Star Craven TR #3 EMD-BNE-HKG-DAD + Golf

[craven morehead]

I reckon we had walked about 3/4 of the main loop around the island and it was time for a feed. So we parked up at Concerto Inn over at Hung Shing Yeh Beach. Sat down and relaxed looking out over the beach sipping a few quite ones while waiting for lunch.


Satay chicken skewers

Chicken Curry Madras

Food was okay but nothing to rave about. Time to walk back to Yung Shue Wan to catch the ferry and return to Central. looking back as we walked out to the pier.

A couple of attempts at a sunset type photo for @drron



Caught the ferry back to Pier 4 and walked our friend over to Pier 3 and said see ya later. It's always great catching up with friends who have passed through our town over the years and gone on to bigger and better things. It was also a good to see another part of HKG. We had another lazy night in and ate in the lobby bar again as I couldn't be bothered heading out and we had an early start in the morning for our flight to Vietnam.

 

[craven morehead]

I set my alarm for 5.30 thinking we had a 9.00 flight from HKG - DAD. This would give me an hour in the lounge and a chance to catch up with some friends who were joining us for the Vietnam trip. Well luckily Google alert or something of the sort popped up with a message saying today's flight was 8.00 out of HKG and not 9.00 which for some reason was in my head! 9.00 was the arrival time in DAD allowing for an hours difference in time .... almost a rookie error Anyway I had already arranged express check out so we pulled our fingers out and were packed and in a taxi by 6.15 at the airport by 7.00. Luckily traffic was pretty light at that time of day Checked in, took clubs to oversize, through immigration, onto a bus and over to satellite terminal by 7.30 with boarding to begin at 7.45 Easy !! Well it helps when you're flying J. Flying KA today on flight CX5220 HKG - DAD on an A320. After all that we boarded on time and then sat on tarmac till 8.30ish. We were served 2 x champers prior to take off


Today's bus

8 seats in J and very comfortable

I'm only 5'8" so leg room wasn't an issue and the wife 6'0" had oodles of room. Happy Days!

PDB

Well designed table I thought. Pull out an unfold half for drinks and fold out to full for meals or to read the paper etc

This contraption is to hold the iPad and works well

With iPad insitu
Off we go for our first visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

 

[henleybeach]

We are going to HK in May for 3 nights on the way home from the stans. We have never been, thanks for the mini report. We may have to head over to Stanley for a look !

 

[craven morehead]

F & B offerings on this short flight :

The food was a tad bland but nice enough.
First views of Vietnam crossing the coast coming into Da Nang

 

[craven morehead]

We are going to HK in May for 3 nights on the way home from the stans. We have never been, thanks for the mini report. We may have to head over to Stanley for a look !

Have you decided where you will be staying yet?

 

[craven morehead]

Grabbed some $VND at the airport to get started. The wife thought we'd won the lotto equates to approx AUD $30


On the bus and off to our resort for the next 6 nights down at Hoi An

The Dragon Bridge in the background

 

[craven morehead]

After ~45 minute we arrived at Sunrise Premium Resort Hoi An : First impressions were good.

Some room pics attached

Looking out the balcony
Generous amount of toiletries supplied

Looking left from the closed in balcony


I would rate the place a solid 4.5 star

 

[craven morehead]

A few more resort pics :

One of the local brews BIA LARUE 4.2% and easy to drink

Bottom pool closest to the ocean

Happy hour from 5 - 7 and then again from 9 - 10
Very relaxing

 

[henleybeach]

Have you decided where you will be staying yet?

We are staying at the hotelvic on the harbour i think it’s called. In north point, it looks a bit out of the way but has a nice rooftop pool and bar. I’m guessing it’s easy to get around in HK

 

[amaroo]

Looks like a bit of coin has been spent on Da Nang airport since we were last there in 2010. Hoi An is a lovely location for a beach / jungle holiday... we enjoyed a couple of weeks there in 2008 and 2010.

FWIW I can recommend 1/2 day trip to My Son - think mini Angkor Wat my son vietnam

and

Hue ... although Hue is a full on day trip hue vietnam

 

[craven morehead]

We are staying at the hotelvic on the harbour i think it’s called. In north point, it looks a bit out of the way but has a nice rooftop pool and bar. I’m guessing it’s easy to get around in HK

Looks like you're ~10 minutes by taxi out past where we stayed. Yes HKG is pretty easy to get around and with 3 days you will get a nice little taste of this fascinating place. Plenty of time to do some of the usual stuff : Tram up to the Peak, Ocean Park, experience the Mid-Levels, a walk around Victoria Park, a few well deserved beers over at Stanley after you have spent some time with the bride at the markets, Star Ferry ride across Victoria Harbour to TST, , watch the light show at night etc etc. I would leave a ferry trip to an island or the cable car up to Ngong Ping 360 for your next trip. Others will have their favourites I look forward to a new set of eyes doing a trip report.

 

[craven morehead]

Looks like a bit of coin has been spent on Da Nang airport since we were last there in 2010. Hoi An is a lovely location for a beach / jungle holiday... we enjoyed a couple of weeks there in 2008 and 2010.

