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BLOGGY’S BACK - Denizen's of Danang

BLOGGY’S BACK   !

15 May 2015Wow…I just looked and realised that we have not blogged for a long, long time.
Since the last instalment the geese have grown up, flown away and come back for one more lots of  …errr…goslings.
Apologies good readers, for the hiatus. We just got caught up in …life.

Denizens   of    Danang

And now we are ’Denizens of DaNang’.
“Why ‘Denizen’?”you may ask. Well…we live here. We are not strictly citizens of the city, but…we live here. There are many dictionary definitions of ‘Denizen’…e.g. “a person, animal, or plant that lives or is found in a particular place”.
Or the more formal British definition: “a foreigner allowed certain rights in their adopted country”. Perhaps this is the best for me. I am British by birth and that brings with it lingering, habitual tendencies that affect my speech, grammar, humour, and a passion for HP Sauce. But I grew up in Australia, which accounts for my sense of humour, ability to cook, manners, love of the ocean and general outlook on life.
But now we live in DaNang. “Why DaNang?” you may ask. Well…hmmm…that’s a long story. Maybe if you come here some day and buy me a few ice-cold Bia Hoi (fresh Vietnamese draught beer) then I will tell you the full story. But for the moment, you can remember that I originally came here as a UN advisor working on government training projects… I met my wife about ten years ago… we got married… we have a son (Thien–now a wonderful six-and-a-half year old) and now we live in DaNang. We got sick of the noise and traffic and dirtiness of Hanoi – charming if you are a tourist and fond of noisy bustling cities, but it posed many ongoing challenges when raising an active little boy who loves the beach and the outdoors. We had some land here and we had intended to build something later, but circumstances changed and…..meeehhhhh…. like I said it is a long story. So now we all live in DaNang

“Where is DaNang?” you may ask. Well…it is in the centre of Vietnam. It was mostly a sleepy fishing village before the war. But it became a strategic base for American, Australian and South Vietnamese military during the war… and by 1972 it had the busiest airport in the world servicing all kinds of military aircraft. It was glorified in the US TV show ‘China Beach’ as a place where US and Australian troops had ‘R&R’ – Rest and Recreation. These days it is a booming city… small population (about 1 million)… and a centre for foreign investment , manufacturing and businesses. Thanks to its history, we also have a medium sized airport with a massive great runway right down the middle of the city…. Our ‘Main Street’ is still an airstrip!
But it is undeniably beautiful. The craggy limestone mountains to the west drop dramatically down to the low plateau… the flat city with its military grid layout and that bloody runway right down the middle…  then the snaking Han River crossed by DaNang’s many (famous) bridges… then a coastal strip that was once sand dunes, casuarinas and marshes(and helicopter bases) but now has some of the most expensive and luxurious dwellings in the
country and in some cases, in the world. The long, flat sandy beaches stretch to the north up to Son Tra Peninsula and then further up to Hai Van pass and on to the old imperial city Hue. To the south they run in a straight line down the coast to Cua Dai and the popular tourist town of Hoi An. To the east we gaze out across the blue ocean to the Cham Islands.
Yes, our city is very beautiful.
So now we live here and work here In DaNang. Thu is still going strong with Dragonfly Boutique… selling handbags and travel accessories online. We also have a new branch to the Dragonfly Trading family – Dragonfly SunStyle. We noticed that the sun is very hot here on the central coast and many women resort to bundling up in thick winter jackets, scarves and gloves – an enormous layer of heavy clothing just to protect from the sun. So now we also have a range of lightweight, fashionable sun protection (SP50++ - SP60++) clothing. And of course Dragonfly Travel is still creating custom-made bespoke holiday itineraries for our guests. You can click on the links for more  info as usual
So now we are back in the blogging game… sorry for the break. This is our simple blog and we will continue to share some of our stories, and recipes and ramblings about life here in DaNang…and life in general
Now we are the Denizens of DaNang …DoD

Here is a map for those of
you that like maps (like me!)

And here is a picture of HP Sauce for those of you who like it (like me!)

 
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Location: Da Nang, Da Nang, Vietnam

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