A Dragon Bridge Breathing Out Fire & Water, Da Nang, Vietnam - An Awesome Experience !

Before arriving to Da Nang, Vietnam, I heard of the Dragon Bridge and this was one thing I wanted to see in this city. For the first couple of days, we stayed on an ocean front hotel but we passed by this bridge a couple of times during the day.

. The Dragon Bridge, connecting Da Nang with the city centre to its oceanfront part of the city, is a spectacular bridge structure shaped like a Dragon with its head and the tail made out of steel. Not only is this Dragon Bridge functional connecting residents from both sides of the city, but it also entertains its residents with a weekly weekend show at 9 p.m. with the dragon head spitting out water and breathing fire. I could not believe it when I saw it on Youtube and was determined to see this show in person.

From our downtown hotel, we were able to walk to this famous local bridge within 15 minutes. It was quite a sight at night when the lights were turned on illuminating this magificent bridge which could be seen from quite a distance.

As we reached the bridge around 8:30p.m., people had already started gathering on it. Some were standing, while others were sitting down on the curb waiting patiently. There were boatloads of people below the bridge as well. Residents, tourists, kids and families alike were out waiting for this special show. At around 5- 10 minutes before 9pm., we saw a gentlman entering a samll room right below the dragon head structure. Then a few minutes later, the anticipated show started.

All the traffic from both sides of the bridge stopped for this show. Motorists were halted. First the Dragon spilled out water from its mouth for a quite a distance spraying the water onto spectators standing a little too close to the Dragon's mouth. But they were delighted at getting soaked by the Dragon's sprays.

Then it came the fire straight out from the mouth of the Dragon! It breathed out fires, not just once, but a few times delighting the crowds! I couldn't believe my eyes as real fires breathing out of a gigantic metal Dragon right on the bridge in front of hundreds of people!

We were as excited as small children watching this fantastic free Dragon/ fire show! It was one of the highlights of our trip and we totally were awed by it! This is a must see while anyone visiting Da Nang, Vietnam!

Moments later, there was a downpour of tropical rain right after the fire breathing show. People left the bridge in an orderly fashion and took shelter underneath the bridge. We bought a couple of umbrellas from a street vendor and visited the night market below the Dragon Bridge.

The night market had numerous stalls selling clothes, crafts and all sorts of items. We went and sat down and enjoyed some Vietnamese street food. It was an exciting day for us! RT. Da Nang, Vietnam 2026

Enjoying the Beaches in Dan Nang, Vietnam

Before coming to Vietnam, we knew very little about this country, home to about 100 million people in Asia. I was at university when the Vietnam war was taking place and protests were happening on American campuses. Often we heard about the wars and the American bombings of Asian countries. I was tired of those war news therefore didn't pay much attention to the current events then. Our church in Toronto was involved in sponsoring a Vietnamese boat refugee family and we did our part and contributed to the fund. After that we have had little to do with Vietnamese in Canada.

After landing in Da Nang, I am learning much about this beautiful country. Geogrpaically, Italy shapes like a boot, but the country of Vietnam is shaped like the letter S, with a coast line of over 3000 km! Therefore, everywhere we went in Vietnam, we saw beaches everywhere, very fine beaches! In fact, the entire country is made up of beaches!

The first evening we arrived to Da Nang, we went out to explore the area. Coming from Canada in the middle of winter with temperatures hovering at minus 10 - 25 degree, we felt so nice and warm walking by the beach.

It was well past 9.p.m. but people were still out there enjoying the fine weather, sipping soft drinks by the oceanfront. The drinks were not expensive and there were no fancy waiting staff serving us and expecting a 15-25% tips like those in North America. We ordered our drinks, lounged on the cosy comfortable beanbags listening to the gentle pounding sounds of the waves. It was quiet, calming and peaceful.

