Arriving in Danang

I rise a little after seven. And head on down for brekkie. A bacon omelette and fruit. No pic, sorry. It is very nice, mind. Though the bacon is rather chewy.

Not too much of a rush. My flight to Danang is at noon. A taxi has me there a couple of hours before. And my pushy-in status has my bag checked and my fat arse airside in under 15 minutes.

No lounge, sadly. Instead, I get myself a beer in a small restaurant right next to my gate. It's 40K (1.60 euros) for a 33 cl can. Which isn't too bad for airside.

I’m still trying to catch up with Private Eye. In the new issue, Liz Truss is still PM. I reckon she’s there for the long term. How could an intellect as great as hers fail?

The flight isn't much over an hour. All we get is a bottle of water. It’s up, down and off. I’m fine with that.

Another taxi soon has me at the hotel. Once checked in, I send Mikey a message. He comes over to my room. With a bottle of cheap local rum.

“Fancy a shot?” he asks, waggling the bottle temptingly in front of my nose.

Who am I to turn down booze? After I’ve had a couple of shots, Mikey tells me:

“It’s three years out of date. Should be OK, though.”

Now I know why he’s being so generous with it. And not drinking any himself. Rum can’t go off, can it? What’s the worst that could happen?

Warmed by the hopefully safe rum, it’s time for some scran. I’ve only had breakfast and need my belly filling. I order steamed dim sum. Which are rather nice. Four for 40K.

“You get one more fried dim sum for the same price.” Mikey remarks. “It makes no sense.” He has a point.

We go to the beach for an hour. Lots of locals there as it's late afternoon and getting cooler. We have a can each. It’s nothing special, obviously. More about the moment than the beer itself.

After the sun drops, we’re off. On the way back to the hotel I pick up some drinks: soju, water and cola. That should keep me going through the night.

We start the evening at Tom's Bar for the last half hour of happy hour. I get down three cocktails in that time. What a hero I am.

Next is Only Lounge on the riverfront. Where there's a Russian barmaid. Whom Mikey met yesterday. And shared some drinks with back at the hotel.

“She’s the one who noticed that the rum was out of date.”

That’s nice to know.

I order a whisky sour. While Mikey has a cider. I don’t fancy a rum-based cocktail for some reason.

It’s not very busy and we chat with the Russian lass a bit. While we watch the odd cockroach run past. Evidently, they’re fleeing from next door. Right. I totally believe that.

Then it's on to a bar just a few doors along. Bamboo 2 Bar. Where West Ham v Leeds on the telly. Wasn’t that a few days ago?

There are a few interesting characters hanging around. I’ll say no more.

Mikey is on Bia Saigon. Margaritas for me. I’m getting a taste for cocktails. If there isn’t any interesting beer to drink. And industrial beers vaguely in the Pilsner style don’t really grab my attention.

We get talking to the owner and her Australian boyfriend. He’s from Melbourne and we chat about Carlton, where I used to live. And other Australian-themed stuff.

When they close at around 1 AM, the owner asks us to continue on with them. And the rest of the staff. It would be impolite to refuse. I’m all pumped up with cocktails and very polite.

We go to a very Vietnamese place. It’s little more than a roof with a kitchen at the back. And the tiny chairs and tables that make you feel like you’re back at primary school. Except as a full-sized adult.

Me and Mikey have Tiger beer and I have some food. All sorts of stuff. Popadom-like things, clams, fish, hot pot. It’s all very good. And I’m sure very authentic. Just a shame that it’s so late.

And I’m so tired. Or “tired” as Dolores would say. “You’re drunk again, Ronald.”

“No, I’m just tired.”

“Right. ‘tired’.”

“Yes. Exactly. Why else would my legs have gone wobbly?”

Soon it’s 3 AM and we're flagging. We have to get a taxi to our beds. I never stay out this late any more. I rarely make it past midnight, even on my hols.

It’s so late and I’m so knacked, I don’t even glance at Mr Ardmore before crawling into my wonderfully cool bed.



Tom's Bar & Grill
83C Đ. Ng. Thì Sĩ,
Bắc Mỹ An,
Ngũ Hành Sơn,
Đà Nẵng 50507
https://tomsbardanang.com/


Only Lounge Pub
212 Bạch Đằng,
Phước Ninh,
Hải Châu,
Đà Nẵng 550000.
https://onlypub.top/


Bamboo 2 Bar
216 Bạch Đằng,
Phước Ninh,
Hải Châu,
Đà Nẵng 550000.


Quán Chị Ba
Đường 30 Tháng 4,
Phường Khuê Trung,
Quận Hải Châu,
Thành Phố Đà Nẵng.