vinapu

some may have different ideas but I have habit of fixing expected tip before hand, if boy doesn't quote anything , I ask them outright " how much you want" . If they say ' up to you " , I tell them what I will give them. If they don't like my offer I usually say " I asked you already and you told me , up to me". That settles matter . Others may simply hand over money to boy at end of session , whatever they think is fair and that approach works too.

Marble Mountain, highest point and place of my winning bet one of temples in the caves angry dragon and cooling down city from above, bye, bye Da Nang, I'm on my way to Phu Quoc

few pictures to enliven the thread Da Nang railway station Campa Sculptures Museum My Son ruins beautifull mountain views from Ba Na hills and fake church in fake village ( rain outside was real)

Next few days I did mainly touristy stuff outside of city during days. Ba Na hills was my first destination, 550 000 dong , about 22$ by car , waiting included plus admission 1 000 000 dong. Complex is vast with multiple cable car lines offering I assume great views. There is famous , often photographed bridge supported by gigantic hands. They even have copy of French village complete with church which looks like church not only from outside but inside as well. Unfortunately I had bad luck . It was raining and fog was so dense that I could hardly see fingers on my hand ,forget those views. Still I enjoyed several rides, walked around , if only to get more wet although rain coat purchased for 50 000 was quite a help to stay at least partially dry. Surprise was , all that nasty weather was localized in the hills and city was dry when we arrived. Still about 5 hours spent well, At dusk I went for consolation to Nam Spa. I was told that guy there are more hunky and indeed three present all were. I was given option of choosing guy there. 75 minutes VIP treatment 1 500 000, ( 60$) . Not exactly cheap. This time promised body to body massage materialized with gusto, massage was again very good, clothes were shed in first few minutes. At end of session guy asked , if I have tip for him , to give it right in the room so I did. One thing I did not like was that I was left to shower alone which made bit difficult to get rid of all that oil . This was my second and last massage , or speaking more broadly , boy experience in Vietnam and while massages themselves were very good and professional, additional stuff was under executed to put it mildly and at prices they were charging not as good value for money as Bangkok massages are. But I’m glad I tried and certainly will again if travel to Da Nang again – highly likely as I liked the city vibe and have that Ba Na hills experience to repeat in better weather. Next day I visited or rather re-visited Champa ruins of My Son ( I was there in 2002 ) . I love ruins so it was highlight of my stay in Da Nang , weather cooperated today, heavy rain arrived exactly in the moment when I was getting back into my car. The same feast repeated in the afternoon which I devoted to exploring Marble Mountain in southern outskirts of Da Nang . I liked place a lot, temples , caves , quite a few climbs to get a views and it proven to be big ego booster for me. On top of highest point young Westerner told me he is impressed how well was doing climbing up in just plastic sandals and asked my age. When told he couldn’t believe so we made bet , 1000 dong ( 4 cents) and I prove it with my driving license. I collected banknote gladly. In the evening I went to Dragon Bridge to see Dragon breathing with fire and then splashing people with water. Spectacle is only Fri to Sun at 9p.m. Next morning funny thing at breakfast. I brought a soup to the table, left it there and returned to pick up more food and spoon. Upon return I see couple sitting at my table ( it was big one , sitting 6) and lady is eating my soup already !!!! WTF ? It turned up , she thought her husband was so nice and brought it for her and was even surprised how nice he indeed is. We had good laugh and become instant friends. In the early afternoon I took a car to Hoi An for 250 000 curious how I find it after 24 years since last time. Then it was charming little town, now I found it to be busy and noisy tourist trap . Walked though the old city, had 30 minutes river cruise , then some meal and was happy to go back to Da Nang. I know Ho An has many admirer, one of my friends even calls it “Quintessence of Asia” but, me, no , I’m not sold on it. Perhaps bkkmfj is right that I should spend night there to appreciate place fully. Like in all tourist infested places, I noticed tendence to overcharge. Both boat captain and taxi driver I took to drive me back to Da Nang started quotation at twice of final price I negotiated. All in, I enjoyed Da Nang a lot and can recommend city to everybody, I could stay few days more but my next stop is Phu Quoc island .