It was magical as our souls were being soothed by mother nature; we could have sat by the ocean all night! That was our first impression of the beaches in Da Nang, clean, safe ( no drunks wandering around and yelling insanity at people), fantastic, inviting and not crazily busy! Looking forward to enjoying the beautiful beaches in Vietnam! RT, Dan Nang, Vietnam 2026

Getting the Important Things Done Upon Our Arrival in Da Nang, Vitenam - Day 1

Day 1 Our first impression when we arrived at the Da Nang Airport was efficiency and order. There vwas no chaos, no people running around not knowing what to do. Everybody was lining up single file towards the Immigration Exit. People were directed right away to where they were supposed to go.

We had some problems with our E visa as there was some confusion between the 0 and the O entered on my husband's passport. He entered 0 insead of O, therefore the computer rejected his E visa when we were trying to board the plane in Toronto. However, after a lot of explanation and help from the airline, they eventually allowed us to fly.

  But as soon as we alighted from the plane at the Vietnam Airport, an Immigration Officer was waiting for us directing us to the Customs Office where they questioned us about our E visa problem. After they were satisfied with our explanation, they instructed my husband to reapply for a new visa. Therefore there was no holding up of other passengers at the airport. My husband had to pay another US$ 30.00 for a new visa and was granted one within 20 minutes, very efficient indeed.

 The second thing we did was getting a SIM card at the airport. For US$ I0, we got our SIM card within 10 minutes. Done! We have data for the duration of our visit in Vietnam! The third thing we did was getting some cash in Vietnamese currency. An ATM machine outside the airport allowed us to do that and we got some VND right away, no problem.

The 4th thing was charging our cell phones. There was a free charging station outside the airport and we could power up our cell free of charge! With our cell phone powered up and a SIM card loaded, we were able to order a Grab taxi using our cell phone. The Grab taxi came within minutes taking us to our first hotel in Da Nang!

These essential services provided to tourists visiting Vietnam upon our arrival to this country made our first visit to Vietnam much easier! Two thumbs up for Vietnam!

  RT, Da Nang Airport

  Da Nang, Vietnam, 2026

Applying for a Tourist E Visa for Vietnam - Not a Smooth Process

I was not interested to visit Vietnam until J. suggested to us as our destination for this winter vacation. Since it was easy getting our E visa for Cambodia, we thought the process for getting one for Vietnam would be more or less similar. How wrong were we! The prosess was much more complicated than we thought. First, we went online to complete the e visa application on our computer, but simple data such as our birthday was rejected for no reason at all. I really hate it whenever we are asked to apply things online but the software hjas bugs in it and doesn't work well at all. We kept trying and with the same rejection coming up for no reason at all!!! After trying a few times, we were frustrated. Then we thought we would try the online application on our cell phone. Viola! My husband was able to enter our data much more easily this time. However, a couple of days later, we received an email form the Vietnamese Immigration Department informing us that there was some incorrect personal information recorded on my husband's application. He had to redo it which he did and paid another U.S. 25.00 for it. However, I didn't receive any notification to inform me about my application which left me wondering what was happening to mine. Between three to five days after our applications, we received our E visa for Vietnam! We booked our flight tickets and met up with J. in Hong Kong. Getting our E visa for Vietnam wan't as easy as we thought but we look forward to our family holiday in Vietnam! RT, Hong Kong, 2026

Sweet Stay, Phnom Penh - The Best Homestay We Have Ever Had Anywhere!

After our training sessions with the teachers at a local highschool in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, we checked out of the hotel and into another one located in a different district for the remainder of our stay in this city. Our second accommodation was called the Sweet Stay Homestay, a place which was closer to the new Techo International Airport. Unilke all the other B&B places where we had problems finding helping for checking in, this time we had little difficulty finding and checking into the Sweet Stay Homestay. From our past experiences, there usually was no one receiving us at the Air B&B, but Sweet Stay was different.

As soon as our taxi stopped not far from the homestay, a nice lady came out immediately to the street to receive us. After taking our lugguage to our room, she came right back to the living/ dining area and welcome us with some tea and a plate of fresh cut fruits! What a nice pleasant surprise and we felt welcome upon our arrival!

