the wonder begins

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So this is not a particularly long post as my Athens trip was cut short due to Easyjet cancelling my original flight on the day and leaving us stranded at the airport for 10 very long hours. Fortunately, I salvaged our plans and managed to amend some of our other bookings to fit schedule!

The capital and largest city of Greece, Athens is also regarded as one of the world's oldest cities, with a plethora of ancient historical landmarks. I find Greece to be a quite expensive country in general in terms of food and expenditure, but had always wanted to visit these remarkable ruins. Here are my top Instagram spots with Google Maps links.

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Temple of Poseidon

We took a half day tour to Cape Sounion and Temple of Poseidon. Would recommend a tour to get here as a private car can get here much quicker than public transport. We had hotel pick-up and a scenic drive along the Saronic Gulf, and also stopped at Sounio Beach. There's not actually much left of the temple, as it was built around 440 BC and it was partially destroyed at some pointfrom invasions, but as it sits overlooking the sea, you can capture the most beautiful sunset photos. The whole area is very scenic and as touristy places go, there wasn't an insanely huge crowd which was nice, and makes it easier to get good shots. The tour group were very accommodating and let us rebook our tour after our flight got cancelled and we couldn't make it.

The temple sits right next to the sea, and the whole surrounding area looks so beautiful, calming and photogenic during sunset.

Cape Sounio, Sounio 195 00, Greece
Google Maps

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Acropolis of Athens

Get to the Acropolis at least half hour before it opens, and even then there probably will be a queue. Queue from the side entrance and if there's going to be a major heatwave (it was mid 30s when we went), then bring a UV umbrella because when you get up to the Acropolis there is literally NO shade. We got there for opening, but the queue was so long that by the time we got in, the sun was well and truly blazin'.

The Acropolis overlooks the city of Athens, and is the landmark of Greece. It is made up of many different ancient buildings such as the Parthenon which is probably the most famous, the smaller Temple of Athena Nike, and the Erectheion which you can distinguish by the 6 columns sculpted into female figures.

Athens 105 58, Greece
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Pittaki Street

This is a cute little street renovated to display a myriad of old and antique lampshades. We came to this area because we had dinner at the Oineas Restaurant which is only about a minute's walk down the road, and it happened to also be my favourite meal that we had in Athens - 'Where To Eat' guide to come soon.

4, Pittaki 14, Athina 105 54, Greece
Google Maps

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Aegina Island

One of the closest islands to Athens is Aegina, famous for harvesting pistachios. We were very close to wanting to get a ferry to Mykonos instead, but then decided that we couldn't hack the 5 hour one-way journey. Aegina is less than an hour's ride away and you can just buy it at Piraeus Port from one of the ticketing offices. You don't need to buy it in advanced online as apparently a lot of ferries get cancelled all the time. Unfortunately, we didn't actually explore too much because I literally was melting in the 36 degrees heat aka outdoor sauna. We stayed close to the port of Aegina, had lunch overlooking the sea and went down a few back alleys of small cafes and souvenir shops.



Port of Aegina, 31, Leof. Dimokratias, Egina 180 10, Greece
Google Maps

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I briefly mentioned the Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in my Top Things To Do In Danang post, but thought I'd share a more in-depth review and photos of our afternoon tea experience.

The Intercontinental Danang is a luxury, 5-star resort and one of the most famous hotels in Vietnam, having been designed by the architect Bill Bensley. Even 5-star hotels have their own scale of luxury and is-it-worth-it, but this resort is up definitely up there. A one-night stay is unfortunately not that affordable for the average traveller so we decided to opt for the 'cheaper' way to experience it, which was to book afternoon tea here.

The Citron Restaurant, like the rest of the resort, is fashioned with dark wood and intricate interiors - looks beautiful and expensive, but doesn't feel too pretentiously lavish. But the real highlight is the outdoor seating which is made up of 4 floating pods which look like upside cone hats (called 'non la'). You need to book in advance or risk not being able to be seated outside!



We got a Grab to the hotel, and the drive was relatively quiet and traffic-free as we drove up winding roads. Security was quite tight, with a guard at the entrance to check your booking before they allow you to continue up. And in true, 5-star style, there is a line of staff standing there waiting for you when you arrive.

From the outdoor seating, you can also see the hotel rooms down below which look like little villas with private pools. There is also a diagonal lift that takes residents down to the private beach.



Although we are actually not huge fans of afternoon tea, it was still a lovely experience as we could enjoy a serene meal overlooking the most stunning view with amazing architecture, lush greenery and the cerulean sea. Afternoon tea consisted of finger sandwiches and savoury tarts, scones with clotted cream and lots of sweets including macarons, mini eclairs, cakes and cheesecakes, plus cocktails.

Had the sweetest afternoon basking in the beauty of the resort. Definitely would be the perfect honeymoon destination!

£: 1,599,000++ VND

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Even though we weren't in Danang for long, it was definitely one of the best quieter cities I've been to. Not that there's a shortage of things to do, but it is not really heavily populated with tourists, which I loved. The city looks modern, is much less polluted than Hanoi, and plus it's less than an hour away from the charming Hoi An.

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Golden Bridge and Bà Nà Hills

Bà Nà Hills is nestled up in the Trường Sơn Mountains of Danang and the resort was built in the early 1900s by the French. It's around 1500km above sea level with a cooler climate (I say that, but it was pretty hot when we went) and to get there, you need hop on one of the world's longest cable cars. Bà Nà Hills also has a fantasy park and the famous Golden Bridge.

