Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Dragon Bridge Show

The river side has a very different vibe upon night fall. For a start, everything is lighted up in techno colours. And vendors started arranging all their tables and chair out for visitors to sit and enjoy the food, drinks and show, all for a small price of buying something from them.  

You could also see all the lights across the river. Some buildings are lighted up with words and moving screens. It all looked very vibrant and young at heart.

Even the street lamps are in the shaped of red hearts. Cheesy.... but lovely all the same.

This is what the area looked like before the show. Tiny plastic chairs and tables everywhere. I think because we are Asian, it was a lot easier for us to blend in than the other Caucasian tourist. We also tend not to be target of scam so much. 

It was getting very crowded, so me and my friend also grab a table and chairs to sit on. I promptly went over to the drink vendor and got us some drinks, a must to be able to sit here. If you buy them from the guy who come and ask you, I think the price is higher as compared to if you go get the drinks yourself. The drink wasn't expensive from the vendor. And it was kinda fun sitting there among the Vietnames from other province waiting to enjoy the show.

Our table and our drinks :D

Great Ball of Fire started the Dragon Show. It was scary and cheesy at the same time. It was impressive. The show is only available on weekends from Friday to Sunday, and the whole bridge is closed to traffic during the show from 9pm to 915pm. 

There is also a water spraying session where people standing nearby could all be soaked wet by the dragon! I read about it, so I was sure to steer clear of the wet zone! But I read that it was great fun for the Caucasian tourist, especially if they have kids. 

Here is a short video clip I captured from that night :P And once the show was over, everyone just started to leave the area all at once. The vendors would also automatically clear and clean up the tables and chair in a flash. It was like nothing ever happened there! Like a flash mob performance or something lol. 

Walking back to our hotel across the bridge prove a challenge as we have to cross a busy wide road on our way back. Luckily we saw three monks walking the same direction and decided to follow them. Surely no one would knock down monks! It wouldn't be very auspicious at all! Anyway, thank you very much for guiding us safely across those roads at night! Crossing roads in Vietnam City is always a stressful thing for foreigners in Vietnam. It's fine in smaller towns like Hoi An or Hanoi, but definitely not so much in Danang and Ho Chi Minh. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Son Tra Night Market

 

The plan for us was to walked along the river, and maybe have dinner at the night market before we went to watch the weekend Dragon Bridge Show. It was rather early in the evening when we reach, so the night market was just in the mids of setting up. The name of the market was called Cho Dem Son Tra.

It was quite a huge market, and separated in sections for shopping and eating. The eating area lined with seating area and shops selling all sorts of food, while the shopping area is filled with clothes and souvenirs. 

We head to the eating area for our dinner. There were so many types of food to pick from. 

A seafood stall. I guess we shouldn't be too adventurous on our first day in Vietnam? Don't want to have an upset tummy at the start of our trip. lol. But it looks so appetising. And I know it would be delicious cause I've eaten such street food in Hanoi road side before and it's always filled with so much condiments that it was hard not to taste delicious.

There were lots of street snacks too, things served in skewers are always popular in night market cause they are so easy to eat as you walk around exploring the place. 

Lots of BBQ or fried meat. Above is roasted chicken. I'm trying to pick up Vietnam bit by bit. So I know that Ga means chicken, and Com means rice. So Com Ga means Chicken Rice! and Ca means fish. I can also read pork and beef as Thit and Bo. 

The stall we finally settled on, and the menu above.

We ordered a mixed platter to share. It was very flour-y, but it was ok. Our first taste of Vietnamese street food. We sat among the locals to eat, so the ambience was really nice. It was a rather light dinner for me. 

Soon it was night time and the streets are lighted up by lanterns. It was time for us to walked to the Dragon Bridge to secure a place to watch the free night show!

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Dragon Bridge River Walk

 

Onwards to wards the Dragon Bridge! One of the reason I wanted to visit Danang was to see this unbelievable Dragon Bridge. I still can't believe they would build a whole dragon decorating a bridge! It was beautiful and magical! Vietnam is such a land of mystery!

There are many bridges connecting both side along the river, and there was a rainbow looking beach just opposite from the Dragon Bridge too, and it reminded me very much of Japan's Rainbow Beach at Odaiba. We did even cross it on our way home to the airport on our last day.

But today was all about the Dragon Bridge. It was a big cloudy when we walked across it. And yes, you can walk across it. There are pedestrian walkways along the beach and they are quite wide. So it felt very safe walking along it. Above is the head of the dragon.  

After crossing the bridge, there is a river walk you can enjoy so see the view of the river and some boats parked at the marina. You'll also find more dragon statue here, and restaurants and shops along the river. It was all rather touristy.

