Saturday, November 8, 2014

Hai Van Pass and Lang Co Beach- Two Attractions in Between Da Nang to Hue

We spent 5 days in central Vietnam, visiting Hue, Danang, My Son and Hoi An. Reached Danang International Airport around 1:30 pm local time, we started our trip from the airport to Hue around 1:45 pm.

The trip from Danang International Airport to our hotel in Hue was expected to be 3 hours,  but the journey took us 4 hours 30 minutes. The reasons- we chose to use Hai Van Pass (instead of the underground tunnel), stopped at Lang Co Beach, and of course partly because of the terrible road condition from Lang Co to Hue.

Taking Hai Van Pass means putting extra 30 km to our trip, adding 60 minutes on the road, and paying more for the transportation (extra USD 7 - 10). What is so special about Hai Van Pass? The scenery. For us, we have seen many breathtaking views along the road snaking through the highlands, such as Mount Kinabalu, Cameron Highlands, and the highlands in Bali. But Hai Van Pass promises more with lushing green hills on one side while the blue sea with clear sky on the other side. When both combined, it becomes one of the most spectacular nature view in Vietnam.

Many have commented that Hai Van Pass is a must visit place in central Vietnam. We can't be more agree with them. Yes, we have to spend more time and money, and perhaps a little bit of travel sickness because of the winding road, but the view itself worth all the efforts. 

On the highest point of the pass stands the relic of "Hai-Yun" guard tower (海云关). "Hai-Yun" means sea and cloud in Mandarin. The guard tower was built in 1826 by Minh Mang, Emperor of Hue. Standing 470 m above sea level, the emperor was so proud of the tower that it was given the name of "the strongest stronghold under the sky" (天下第一雄关). During the Vietnam war in 1960s, bunkers were built along the strategic points along the pass to safeguard the South from the North. The access to Hai-Yun Tower and bunkers was free during our visit. 

We took around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach the highest point of the Hai Van Pass. We roamed around the area, looking at the badly damaged towers and long abandoned concrete bunkers. Then we took a rest while enjoying the great view around the area. We departed to Lang Co Beach after staying for 1 hour.

There were several shops beside the road selling food, drinks, and souvenirs. We found that the prices offered were high. A can of soft drink was sold with USD 1 while a small cup of coffee was USD 1 as well. Anyway, we took two soft drinks and a small cup of coffee there.

Hai Van Pass is the old road that connects Danang and Hue. Hill range is getting clearer when we travel closer to the pass.

The condition of the road was good thorough the pass. Although it was quite windy, but the slow driving speed saved the journey and gave us enough time to enjoy the scenery around the area.

We can see Danang City at several points.

This photo showed how the road was built along the hills. Lang Co Beach can be seen far behind.

The white beach and the blue water of Lang Co from the highest point of Hai Van Pass.

Photo taken beside a concrete bunker with Ling Shing's mom.

The bunker is small. We are not quite sure how the American soldier (assume to be twice the size of us) hide inside it, guarding the area whole day long.

Tourists amassed near the damaged Hai-Yun tower and bunkers (grey structures on the left). This photo was taken from the shops where we sat around a small table and enjoyed drinking our soft drinks and coffee.

Hai-Yun Tower stands on the high ground of the pass (upper left), with stunning view through the doorway of the guard tower (upper right). Concrete bunkers can be seen scatter around the area (lower left). Shops on the other side of the road selling food, beverages, and souvenirs, with a big signage of "Thua Thien Hue" or "The Province of Hue" standing in between the border of Hue and Danang.

 Picturesque view on our way down from Hai Van down to Lang Co Beach.

We have definitely missed Lang Co Beach if the place was not being highlighted by Ms. Anna from Holiday Diamond Hotel. We stepped our feet on the beach 45 minutes after we left the rest point at Hai Van Pass. The beauty of the beach was indisputable. Although there were a few big resorts at the main street along the beach, but the whole area was surprisingly quiet- not many hotels, less vehicles, few local restaurants, and hardly see any tourist around. We stopped at the beach, enjoyed the strong eastern wind and quiet surrounding for a while. Then, we took 1 hour and 20 minutes to travel from Lang Co to Hue.

Lang Co beach with white sand, blue sea, and strong waves.

Maybe it was not the peak season. The beach side was really quiet with only a few visitors in sight.

