Day 3: Animals / exploring
In the way into town from Da Nang we finally saw the iconic Vietnam scenery we'd been hanging for: rice padis being worked by locals in straw pointy hats. Although bicycles were available to us, you have to be braver and surer than I on two wheels in traffic to actually try to transport yourself by this method. (Okay, it was far safer here than in Hanoi, especially once you got out of the old town. It could actually have been pleasant, and we could have seen far more. But then there's the idea of cycling on a full stomach -- and in Vietnam my stomach was never wanting.) A decent stroll out of town led us back to this idyllic scene. And water buffalo, carp, frogs, rats, birds, chatty locals, and plants that shrivel up when you touch them. It was awesome. Unfortunately, it was not the nicest day for it -- hence the grey skies and raincoats.