Marble Mountains and a night in Hoi An

We landed in Da Nang just after midnight on April 28, which is a rough way to start a trip and a good way to see the city lit up from the air. After coffee and a few hours of sleep we went straight to the Marble Mountains, five limestone hills a short drive south of the city.

Da Nang's rooftops and the coast seen from high on the Marble Mountains — Da Nang from partway up the Marble Mountains.

The hills are full of stairs, pagodas, and caves. The stairs are steep and wet, and there are a lot of them. The view from the top makes up for it.

A seven-storey pagoda on a forested ridge of the Marble Mountains — The pagoda near the top, and me catching my breath in front of it.

Jeremy sitting on a stone wall in front of the pagoda — The pagoda near the top, and me catching my breath in front of it.

The caves were the part I didn't expect. Some of them are big enough to hold full shrines, lit from below, with daylight coming in through holes in the ceiling.

Visitors inside a lit cave in the Marble Mountains

A shrine built into the back of a large limestone cave

Dinner was on the riverfront in Hai Chau. The next morning started on the beach at seven, before it got hot.

A bowl of noodle soup with herbs on a restaurant table in Da Nang

Palm trees and a towel on a table at the beach at 7 in the morning

Hoi An

In the afternoon we drove down to Hoi An. The old town is mostly yellow shophouses, and by five o'clock the streets are full. We took a wooden boat out on the Thu Bon river at sunset, which is the touristy thing to do and was worth it.

View from a wooden boat toward a decorated bridge crowded with people in Hoi An — Out on the river at sunset.

Selfie of Jeremy and his travel companion on the river in Hoi An — Out on the river at sunset.

A Hoi An street at dusk strung with silk lanterns — Lantern streets after dark.

We flew to Bangkok the next morning.