16 Mar 2025
All in all, I’d say this tour was very average. We were met by our guide in Hoi A for our trip up to Da Nang. Our first scheduled stop was Marble Mountain, but before we arrived there, we were taken to a marble factory where a salesperson took us through all of the offerings. I’d have preferred this not been the very first stop. Marble Mountain itself was very cool. Amazing views all over, and the architecture and sculptures are beautiful. Lots of uneven steps…so be careful. Our next stop was Monkey Mountain and the giant lady Buddha statue. By this point, the winds had picked up to the point that our tour guide was blown into me at one point. We did not spend as much time there as we likely would have due to the weather. From there, we were taken to a “local restaurant” for dinner…it was not exactly what we were expecting. It was basically a street food vendor with a collapsible grill on the side of the street. We had rice pancakes, pork skewers, and beef wrapped in banana leaf. It was all good. The bathroom was a bit questionable. After that, it was the Night Market, which was very neat. Great assortment of vendors…both food and non-food. It was also very spacious, so I did not feel crowded, even though there were quite a few people. The last thing on the agenda was the show at the dragon bridge. At this point, we had 75 minutes to wait before the show, and considering the deteriorating weather conditions, we opted to be returned to the hotel. I am glad that we saw the things we saw on this tour…however, I feel that we could have accomplished this all on our own.