Mrs. ItchyFeet Do you remember that ridiculous cable car ride I took while in Phú Quốc, Việt Nam? Well, the same company built one in Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam. It has one of the longest aerial cable car rides in the entire world on the longest single track. You know how I love me some gondolas! There are a couple of problems: It’s pretty expensive because it also includes an amusement park (this one French-themed) and it’s fairly far away from Đà Nẵng, where I currently am. But I’m determined!
Getting there
I thought I would have to take a ride-share all the way to the cable car station, but I found a discounted evening Sun World Bà Nà Hills ticket that also includes a free shuttle ride to the station (and dinner!). That means I get to sleep in, but it also means I will be at the park during the busiest time. But by buying tickets on the Sun World app on my phone (same one as in Phú Quốc!), I saved another 8%. Go me! Now to plan everything to get the most bang for my buck.
After a quick $2 USD ride-share to the shuttle stop at a massive closed-down amusement park, which used to be called Asia Park and then Da Nang Wonders/Downtown (also owned by Sun World), that is actively being dismantled (is this the beginning of a horror movie?), I wander around trying to guess where the bus will pick up. Of course I’m super early because I’m me and it would be nice to be the first on the bus. More groups of people arrive speaking all kinds of different languages (Vietnamese, French, Korean, British, Russian, Mandarin) but no real line forms.
So when the bus arrives in a different location than where I thought, and everyone rushes to get on through the front and back entrances, I end up last. I’m not pushy enough! So there I am at the back of the bus and there are empty seats but people won’t let me sit down because they are saving the seats for family members who can’t get on the bus because it is full. WTF? There are loads of gestures and arguments with the driver trying to get the family members on while I just stand there looking at empty seats, getting frustrated. The driver convinces me to get off and wait for the next bus. Sigh.
This is not going well
Luckily, the second bus comes quickly, and I’m first on, so I get a really great seat up front. Which means I’m first off the bus and I head immediately to the longest aerial cable car in the world… which is closed for maintenance. What the actual F!?! Now I’m sad… and lost… and upon finally arriving at one of the shorter gondola rides… I’m last in a very-very long line. Sigh. Grumble. Grumble. Thirty minutes later…
The ride up is spectacular! There’s a river and mountains and vistas of the city way off in the distance. I hear the mountain can get socked in, so I’m really lucky to have all these amazing views. I’m riding with some French kids, and they get all excited as the overhead announcer reads off different French location names. The entire park is French themed after all. My Francophile friends will probably recognize some of the French replicas in my photos, but I only know the Louvre (and how to pronounce it!) from an art history class I took ages ago. The kids apologize for their excited Frenchness, and I laugh so hard at that. I’m oohing and ahhing and pointing at everything. It’s so high up!
After about 20 minutes, the next station comes into view. It’s the famous one with the Hands Bridge. I’m a bit disorganized now because I was going to see this last, but all my intensive planning has gone out the window with one closed cable car ride. It is a cool bridge, though. So many people taking selfies and videos! Again, I wonder who watches all those.
Off to the next station and up the mountain I go past a couple newly built French-themed castles. Wild! I’m unsure where to go at this point, so I just start walking downhill. Why not? There are gorgeous views of the mountains and gardens and statues and more castles. It’s very pretty but ridiculous all at the same time. So much like Disneyland. Where am I!?! At this point I can take a different aerial cable car back down to the starting station and ride back up again (which is exactly what I should have done!), or ride the funicular up the side of the mountain. Funicular!
Time for a drink, as I was given free beer tickets on the way up. There’s a brewery! …with an amazing view of the construction. Looks like Sun World is building more hotels or something, so more people can stay the night. Curious. I have free tickets to one of the rides at the park, but I would rather take another aerial cable car somewhere, so I start walking uphill to see if I can find the station… which is closed. So I continue to walk uphill until I’m at the highest point in the park with absolutely spectacular vistas. I overhear a gentleman tell a friend that he was here yesterday, and it was nothing but clouds. Just white everywhere with no views whatsoever. I got lucky today! Check these photos out:
Well, I’m getting hungry and the buffet opens early, so that’s where I head next. I’m bummed because I just missed an unscheduled cabaret show. I’ll have to wait for the scheduled one to start. After a chat with a server to make sure the stage in the middle of the building is the right one for the show, and she assures me that it is, I find a seat which has a good view of the stage. Later on, I realize that, I think, she meant the building was the right one for the show.
