Have you been to Hoi An?
On our maiden trip to Danang, we took a day tour to Marble Mountain and Hoi An with klook. Before the trip, we were not quite sure what to expect. All we knew was that Marble Mountain was named because it was made up of Marble while Hoi An is a UNESCO Heritage site famed for it's well preserved old town made of quaint yellow buildings.
Marble Mountain
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| Entrance |
Our tour started in the late afternoon at about 3.30 pm. As we were living at A La Carte Hotel on My Khe Beach, it was considered to be at the City Center. The mini-bus picked us up directly before picking the rest of the group. There were a total of 14 of us in the group which in our opinion was just right for a group tour.
Ling Ung Pagoda
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| Ling Ung Pagoda |
The first stop was Marble Mountain located just 9 km from Danang. The Marble Mountains are a cluster of five hills made of Marble in Danang. The hills are named after the elements metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The mountain we are exploring would be Thuy Son (Water). It is the only mountain accessible to tourist.
Upon reaching our destination, it was 156 steps up to the summit. You have the option of taking the lift up for about S$1 one way, but you would miss most of the attractions if you do so.
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| Temple |
Our first stop was the Ling Ung Pagoda. There are 3 places in Danang known as Ling Ung Pagoda with the most famous one housing the large Lady Buddha. We initially mistook this for the Lady Buddha stop until our English Speaking Guide enlighten us.
Tang Cong Cave
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| Entrance to cave |
Behind the Pagoda is the Tang Cong Cave.
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| Buddha |
The cave itself is not very big. There you can explore cravings of Buddhas within the caves.
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| Cave Buddha |
There is a bigger cave - Huyen Khong Cave at Water Mountains. Our guide told us it will take at least half a day to explore the whole mountain and would not be possible to do so during this tour. Guess we would save if for our next trip back.
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| Cave Buddha |
Along the path, you could see several marble structures that were presumably made from the marble from the mountains.
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| Marble Statues |
We were supposed to visit the Tam Thai Pagoda, but that was omitted from our tour.
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Dragons!
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Our tour ended with a visit to Xa Lai Tower. It is said that if you walk 3 rounds around the tower, you would be blessed with good fortune!
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| Xa Lai Tower |
We were treated with a view of the Five Mountains at the end of the path to Xa Lai Tower.
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| Spot the 5 mountains |
That is also the entrance to the Lift. For the mobility challenged folks, we do suggest taking the lift down at this point.
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Life up Thuy Son
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Heading up the steps was relatively easy. However, the way down could be a little daunting due to its steep incline.
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| Steps on Marble Mountain |
There are shops at the base of the mountain. However, since we are on a schedule, we did not have time to browse.
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| Mountain Base |
If you are planning a trip on your own. You might consider the taking the Danang Custom tour instead. The tour provides you with a basic English speaking driver to bring you around and you would have your own time to explore on your own.
Book your Custom Tour here.
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| Thuy Son Map |
Marble Shop
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| Shopping time? |
Our next stop according to our itinerary would be the Non Nuoc Craving Village, a local craft village to watch skilful cravers. Instead, we made a stop at a Marble shop. The cravings there are attractive but we could not imagine hauling a 1000 pound marble lion statue through the customs. Thankfully, the stop lasted only 30 mins.
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| Marble shop |
Hoi An
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| Blue Gecko |
The best part of the trip was save for the last. Our next stop was Hoi An. We spend a total of 2.5 hours here inclusive of dinner and time for some free and easy exploration.
Dinner
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| Local Food |
Dinner was an 8-course Vietnamese dishes in a restaurant called Hoi A Blue Gecko. It was not the best food we tasted in Danang, but it did keep us filled. The meal was covered in the tour, thus making it worth the price.
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| 8-course meal |
After dinner, it was time to explore Hoi An.
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| Let's explore! |
The first thing that struck was was the number of lanterns lining the streets. It was a pretty sight as we stroll along the street exploring the shops.
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| Lanterns Hoi An |
Hoi An old town is split into 2 separate parts by the Thu Bon River. On one side it houses mostly retail shops while the other side houses restaurants and the night market.
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Thu Bon River
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We crossed the river by the bridge to get to the night market. If you want, you could do the tourist thing and take a boat across!
Night Market
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| Hoi An Night Market |
The night market was bustling filled with shops selling street food and souvenirs.
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| Night Market |
Street Food
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| Dragon breath ice cream |
We simply could not resist the street food.
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| Street Hawker |
Tip: Do not eat too full during dinner and save some space on the stomach for these. Food cost about 35000 VND (S$2) depending on what you are getting.
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| Street Food |
If time permits, you might even want to eat outdoors next to the river.
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| Outdoor Dining. |
One of our main aim in Hoi An was to get a silk lantern for Chinese New Year decoration. The lanterns are selling at 180 000 VND (S$10) and below. It's a good deal given that similar size lanterns cost 5 times as much when purchasing in Singapore.
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| Lanterns |
There are other unique souvenirs you can get from the night market too. Prices are quite reasonable to the extent that you do not need to bargain hard to get a good deal.
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| Souvenirs |
Other than the night markets, there are also some interesting shops around Hoi An. We heard the tailors are fantastic there but due to time limitation, we could not make any clothes.
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| Retail Shops |
After shopping, you could pop into one of these cafes for a quick drink too.
For us, we prefer to walk around to admire the lanterns hanging over our heads.
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| Lanterns Hoi An |
Do remember to take a photo of the yellow buildings and the old Japanese Covered Bridge built in 1719 that made Hoi An famous!
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| Hoi An Japanese Bridge |
The tour ended at about 830pm. The whole duration of the tour took us 5 hours. At $37 per pax. it was a good deal with an English Speaking guide and dinner thrown in.
If this is your first time in Danang. We highly recommend taking this tour. Just book and turn up in this fuss-free tour that would give you a taste of Marble Mountains and Hoi An.
You can book the
Klook Marble Mountain and Hoi An Day Tour from Danang here
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| Look up! |
You could check out
our itinerary in Danang
Disclosure
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