The main street at Lang Co with less traffic(upper left). We didn't see any visitor in the resort that we stopped by (upper right). A calm and beautiful lagoon can be seen along the main road from Lang Co to Hue (lower row).

Lang Co Beach is not as attractive as Hai Van Pass. Stopping for a coffee break while enjoying the scenery is only possible if we visit one of the cafes of the resorts. We can't deny its natural beauty, but a touch-and-go stop should be more than enough. If you plan to visit these two attractions, you can allocate more time for Hai Van Pass.

We continued our central Vietnam trip by visiting some of the UNESCO Heritage sites in Hue. You can Follow us now to know more updates.

More of our experience in Hue, Danang, Hoi An, and My Son:



Our experiences in other parts of Vietnam are available too:



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Monday, September 29, 2014

Bagan Lalang Beach, A Good Place For A Short Escape

Bagan Lalang Beach is far away from city. Cooling breeze, green trees, soft and fine sand, clean sea water, and the clear sound of waves sweeping the edge of the beach make it a great place for a short escape.

We went to Bagan Lalang Beach early September with the members of Kajang Lutheran. From Kajang, we followed the signboard of Banting and Sungai Pelet, then Bagan Lalang. The signage were clear all the way until we reached the last kilometer of the kampung road (village road). However, we successfully reached the beach by following the main road (we were on the right track by sticking to the best-maintained road). From Kajang, we took around 2 hours to reach the beach, including a 30 minutes breakfast at Sungai Pelet food court.

The main road ends at a T-junction, which the sign "Selamat Datang" welcomes every visitor to Bagan Lalang.

10:45 am, the beach had received many visitors.

It was a hot day. The 10 o'clock sun was stinging, but it was not enough to stop the visitors from dipping in the sea.

The trees provide enough shade for everyone.

Golden Palm Tree Sea Villas & Spa Hotel is a prominent landmark at Bagan Lalang, which can be seen far away from the beach. Click on the photo for larger panoramic view.

What can we do at Bagan Lalang? We can have our picnic, camping & BBQ (upper left), kite flying (upper right), sea-shell collecting (lower left), or just simply play with sand, stroll around, or swimming in the sea.

There are some shops selling kites (upper left), cheap shirts (upper right), and food (lower left) along the beach. 

Ample parking space (upper left), seafood restaurants which mostly operate at night (upper right), toilet and bathrooms (lower right) are available. The bathroom is located beside the seafood restaurants. Play ground is available for the children too.

There was a vendor providing motor-glider to the visitors with RM180 for 15 minutes of air-time. 

Fresh catch from the sea can be bought from another end of the beach, far away from the palm resort (upper left). Cheap? Nope, but the seafood was really fresh. So it is a good place to stock up our icebox before BBQ.

Bagan Lalang surprised us with its natural beauty, which was much better than over-developed Port Dickson. It is a good place for local people nearby. However, it is far behind several major beaches like Tajung Rhu in Langkawi, Tajung Aru in Kota Kinabalu, or Feringghi in Penang. So if you have flown thousand miles to Malaysia, please fill your itinerary with some other more attractive places, unless you really wish to stay a night or two in the well-known Golden Palm Resort.

Before you depart to Bagan Lalang Beach, please bear in mind that the food sold at the vendors along the beach is really limited during day time, so we might need to bring our own food if we are going to stay there for a long time. We might need to bring our own BBQ tools too as the facility was not provided. We found only one location with toilets and bathrooms  (nearby Golden Palm Resort, beside the Bagan Lalang food court). Settling down somewhere nearby the location will be lot more convenient. Other than that, the shelter for the rain is terribly lacking. So, please pay attention to the weather forecast a day or two to avoid disappointment.

More experiences about the places nearby Selangor are available:

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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Miri Stopover

Miri is not a standalone travel hotspot, but more to a transit city which is  always linked to Mulu National Park, Niah Cave, or even Brunei. Our initial plan was to visit Miri together with Mulu National Park. While our Mulu trip pending, we got our chance to visit Miri with a five-hour-stopover on our flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu.

First stop, the Grand-Old-Lady. Why? Miri is well-known as the city of oil, where the first oil well in Malaysia was drilled in 1910. The location, right on top of Canada Hill. The Grand-Old-Lady is the name dubbed to that very first oil well. Abandoned in 1972, the well produced a volume of 660,000 barrels of oil. 

