beep boop bánh mì
sharing first impressions of da nang + let's grab coffee ?!
Helloooo from a tranquil evening of watching the sun go down at my ongoing, rather dear airbnb, listening to jazz (still nearly always KMHD out of Portland, 24/7), getting ready to stir-fry a bunch of fresh veg, herbs, fried tofu from the lady on the corner, soaked vermicelli, minced garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chiles and red curry paste for dinner in my little kitchen – and perhaps the most satisfying of all - this past due sub’scrap is ready, set, check-mark.
Let’s get personal. Let’s get to Da Nang.
These are my first 10 impressions of Da Nang, Vietnam, and let me set the scene with the facts that led to them…
I jotted them down on Day 3. On my phone in “Keep”. Digital list-making, alongside with my shopping list.
It’s now Day 17. I’ve since extended my stay to 89 days – just tucked inside my 90 day e-visa. It feels odd to capitalize those Ds, and too casual go the other way.
Two weeks remain in this current rental. Bittersweet.
Will I return to Da Nang or hang out in Hoi An, where I move to later this month?
Once again, cue my current mantra: To be determined, and under-way…
I’m reflecting. I’m figuring things out. I remain grateful for the time, space, distance, and fruit.
Yeah, yeah, so it continues to scone. <3
Here’s what I absorbed that first, fateful week:
The chorus of bips, the beeps, the beep beep boop beep beep honk honk beep of the motorbikes, cars and trucks. The background symphony of the city. The rapid realization that *everyone* is wearing a helmet for obvious reasons, and the surprise of “Omg, traffic flows on the right again” after 3 months of life on the left.
blue skies and solo rider / february 28, 2025 Wondering where everyone was?! This was no Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi. The traffic flow was light vs my bigger city expectations….until I rode my bicycle through an elementary school letting out and became part of a wave of small children, parents, motorbikes, supplies and fabulous combinations of all of the above. I came out unscathed within moments. No worries. Dare I say, it’s largely been as chill as I’d hoped. And needed.
The reminder that addresses may totally not be as they appear on the digital map. The destination could be in an alley or the next one down, or across the street. It may have moved, it may never have been there, it may have a different name than the google maps translation.
Not so fond memory: If this was a decade prior in Hanoi before my translate app was live with a sim card, a certain roadside pho stall is about to give me a not-so-suspiciously chewy bite of actual meat and is not the whole-in-the-wall (literally) chay spot I saw listed on Happycow. Ah, memories. It happens. I paid. I moved on. I spit it out. I probably had an immediate bia.
And no matter what year it may be, I’m not putting on spy goggles so I get that the little map on my android phone will take me into alleyways as I cut through the city, sure, that’s normal. On the other hand, it’s A-OK to detour from an alley so overtaken by a gang of seemingly territorial orange cats that are –dare I say – so animated and fierce – that even I, a lifelong cat lady who recently was injected with a series of preventative rabies vaccines, will head east after attempting a photo and racing away.
roadside button repair + alterations - I have now visited twice - cue emoji / march 12, 2025 Dude, Vietnamese is an intimidating language! An understatement, with utter respect. I’m stuck on “Hello”, “Thank You” and “Yeah”, and quickly recognizing a growing number of menu terms (as one does as a veggie traveler). People speak English and hold up calculators or currency - it’s no problem to get by here in Da Nang.
And duh, while both tonal, Vietnamese is an entire world away from the proudly increasing smidge of Thai I’d finally absorbed and begun putting into daily, amusing use with the crew in Sangkhla. I’d learned what to say when jumping on a friend’s motorbike! Counting up to 10! Asking if someone spoke English, and acknowledging that I spoke “barely” any Thai. And a bit more I’ll stop faux-bragging about. : )
One A-ha moment with Vietnamese language that first week was the decade-later recognition that a short-lived and awesome vegetarian restaurant on NE 82nd in Portland’s name - if memory serves - was a take on “ngon quá”, a way of saying “very delicious”. It really was, and obvs, telling a restaurant you appreciate their food is one of the most important things to learn. Chào!
relevant : Vietnamese "chicken" rice + menu at Chay Hoa Sen = Ngon Quá ! More on the beeps + boops + vrooms! Listen, it’s not NYC where the honks make me scream inside and sometimes on the outside, because you’re suddenly comically cursing at each other, from car to cab to bike to street.