FWIW I can recommend 1/2 day trip to My Son - think mini Angkor Wat my son vietnam

and

Hue ... although Hue is a full on day trip hue vietnam

@amaroo looks good. I had very little down time outside of golf to explore. One of the courses I played Ba Na Hills was in the Hue area and the last course Laguna Lang Co we went through this area and travelled probably another 40 minutes further. I suspect we will be back in the next 18 months or so

 

[craven morehead]

Some shots of the resort restaurant "Spice Garden's" breakfast set up. I should have taken more but was getting some queer looks I know, being an AFFer I should have thicker skin

The egg station in behind there


Having just come from the Park Lane in HKG the breakfast offering was not in the same league but decent enough never the less.
My usual mixed up brekky the Taro dumplings (purple) were too sweet for me.



Koreans are apparently the biggest visitors to Vietnam with Aussies next. The breakfast selection had some Korean options. The yellow spicy Korean Pork on my plate was one of them. Time for some golf !!

 

[henleybeach]

Looks like you're ~10 minutes by taxi out past where we stayed. Yes HKG is pretty easy to get around and with 3 days you will get a nice little taste of this fascinating place. Plenty of time to do some of the usual stuff : Tram up to the Peak, Ocean Park, experience the Mid-Levels, a walk around Victoria Park, a few well deserved beers over at Stanley after you have spent some time with the bride at the markets, Star Ferry ride across Victoria Harbour to TST, , watch the light show at night etc etc. I would leave a ferry trip to an island or Ngong Ping 360 for your next trip. Others will have their favourites I look forward to a new set of eyes doing a trip report.

Thank you very much!

 

[craven morehead]

First round of golf thankfully was at what turned out to be the easiest course to play for the week BRG Da Nang Overview | BRG Da Nang Golf Resort :
Pre-game supplement The golf clubs over here are cashless so the little numbered folio they give you contains your scorecard, a chit to sign for your clubs, sometimes a voucher for the Pro shop and also your locker key. So anything you purchase at Pro shop, kiosk or halfway houses you pay for at the end. Only cash that changes hands is for the caddies tips.

My playing partners today and the enthusiastic caddies. All the caddies were female and wore the same hats at each course.

I won't bore people too much with the golf :

Jagged my only nearest the pin for the week here at this 180m Par 3 next (2 pics)



There was no shortage of water hazards on this course.
Great day out and shared a cart with a good mate of mine from the nearby town of Middlemount out in CQ

Turned out to be my best round of the 4 with a respectable 32 points. I am however a s#!t golfer who just loves to travel

 

[craven morehead]

Second round of golf was at Ba Na Hills http://banahillsgolf.com/ a cracking course but way too hard for me can also be played at night as the course is fully floodlit. The course was about an hour in the bus from Hoi An. Turned out to be a very hot and humid day.

Welcoming party
View from the clubhouse over the 18th green


A really tough Par 3 ....... think I ended up picking up on this hole
Almost done Heading up the 18th fairway

Like I said a really tough course for someone of my ability. Still need to be thankful that I'm playing golf (not working) in another country

 

[craven morehead]

For our down day we had pre-booked a mini bus and guide and headed off for the day. First stop was a marble shop literally 100m from The Marble Mountains. All prices were quoted in $USD. There were plenty of these type places around the Da Nang / Hoi An area.

My wife wanted one of these as we have 5 sons and I do a pretty good impression of the Buddha
Was some interesting stuff here. I certainly didn't expect to see a Penguin!

Walked around here for about 45 minutes and managed to escape without spending one Dong !!

 

[craven morehead]

Next stop :
"The Marble Mountains are a cluster of five hills made from limestone and marble in Da Nang. It's also a well-known pilgrimage site with peaks, caves, tunnels and temples all just waiting to be discovered. Named after the elements metal, wood, water, fire and earth, Marble Mountains exist in a coastal area that is renowned for stone-cutting and sculpture about 9km south of Da Nang. The caves within the mountains hold many secrets including bullet holes from when troops used to spy on the US soldiers relaxing on My Khe Beach below and buildings standing within the caves and grottoes. There are also Buddhist sanctuaries and places of worship dotted across the mountains which are a much-visited spiritual site. You can even see a special circular cave here. It leads to the summit, where you can enjoy spectacular panoramic views. The villages that have sprung up at the base of the mountains specialise in marble sculpture, though they now astutely use marble from China rather than hacking away at the mountains that bring the visitors in."
I took the easy way up being an elevator and then came back down the stairs. The stairs were a tough gig and the knees were hurting on the way down some random photos :

 

[craven morehead]

Quite a lot to see up on the mountain :

Next into a cave

Let there be light says Mrs CM
Starting to head down the mountain

Looking back up at around the last third of the stairway. Very steep risers of varying heights and was quite a strain on my knees. Old age

Up top was reasonably cool in the shade with a slight breeze about. Worth a look !

 

[craven morehead]

Next up, considered to be Vietnam's most picturesque beach, well maybe not this small section, the white sandy 20-mile stretch of My Khe Beach was named China Beach by the American troops who visited during the Vietnam War for R&R. First stop was a local seafood market situated on the beach. One of our travelling group has a very low tolerance for the fishy kind of smells. Was funny well may be not for her as she near heaved! :
A little bit untidy at this end of the beach. Definitely a working area.

No shortage of fishing vessel or wayward tourists for that matter

More boats as we look towards Lady Buddha up on Son Tra Peninsula

A look at some of the local produce

These ubiquitous little round boats are apparently used to bring the catch to the beach because it's too shallow for the larger vessels. This one is in need of a reseal. They are essentially a big woven basket that is then coated/sealed on the inside with tar or pitch.

One that has been done recently as there was a pot of tar just out of shot.