)
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Yes a local is posing for a trigger happy moment at the
right hand corner of this shot |
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| Seats inside the Long Bar |
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| Comfortable large lounger at the Long Bar with wonderful view of the sea and beach |
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Pretty Vietnamese hat, beach bag and slippers that will put you in the holiday mode
when you wear them to the beach. These items can be found in the guest room. |
Exploring Town
Intercontinental offers shuttle service to Da Nang local
market where tourists can find cheap buys. The shuttle is about half an hour’s
bus ride.
For those who do not mind a longer shuttle ride of up to an
hour, Hoi An is a quaint little town and the place to get Vietnamese lamps. The shuttle bus services from
the resort park for 45 minutes at Hoi An, before heading back to Da Nang market
and finally to the resort. 45 minutes is a little short to explore #HoiAn, but
good enough if your aim is to buy lanterns as the bus stops inside “Viettown”,
known for tailored clothes, hats and the silk lanterns Hoi An is known for.
I tried exploring Hoi An for half hour after getting off the bus and realised
that I had not been able to find another lantern shop after passing by many
similar looking shops retailing clothes during the half hour walk. Thus, it’s
best to get to the Hoi An town in the morning with the morning shuttle so that
you can have half a day to explore the town, try the local food and enjoy the
great coffee at the many coffee joints dotted around the little town, before
heading back with the 4pm bus. Hoi An is bustling with many shops selling
identical things like most touristy cities, but if you take the time to walk
further, you’ll find one or two with a couple of more interesting designs. I
spotted signs indicating that tailored silk clothes costs up to VND3M (about S$180)
so ask around to double check as it doesn’t sound like what I was told–that off
the rack clothes is reasonably priced. Always try before committing and an
advice given to me is to opt for clothes that take a couple of days to be ready
instead of a day for better workmanship.
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| Da Nang Market |
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| Market at one of the villages the van passed by on the way to Hoi An |
One More For the Road
The luxuries of being a guest of InterContinental
DaNang Sun Peninsula extend all the way to the DaNang airport. Its wonderful resort lounges at the airport offers a more comfortable wait for your flight. After arrival and
before taking the flight out of DaNang, you can enjoy complimentary drinks and
snacks in a tastefully decorated lounge with complimentary wifi. For this, do
not remove your resort tag from your luggage until you reach home as this precious tag is your
admission ticket to a more comfortable time waiting for the flight to arrive.
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| Lounge at Domestic Airport Arrival Hall |
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| Snack served to both lounges (at arrival hall and departure hall) |
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| Checking out the beef pho and juice |
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| Departure lounge |
It's time to plan for the next family vacation or me time. Other than the usual competitive rates offered by the various tour agencies, this round airlines like #SIA have set up their own booths or have prominent standees at various tour agency booths.
If you are looking for luxurious and comfortable travel groups of about 10 to 12 people, #Albatrosse World's upcoming package tour to Australia starts from S$382 per person for 4-day Best of #Melbourne trip. Also popular at this agency are their cruises like the #Celebrity #Cruises to Japan and Korea with NATAS promotional prices starting from S$359 per person for Interior (Cat Z) on a 4 Nights Far East Cruise. This is half of the regular price of S$609. Another cruise psckage offering almosy hald the savings is their 7 Nights #Hokkaido and Busan Cruise, which has a sell out for its Conceige Class (Cat XC). This type of stateroom is just one notch below the highest AquaClass (Cat XA) going for $1,619 per person. The other staterooms are still available at press time.
Another unique treat available at NATAS is a complimentary 90mins Spa voucher for lady travellers to #Thailand and a complimentary 1hr Foot/body massage for ladies travelling to the Philippines. These are exclusively for ladies who make their reservations at #UOB Travel during NATAS and travelling to Thailand in August. You can also find a 3D2N Bangkok package from S$99.
