Here’s the view from a nearby hotel’s rooftop pool that I took a look at a few days ago. We’re still in the midst of monsoon season but we’ve just enjoyed a couple of days when it hasn’t been raining torrentially all the time.

I even got to spend a couple of hours in the waves early this afternoon. It looks like it might rain again later this afternoon.

Our friends, mother, and daughter Annika and Smilla, are visiting us in Da Nang for a couple of days after their stay in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

I’ve known Annika since the spring of 1989 when we both worked in the bar “Grönan” at the exotic ski resort Riksgränsen in Lapland. While I only lasted about five seasons, Annika kept on working and living there for quite some time after I’d moved south.

We both love reminiscing about those younger years and like so many others who worked at Riksgränsen, that period of our lives continues to have a special place in our hearts. Chatting about those times while on a beach in Da Nang was, to say the least, contrasty.