Danang - City of dreams
2008/09/21 14:49 | by halong ]
After the plane touches down, we can see that it’s scorching hot outside. In the capital city the last of the heavy summer rains have come signalling the introduction of Autumn. But in Danang summer still reigns supreme. The lack of parks or green spaces in the city centre always makes it seem even hotter.
Currently development is everywhere in Danang. Large construction sites are fenced off by green sheets of corrugated iron. Across the skyline cranes stand tall. Arriving tourists don’t seem bothered by the drab, urban landscape as pretty much everyone is heading to the beach between Danang and either Hoi An or Hue. While the city’s magnetic powdery beaches draw tourists from all over the world, Danang itself offers no special cultural heritage or historical sites.
But if Danang could offer shopping, dining and entertainment options, perhaps it could also profit from the region’s growing tourism. There are a number of significant developments underway. A long-awaited golf course has finally teed off on the border of Danang and Quang Nam province. The course was designed by the Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie, one of the most decorated European players in history, and will lure golfers from all over the Asia-Pacific region. 
Already nine holes have been opened for play and another nine holes are expected to be finished by this time next year. A club house and a string of villas are also under construction, though you’ll need $850,00 to buy a villa bearing the name of the Ryder Cup legend here. I am reliably informed nine villas have already been reserved at that price.
Jon Tomlinson, general manager of The Montgomerie Links Vietnam, claims the golf business has been encouraging with more than 1,000 rounds played during the first month of opening. Many guests are Korean or Japanese that are working in the industrial parks in the region. Tomlinson anticipates more tourists staying in the nearby resorts will also start to come for a round or two of golf. Furama and The Nam Hai have both started to offer golf packages.
“There will be no shortage of resort guests in this region,” says Tomlinson. “When they arrive, we’ll be here – and they’ll be suitably impressed by the standards of our course and club.” Bulldozers and technicians are also moulding tracks for other courses, including a 36-hole facility designed by Greg Norman near the Marble Mountains.
South Korean investors are looking to tap their own massive domestic golf market with a course on a land enclave reclaimed from the city near Son Tra peninsula. The course is part of a project that will also feature condominiums, hotels, shopping malls and theatres overlooking Danang bay. Such a complex will offer more accommodation and entertainment alternatives.
For the last decade, the Furama Resort has been the sole player in the local luxury resort market. However, competition is heating up with a number of resorts under construction along the coast. The Olalani, a stone’s throw away from the Furama, is a complex of ‘condotels’, villas and hotels that will open late next year.
My associate remarks that it looks like it has come straight out of a Hawaiian property brochure and later on, funnily enough, we discover that the owners are in fact overseas Vietnamese living in Hawaii! Right next door is Crowne Plaza, a huge hotel with nearly 600 rooms, which is set to open up early next year.
The American-backed outfit will not only capture its fair share of the growing tourist market due its large number of rooms and prime location in Central Vietnam but also because there will be a small casino offering eight gaming tables and 100 slot machines. Along with golf, hoteliers in the region believe gambling will provide much needed entertainment for guests.
Restaurants in these resorts will provide more international dining options for those guests, who are not acquainted with local flavours. There is no shortage of restaurants in town but few offer quality international cuisine. One local official points out that there is abundant seafood in Danang but “there is nothing else you can order besides boiled or steamed seafood”. Culinary techniques are limited and five-star guests will expect more.
The restaurateur and celebrity chef Bobby Chin will be opening a restaurant in the Indochina Riverside Towers, a complex of shopping mall, offices and residences by the Han River, where you will also be able to find luxury fashion outlets. Looked to lead the way in terms of nightlife, Seventeen Saloon Bar has opened up a Danang branch on Bach Dang Dong street.
David Brunt, a senior manager from CB Richard Ellis, explains that Danang is changing, though not as rapidly as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. “One year ago, there was no Highlands Coffee. Now, there are two, one in Indochina Riverside Towers and the other in Vinh Trung Plaza,” he says.
Vinh Trung Plaza is also a brand new twin tower office and apartment complex with serviced apartment for lease, a Big C shopping mall and a six-screen MegaStar cineplex. Everywhere it seems, developments are underway. For those who remember Danang at the turn of the 21st century, soon the city will be barely recognisable.
(Source: Time-out)