For the easiest experience that ensures you get to the Golden Bridge before the crowds in the morning, the best hotel to stay at, the night before, is the Mercure French Village Bà Nà Hills as it's part of the resort. You can get a taxi or Grab to the hotel and during check-in, you can purchase your (mandatory) cable car ticket at 400,000VND per adult which is a reduced price for residents. After check-in, you then have to ride the cable car up to the main part of the hotel. We checked in around 6pm when it was already dark, and I would recommend to go whilst it's still light because it's not that reassuring riding a cable car into the abyss when you can't see anything. We didn't even know how long the ride would be and it ended up taking almost half hour. We also saw someone throw up when they got to the top, but unfortunately it's the only way to get up there!

The Mercure hotel is a reasonably cheap, and we kindly received a complimentary upgrade to the... honeymoon suite. No I am not married, but they thought we were and we didn't want their efforts to go to waste so just went along with it. The room was spacious with a pretty canopy bed, a lounge area and hand painted wall decor, plus an interesting, cavernous en-suite. There are lots of restaurants dotted around the resort, as well as a huge indoor pool. We had a breakfast buffet at one of the restaurants because it was really the only option for breakfast, and unfortunately ranks as one of the worst hotel breakfasts I've had, but can't complain too much as we enjoyed the rest of the stay.

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The highlight of the resort is definitely the Golden Bridge, where everyone is eager to capture pictures of the huge stone hands that appear to be holding up a walkway. The cable car opens at 7.30am for residents so I recommend going then to avoid the big crowds that will definitely turn up. Luckily for us, it was a sunny day, but if it rains when you go, it may also be the best time for a photoshoot as from what it seems, no one ventures out when it rains. The morning we went, it wasn't overly crowded, but still quite a few people (which really doesn't make for good photos) and the bridge had not one, not two, but THREE couples having their wedding photoshoots. But perfect timing meant that one of the brides held up the crowd whilst we grabbed a quick pic:

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Can't really comment on the fantasy park as it caters more towards children and we didn't end up going on any rides because the queues quickly became really long, but there are other attractions within the park including the Shakyamuni Buddha and tranquil gardens.

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Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort

The Intercontinental Danang is one of the most beautiful hotels I've been to and is a destination in itself. The resort was designed by the architect Bill Bensley and the exteriors and interiors are so luxurious and exquisite that words don't really do it justice. Being an Intercontinental, the price is on the pretty expensive side, so we opted for the afternoon tea instead in the outdoor seating, which you'll have to book in advance. The outdoor seating in the Citron Restaurant is made up of upside cone hats called 'non la' and the high tea costs 1,599,000++ VND (so roughly £55-60) per person. Whilst I found the food average and nothing special, it is definitely worth it for the experience and scenery. Admire breathtaking views of the surrounding sea whilst sipping on cocktails and indulging on scones and feeling super serene.

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Spa

Spas are a must when you go to Asian countries as they're a lot cheaper and so much better too, especially if you're comparing it to England where you pay quadruple the price (for mediocre skills, sorry!). From my experience, Asian therapists put in so much more effort. Plus, you'll probably need a massage to relax after all the walking and exploring. One of the spas we booked on the trip was an 'Intensive Facial Care' treatment at Herbal Spa. Some spas are really popular with tourists so it's best to just email or call them in advance to book as we saw tourists getting turned away from being fully booked. Our facials were so relaxing, and finished off with complimentary seaweed soup. The cost was around £17 per person for an hour's treatment.

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Karaoke

We Asians love karaoke, and karaoke places in the East always have amazing acoustics and room designs, and surprisingly very recent English songs. And I cannot believe that we pay like £25 minimum per person for karaoke in central London in dingy rooms with outdated song selections, whereas here in Danang we literally paid £5 an hour for a huge private room that had all the Ariana Grande and rap songs I could ever want. We randomly found Ruby Karaoke Coffee, which is right next to the Han River and has several floors of karaoke rooms. The two of us ended up staying here and singing for 3 hours. Because why not.

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Dragon Bridge

The Dragon Bridge over the Han River is the longest bridge in Vietnam and is illuminated with lights in the night time. We discovered upon coming here that the light shows only happen at the weekend and we came on a Thursday. There is a little bustling night market right next to it though where you can get street food and souvenirs.

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Linh Ung Pagoda

We weren't in Danang for very long and didn't get the chance to properly explore this area, but saw it in the distance driving past and the Lady Buddha statue is enormous.

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Eat

There are plenty of places to eat, but since we weren't in Danang for very long, we visited Ngon Villa as it's rated Danang's top restaurant on TripAdvisor. For Vietnam, I guess it's considered a bit more on the expensive side, but to us, a pretty reasonable price for an all-you-can-eat buffet. There's a decent sized menu and you order the dishes you want and get them freshly cooked and brought to your table. We sat outside where they had pretty lanterns hanging and a violinist.





There are also lots of other attractions in Danang including the Marble Mountains (unfortunately, I'm not much of a hiker), the Mỹ Sơn temples and also the beach, but again, we weren't in Danang long enough to see all the sights! Maybe we will come back one day to see it all and tour the rest of Vietnam...

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