Da Nang is often spoken of in a similar manner as Manila. Both continue to be a gateway — familiar and convenient — only a point of arrival rather than — place to linger on.

Both are names travelers say when what they mean all the destinations around it.

Mention Da Nang and conversations would quickly drift to Hoi An or Hue. This is much like how our Manila has become a shorthand code for trips, which immediately lead to Boracay, Bohol or even Palawan.

And yet, both cities likewise carry their own sights worth an extended stay!

The first hint of the coastal retreat’s views came not from a guidebook nor Google, but from the vista of my own balcony at Radisson Hotel Da Nang.

The panoramic landscape stretched toward the deep ocean. But it was the mountain range which broke the waters and captured my gaze. Rising from the edge of the shoreline, Son Tra Peninsula — often called Monkey Mountain — stood like a sentinel. And there, almost suspended between the sky and the sea, was the Lady Buddha of Linh Ung Pagoda — almost in motion as it beckoned me for a revisit.

It was one emotion to admire her from a distance, another sensation to feel the lure of the pull — the attraction of a definite come-on.

The road up to Son Tra curved gently, revealing glimpses of the waters below before it turned inward toward dense vegetation. The statue grew gradually, not overwhelming at first, until I stood once again at its base and only then did I understand its scale. At 67 meters, the Lady Buddha is the tallest in Vietnam, though numbers hardly mattered when you were captivated, standing beneath it!