Here in Da Nang, it’s both more and far less chaotic than you may be picturing. It’s manageable. You can cross the street. Confidently. Keep going. Don’t stop. It’s almost beautiful in the way that traffic is so amorphous and in every direction and angle you can’t exactly anticipate. Just go with it.
plastic water life / march 14, 2025 On the acceptance of a plastic water bottle lifestyle.
Cue the flashbacks to those two years in a dry cabin, and a third year with running, albeit non-drinkable yellow water in Alaska.
So, there I go, rolling a giant water jug with a spout into my airbnb’s elevator, bracing my knees and back, and hoisting it onto the counter. Keep squeezing that lime and throwing in some fresh mint for a little relief. Washing the veg in the sink, and then with a good splash of that plastic water. Keep hydrated. Keep (sorta) recycling.
taking out my recycling / march 11, 2025 Hey, the sun’s been hiding. It’s been mostly overcast with what strikes me as vast expanses of unidentifiable clouds.
the view from my airbnb / february 26, 2025 Fortunately, the rain has mostly held off and the air quality index is currently “good” vs. burning season in much of Thailand.
‘Cause, real talk, I regretfully sent my sister home with my lightweight Columbia Sportswear rainjacket in a bout of lightening my luggage. Don’t worry, I’ve since hit a secondhand store for a retro, bright yellow windbreaker with a hood for less than $4 USD. You live and learn, and get thriftin’ or haggling.
one mere day of rain + plastic ponchos thus far / march 10, 2025 I totally think I can, and may, eat a bánh mì as much as possible. I’m going for it. Currently averaging every day-and-a-half right now. I shan’t brag about the economic delight to my formerly (?!) western wallet. It’s merry.
Let’s just say it’s one heck of a bang for less-than-a-buck and a thrill to eat on the go, which the long-ago New Yorker in me definitely digs.
banh mi chay gallery <3 Whoa, am I adoring the be-friendliness of the people in Da Nang.
Is that a word? As if I’d check. It simply fits, and that’s the descriptive and the feeling. The sharing of moments & smiles & stories - and not just of the Let’s-follow-each-other-on-the-socials or Whatsapp variety - and the Hey, we already posted your persoal photo on our Insta! Oh, snap.
I simply didn’t anticipate such a welcoming vibe from the get-go. Gosh. And while it threw me off initially with my own walls of vulnerability up, it quickly came to mean a lot. Again, what a chill city where the every-block cafes invite you to do exactly that: CHILL.
visiting An + Linh of Góc nhà Sala And lest I forget a big one. Seriously. A grand one. I’m talking about the currency: Vietnamese dong. For those unfamiliar, the prices are in the thousands. I take out MILLIONS at the ATM and feel bizarro-world. And I’m frugal!
Fortunately, ba da bum, vendors are familiar with English numbers that you then add all the zeros onto. It’s a shift in financial tracking mindset and I continue to utilize my daily budgeting app and XE currency exchange calculator. X 10. Ten thousand! Which is $0.39, btw. And a bit of produce at the market!!!! So da (n) aaaang grateful for that oft-surreality !
my first day’s “bit of produce” + fresh tofu from the nearby Chợ Phước Mỹ market / february 26, 2025
Have *you* been to Vietnam? What caught your immediate attention?
Hold up.
Speaking of….as this extended hiatus curiously continues, you can now BUY ME A COFFEE! I know, what a cute concept. I knoooow, I’m going there. The time has come.
So, if you’ve been amused and living vicariously through my ongoing “travel memoirs”, you can now support the scone archives, just a little bit.
If you’ve read between the lines, you know this is no long vacation, and your support means SOOOO MUCH. 💛
Which is really 2 or 3 coffees in this city right now - or 5 banh mi’s!
And omg, that would be swell.
References + Relevant Links:
Bánh Mì Chay Lê Hội - my “neighborhood” vegetarian banh mi stand
Góc nhà Sala [sweet cafe w/ vegan bánh mì chay]
the wifi password is “xincamon”, these scone archives March 10, 2025
Stay tuned as the eat / read / cope editions of these scone archives continue, for a look back at the simultanous sanity + delight of cooking while traveling, and what the routine of volunteering at a dog sanctuary and being walking distance to the community’s sole vegetarian restaurant did for both my heart and stomach. And at some point soon, some catharic neighborhood karaoke, because, VIETNAM. <3
More and more reasons for me to plan a trip there! Your adventures sound amazing :)
Love this. Jess! I am a travel-phobe for sure. But you're making it seem pretty delightful despite the less than delightful circumstances that started it all. Thanks for keeping us posted!