Here is a close up of the dragon overlooking the river. Kinda reminds me of the Merlion of Singapore lol. 

Here is a photo of two dragons together in a single photo. I still think the Dragon Bridge is the most impressive looking one, especially with it's reflection on the river, and even more so if there is a sunrise or sunset view that adds to the heavenly being's present here. 

Some huge boat-like restaurant that looked expensive. We didn't venture into any. But it was fun walking around seeing all these interesting sights. 

Here are some photos of me and my friend at the Dragon Bridge. 

And another one of us at the river side looking towards the Dragon Bridge. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Chun An Long Temple

 

Just besides the Cham Sculpture Museum, you will find a little door leading to Chun An Long Temple. It's not really flagged out as a tourist attraction, but it's a very interesting place to go and take a look all the same.

Upon walking in, you will see some huge granite calving of Goddess of Mercy and Buddha. That alone should justify a visit! It's such a lovely piece of art. Above is the one of the Buddha. 

And here is the one of the Goddess of Mercy surrounded by dragons. Vietnamese seems to like dragons a lot. Everything is 'Long' to them, a heavenly being on earth. I kinda like that cause I'm born in the year of the dragon :)

There is a two storey temple inside, and you are free to explore them. What caught  my attention here are the lotus leaves that are so gigantic! I've tried growing water lilies before, and I also love lotus plants. I think they looked so beautiful surrounded by water. One day, I would like to grow them again, maybe in a pond with fishes to that they don't grow mosquitoes.

Going inside the temple, I am always amazed at home modern, and how colourful Vietnamese temples looked. I always remind myself that Vietnam is a very young nation, and its population is also very young as compared to other countries that I've visited.  

Inside the main shrine, a golden Buddha sits. One thing that really caught my attention is the beautiful lamps found through out the temple. They were so elegant and lovely. I would love to have them in my house if my house have an altar too. 

There was also a thousand hand Goddess of Mercy inside the temple. After reading Strange Building and Strange Strange House, I find that I can't looked at such idols in the same way as I used to. Japanese fiction always have a way of messing up my psyche that way. After reading Uzumaki, I find it hard to use kitchen wares with spirals on them, lol. 

Here are more frightening photos of golden idols for you. When I took these photo, it was just a normal thing for me during my travels. I have yet to read the Strange House and Strange Building series. But now that I am uploading these photos, some part inside of me felt really disturbed looking at them. 

Some Pali writings? We don't see such deco on doors in temples in Malaysia or Singapore. Or even China. So it was interesting to see them here in Vietnam. Plus the colour combination of red and gold really made the writings stand out.  

Going up to the 2nd storey, there is a lovely statue of Buddha with fake flowers surrounding it. It was a lovely sight, and it would have been lovelier if the flowers were real.... But I'll take what I get  :P

I think you could also go into the 2nd floor if my memory did not fail me. Again there were beautifully decorated doors and floors.

Inside, another golden idol illuminated by yellow lighting. Interestingly male idols don't disturbs me. Only the female one does, cause in the Strange House and Strange Building books, the goddess inside was female, and gold.....

After spending a brief time at the temple, we left from another door where two dragon heads hung on the door frame, and Buddhist coloured flag surrounds the door way. I think it's a lovely temple to visit if you're already there at the Cham Sculpture Museum. Don't miss it!

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Cham Sculpture Museum Level 2

 

I was surprised that the path leading up to the second floor looked rather modern. I was expecting stairs, maybe dark stairs way leading up. But this design is so opened! And so bright!

There were some history section of this 100 year old museum. It used to be a house I think, or maybe a government building, before being turned into this lovely museum. 

There were less heavy-weighted items on display at the second floor, like embroidery. 

At the hall way around the second floor, there were also miniature replica of ancient Cham temples or tombs. I really like these, especially since I've seen many in Angkor Wat. All these were replica of actual sites, and their names were displayed on each one.

Here is an example of one. 

Stones with writing on them, and probably a deity's feet, or what is left of it. Do you see the round things below with a dot? Those are actually designs that looked like nipples. Female forms, fertility, nature. It was after all, a very agricultural and farming society. So the female breast was something adored in the culture that they often put this design in their sculpture. 

This sculpture just looks interesting to me. Looked like an old western man with mustasche.

This one was also interesting because they showed wheels!

They also have a section which was like an archive, and they just dumped whatever that cannot be categorised here. Perhaps it was just overwhelming amount of sculptures that they have. Or perhaps they are waiting for some area to complete renovation first before displaying there. But it was still fun to walk around these and you felt like you are in an old antique shop looking for treasures.

And among those treasures you found these! Lol. I've actually brighten up the photos before posting them here. It was rather dark in the archive room.