The buffet is actually pretty good with snails and Vietnamese salads and all kinds of fruit. I keep going back for more snails cooked in lemongrass because they are the best! It took me a sec to figure out how to get the delicious meat out of the shells using the ubiquitous toothpicks on the tables. Then I demonstrated for a neighbor and his wife, who were struggling. I see folks with entire plates loaded to the brim with only snails. That’s how you do it at a buffet!
So here’s the thing… I picked the table specifically because it has the best view of the stage for the cabaret show… but then the show doesn’t start. I can hear music, and I’m looking around trying to make out what’s going on. Finally, I find the show in full swing behind some curtains. Probably to keep the kids from watching. Luckily, I only missed five-minutes and the rest of the show was really fun.
Just before the show was supposed to start, my dining neighbors slid me a full beer all secret-like and disappeared. That is so nice, but I just can’t drink that, so I hand it off to a German guy who looks like he could use a beer. I don’t think he understood what I said, but gladly took the beer anyway. We’re all friends here!
Well, I think it’s time for another aerial cable car ride. So I walk all the way from one side of the park to the other, only to find that the cable car is closed for the night. Sigh. It’s now really weird as most of the lights are turned off in the park and there’s practically no one around. I feel like I’m trespassing. The stars are amazing, and all the night forest creatures are making all manner of noises. How bizarre is this!?!
The castles are lit up on the outside but closed, as are some of the bathrooms. This could get interesting. Plus, at this time of night, apparently the last open cable car station only runs once every 30-minutes, and I just missed it by five minutes. So after finding a bathroom, I wait in line for 20-minutes for the ride to open. The people-watching is pretty good though, as construction workers show up for their night shifts. I’m getting nervous because the shuttle bus back to Đà Nẵng is coming soon, and I would love to catch that so that I can go to bed.
It takes 30-minutes to get down the mountain (two different cable cars) and I have 30-minutes to catch the bus. Nothing to be done for it though. And let me tell you, if you ever get the chance to ride a gondola in the dark, do it! Total horror movie experience with the cable car in front of me descending into the clouds and completely disappearing as if it got swallowed by a dinosaur. All the while it’s silent except for the night sounds of tropical forest monsters… and me squeeing excitedly as the city lights suddenly appear in the distance. Wild, I tell you!
The instant the doors open at the bottom station, I’m off to find the bus. I’m bummed because this station is really pretty with lots of gardens and ponds, and I definitely spot frogs but don’t have time to stop and look closer. If that other cable car had been open, I would have had plenty of time to wander around, but that didn’t work out. Luckily, I quickly find the spot where the bus will pick me up. Unfortunately, there is no line and when the bus pulls up, all hell breaks loose as everyone tries to get on at once.
I’m not getting kicked off this one as it could be an hour before another one comes, so I elbow and push my way on. No joke. I legitimately pushed the guy in front of me to get me on! I was here first, and I’m not letting my Midwest nice get me left behind! There will be time tomorrow to be nice and make up for it. Those who didn’t find seats got kicked off the bus (like the game Musical Chairs!). The driver even took a photo of the bus to prove that they did not, in fact, let anyone stand for the journey. Immediately after which, workers climbed on and stood in the aisle for the brief trip to their parked cars.
Once back in Đà Nẵng and off the bus, the ride-share back to my hotel was fairly easy. There was one incident where my driver didn’t want to wait in line for the turning lane, so he just cut everyone off by driving in front of them seconds before the light turned green. In the States, the drivers waiting in line would be pissed, but in Việt Nam it’s totally fine. My driver honked to let everyone know he was cutting in, and off we went. It’s common to honk at every intersection and stop and turn, which makes the city a bit loud and lively. It reminds me of the wild driving in Rome, Italy. Always an adventure!