  Located on the second floor, our room was spacious, clean and nicely furnished; it came with a balcony as well as a private bathroom. while the living/ dining area was on the ground floor. Designed to provide guests with a space for dining and relaxation, the living/ dining area has been furnished with a few sets of comfortable sofas and chairs. Guests could choose to socialize with other guests on the big couches or could sit by themselves in the corner chairs should they prefer to do so.

We could order our drinks from the bar. The place was cosy, warm and inviting. We enjoyed our meals in the dining area as well as hanging out and conversing with other guests. We met a couple of other guests from Europe and we had some interesting conversations.

  We stayed at the Sweet Stay for three nights and each day, either the staff or the host did something nice for us or served us some delicious food that we didn't even order.

We simply loved the hospitality and warm welcome we have experienced at this lovely homestay! Our breakfast was not included since the price for each night of stay was already low. With a kitchen staff serving dishes made to order, the food was always fresh. We could choose local, western or Asian dishes from the menu. The lady who prepared the dishes was amazing!! We could tell that she cooked with her heart as each dish was a 5 star experience for us! Just for the food alone, we will definitely come back to this cozy comfortable homestay!

The owner of the Sweet Stay Homestay also provided transportation service to his guests. We booked him to take us in his vehicle to see some attractions in Phnom Penh on the second last day. We were not disappointed!

I would give this homestay 10/ 10!

  RT, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2026

A Hotel Review in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Though I have been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, numerous times over the years, I have never stayed in a hotel until this time. Due to the lack of space in our missionary friend's condo, we needed to stay in a couple of hotels while we were visitng the city.

For our first hotel, we stayed where our team members were staying in order to make transportation and meeting up with our team easier. We stayed at the Indra Hotel. The price was a bit on the high side according to Cambodian standard. The location - excellent as it is conveniently located with many shops not too far away.

Therefore, when we had some problems with our computers and cell phone, it was easy for us to go to repair shops close by and had our problems resolved. The room was very spacious! In fact, this was the biggest room we have ever stayed at any hotel.

Our room also came with a good size balcony furnished with fine wooden chairs and tables.

The best part of the hotel was its cozy dining room and the outdoor patio. Since we were still finalizing our workshop presentation material, the dining room was a comfortable place for us to work during the day.

On the day we booked this hotel, it also included breakfast which we found was good as everything was presented beautifully! Unfortunately, the weather was a bit too cold for us to enjoy the hotel's outdoor swimming pool. We went to the pool ready to swim but it was a bit too chily for a dip.

Overall, I would give it an 8/ 10 for the Indra Hotel. RT, Phnom Penh, CambodiaAAA

Techo International Airport - The Pride and Cambodia's Technological Achievement!

After our teacher training events and a couple of church presentations on two Sundays, we were finally abe to relax and do a bit of tourist stuffs. The first thing we did was moving out of the hotel we have stayed for the past week and transferred to a different hotel located closer to the Techo International Airprot - the new airport recently opened.

It is about 25 km south of Phnom Penh. The traffic in Phnom Penh has not improved since we were here more than a decade ago. In fact, it has gotten worse since there are now more cars, motorcycles and other vehicles on the roads but without the addition of new highways and roads. Fearing that we might miss our flight leaving Cambodia a couple of days later, this move made us feel better.

The Techo International Airport is named in honour of Techo Moha Ponn, a legendary 15th century Cambodian king known for his construction ofcanals and infrastructure. It is built on a massive 26,00 hectacres, or about 10 square miles. This makes its land area three times larger than Singapore's Changi Airprot and one of the largest airport sites in the world by surfae area.

The airport's architecture is inspired by a "Floatung Krama" - the traditional Cambodian scarf the sweeping, wing like roof is designed to symbolize warmth, welcome and nationl identity This projct is a massive investment estimated at $1.5 billion for the first phrase, a joint venture between the Cambodian government and a Cambodian -owned conglomerate

The Techo International Airport is not just an airport but a ,onumental national project reflecting Cambodia's economic aspirations and technological achievement! We are glad to see the newly built magnificent airport and cheer for Cambodia's achievement! RT, Cambodia