Of course, the original structure of the well is long gone. What stands still on the original location of the well is a 30 meters high replica. A petroleum museum was built right beside the well. The museum opens at 9 am - 4:45 pm on Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, while close on Monday and the first day of public holiday. Confusing, isn't it? That's the price to pay to enter a zero-entrance-fee museum. We didn't manage to enter museum. We were 45 minutes late.

Another attraction on Canada Hill, right beside the Grand Old Lady, is the landscape view on Miri City. We were lucky to catch the breathtaking scenery in haze, so the amazement cut by half. It should be great in a clear day, especially during the sunset. So, by combining all three- the well, the museum, and the city view, it is a must visit place in Miri.

The journey uphill by car is easy. Just take Setia Raja Road (by Miri Pujut Road, 300 meters from Bintang Megamall) towards the hill, start the climb, and keep right at the big junction. You can reach the site in about 5 minutes. By foot, it might take up to 45 minutes to climb the hill. Good information about this place is available at Miriresortcity.com and attractionsinMalaysia.com.

The Grand Old Lady marks the location of the first oil well in Miri. More than 600 wells were drilled after that.

Scenery around the Grand Old Lady.

Petroleum Museum was closed during our visit.

The haze took away the glory of Miri City. In a clear day, South China Sea can be seen clearly from this point.

By the way, the place might be quite crowdy in the late afternoon. Food and beverages were only available at the Hazard Bistro. We didn't step into the bistro due to time constraint, but the view there should be good for the location to overlook the whole Miri City. Please bring along an umbrella if you plan to walk to Grand Old Lady. Taxi and bus services were not available at the place. So, the best way to get a taxi from that place back to Miri City is- go to Grand Old Lady by taxi from Miri City and tell the driver to wait for you while you tour around the place.

Our second stop- Tanjong Beach. It might not be the most beautiful beach in Miri, but it is one of the closest to the city. Parallel to several major resorts such as Parkcity Everly and Miri Marriott, the beach can be easily accessed by car. About the beach, the sand white and fine, with trees and picnic sites well maintained, and a row of clean seafood eateries lined up for the visitors. However, one major down side of this beach- swimming is not allowed due to the strong underwater current. Well, we visited the beach as a part of our friend's arrangement, and we enjoyed the wind from South China Sea very much. We took a city tour afterward.

 Tanjung Beach is one of the favourite places for locals.

Towering condominium was in construction during our visit (upper left), taking advantage on the great sea view at the area. The beach side was clean and well-maintained (upper right). The seafood eateries attracted many to dine by the beach (lower row).

 Older part of Miri City, with modern tower rises behind the old shoplots.

 Sunday is a rest day for many. Many shops were closed on Sunday afternoon (photo was taken at around 5:30 pm).

Bintang Megamall is one of the favourite shopping mall for the youngsters. There are others such as Boulevard and Imperial Mall.

Sea horse is the maskot of Miri City. You can see it everywhere around the city.

Miri International Airport is quite big. The size, a bit smaller than Kota Kinabalu International Airport while twice bigger than Sibu International Airport. There are several eateries, coffee shops, grocery and souvenir shops, that make the few hours of waiting less miserable. For us, we killed most of our time at Starbuck, sipping nice coffee while enjoying high speed internet access, and our time passed before we even realise about it. Regarding the transport from the airport to Miri City, the budget taxi is available with RM25 per trip. Limosine is available with a bit higher price too. A few car rental companies and tourism companies are available as well.

Miri International Airport has a modern outlook (upper left). Taxi is available outside the arrival hall (upper right). There are many shops available in the airport building (lower left), and when a long wait is unavoidable, we like Starbuck in particular.

Overall, our impression, although Miri is a city, it is not exactly like other "real" city i.e. Kuala Lumpur, Penang, or Melaka. It is even far much quieter than Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. However, it is still an important hub, not only to Niah Cave, Mulu National Park, or Brunei, but it is important as a supply point for hundreds of off-shore drilling platforms. 

Are we going to visit Miri again? Most probably yes, because Niah and Mulu are high in our list. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Wei for bringing us around Miri, rushing us here and there just to cover as many places as possible. We are glad that his lighting business is getting better and brighter, and we hope that God will continue to bless him and his family, and we will meet again in near future.

Photo taken with Wei (严生卫) in front of his lighting show house- Sheng Cheng Lighting at Pujut 3.

Our sharing on other places in Sarawak are available at:



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