not intentional, I started feeling sleepy and decided to cut relation short for that reason

hope chicken with cashew nuts will be on the menu and to standard of Sophia's Kitchen

sign on the door , according to my spy still says they are looking for staff

Galia omnia es divida in partes tres

Not sure what you have against that short lived bar. I got conformation that Tuesday evening door remain shut. It could be a victim of war with Cambodia as due to absence of Cambodian there's certainly shortage talent available.

better not

no, Vassa was in next short alley, one that connects soi where ABomb is with one where XBoys and Dreamboys are. Vassa may be gone for half generation but their faded sign was still there when I passed by last year

correction , it was Monday evening when bar was discovered to be closed. My spy offered to do second check , just in case , next evening. but glory of Kiwi306 and me being their first customers will shine eternally

Amen from Jupiter ? Glad to hear , as usual , you did not waste any time while there. It's how vacation should be

We like North Korea and Phonyang scene better ?

Da Nang, Vietnam, 5 nights and some boy business I had afternoon flight there from Singapore and having window seat I could see city from above on approach. It pretty unique, while most cites are happy to have mountains in the background, or beach or great river, Da Nang has all three. And as a bonus, it’s airport is right I the city. I doubt it’s more than 1 hr walk from terminal to the beach, if that much. That did not prevent taxi driver from offering me “promotional” fare to my hotel of 20 $. Short’ no, I will walk there” resulted in reduction to 10$. I just kept walking and easily found guy or rather guy found me offering ride for 7 $,. Still too much but I accepted it and at hotel got 25000 dong change from my 200 000 dong bill. 1$ = 26000 at time of my stay so we are dealing with lots of zeros and it needs a bit of mental adjusting as at first sight everything seems to be soooo expensive until one realizes that 30000 for sizable portion of ice cream is only 1.15 $. In short, Vietnam is very budget friendly with bonus on one feeling like Bezos or Musk dealing with those millions. My hotel was close to a beach, perhaps 200 m walk the most but during my stay sea was very choppy and I did not see many people wading into water. Visited night market by the Dragon Bridge to eat something and exchange money , 100USD produced 2 601 000 dong, now we are talking thought I. Never inclined to waste time I took circular way back to hotel and in process located Hero spa offering man to man massage, place recommended by BKKMFJ who spent few moths in the city. Steps from there was restaurant where I had a meal and while checking their trip offers it turned out that owner has a car and can be hired for trips to Ba Na hills , Hoi An and Champa ruins in My Son, to name few places I was intended to visit. We exchanged WhatApp as I was not sure about my itinerary, primarily because I want to go to Hue but by train only.. Next morning horror – I couldn’t find my glasses. After several minutes finally found them – inside pillow. How they landed there it’s mystery , all I know that I was checking forum or Grindr on my phone while in the bed already and took glasses off. Trip to railway station crossed Hue idea out – no seats on the train in next 3 days. On my way back visited Champa Sculpture Museum , very interesting but not overwhelming. In late afternoon walk to Hero for that man to man massage. Owner recommended Royal Treatment , 1.5 hr course for 1 500 000, not exactly cheap (60$). I had high expectancies for that price, partially realized i.e massage itself was super good. When comes to afters, not much , promised body to body did not materialize. Although guy was naked throughout the session and easily accessible what was missing was spark and chemistry between us. Fault could be mine – I did not get a choice of boy and one assigned was not my type . Oh well, chalked off to experience and well energized- remember massage was great I walked to find another spa recommended by bkkmfj, Nam spa. Localized it with help of Google Maps but did not go in. Through open door I could see hunky guy in the lobby so there’ some hope thought I . To be continued…..