A Gloomy First Day in DaNang
View out of the Fantastic Hostel Danang – City Center Location
Last night, I was feeling tired, a bit homesick, and unenthused about Vietnam. Today, the former two feelings have largely dissipated but I still am not feeling the love for DaNang.
I’m currently staying in the Funtastic Hostel within the city in a private room. I found it through a blog that really talked up the hostel and it’s super fast Wifi, which was a big selling point after the inconsistent WiFi where I stayed in Siem Reap.
The hostel itself is perfect. I have a bed, air-con, hot shower, a little fridge that I won’t use, and the WiFi does kick ass (watched Netflix last night!) The location, for me, is not.
You can, as advertised, walk to the Riverfront, where there are a number of bars, restaurants, the co-working space I went to today (the HUB), but it’s not a particularly pleasant walk.
Same, same.
Standing Out…
I’m pretty not-Asian looking, aka white, and so there has been no chance of fooling anyone into thinking that I’m a local or even regional at any point in this trip. Period. People notice me and I can feel them mentally note “not from around here.” It’s an interesting feeling but until today it hasn’t been negative at all.
To the contrary, there have been situations where I think people have helped me because I stood out like the older gentleman who through gestures helped me cross the road on my first day in Bangkok. THANK YOU!
…Not in a Good Way
On my walk to the co-working space today, a little over a mile, I was the only remotely white or even non-Asian person for 98% of the walk. That part is NBD (no big deal), that certainly happened a number of times in Bangkok. BUT for the first time it felt like a really negative thing.
I felt uncomfortable and vulnerable in a way that made me think that I would probably take a cab back (not usually my thing for a 1 mile-ish walk). The basis for feelings like this can be difficult to articulate because it’s more of a “sense” based on a lot of little things, like facial expressions or movement of others, that we process subconsciously.
Did I at any point feel like I was truly in danger of being beat-up or anything egregious? No. Did I feel like I should watch my bag and generally proceed with caution? Yes.
Alley I walked down to get places. Blurry because I didn’t want to be flashing my phone.
I was glad that I was carrying my laptop in a non-descript drawstring backpack that I’ve been using as a cross-body bag (super sexy) and that I only had $30 on me. I only took my cell phone out of my bag a few times to double-check and then memorize street names for directions. I wished that I was wearing more non-descript clothing like jeans and a black t-shirt instead of white shorts and a blue tank top.
Getting Comfortable…
Once I got towards the Riverfront, I felt more at ease though not necessarily more welcome. The restaurants were clearly geared towards tourists and foreigners advertising items like “Pizza” and disproportionately higher prices than other places. These kinds of tourist trap areas aren’t usually what you seek out but yesterday, it was a welcome relief because it signaled that I was likely in a safe area.
I encountered by first two friendly faces in that area as well. An older man who laughed with/at me when I almost tripped and the cashier at a coffee shop I stopped in because 10AM seemed inappropriately early for the beer I was craving.
My stress was further relived when I finally found the HUB co-working space where I was greeted by Lin (spelling), a friendly gentleman, who got me set up at a desk with 3 hours of working time. This was the first one I’ve been to where you could pay hourly. I liked that.
The most space I’ve had at a co-working space.
…But Not Enthused
After working, I ate a late lunch where I asked a Brit (a guess based on accent) about what to do in Danang. He was visiting from Hanoi and his response was, in so many words, “nothing really.” Great.
Semi-depressing solo-dinner at the hostel. Food from bakery around the corner was actually quite tasty. Like a butter pastry with meat in it.
I ended up walking back to the hostel and it was fine, though still not a particularly fun or relaxing walk. I got dinner before dark, on purpose, and wrapped up some work at the hostel with a quick chat break.
I have one more night in the city section of Da Nang and then am going to relocate to the beach. I’m optimistic that there will be a turn-around for DaNang!