Andrew Aigner-MuehlerMy Son - World Heritage Site
May 4th 2008 10:53
Looking for a day trip from Hoi An? Not long after I arrived in Hoi An, I found myself on the receiving end of plenty of suggestions/ advice for day trips. I was bowled over, in fact, by the number of eager travellers who couldn't wait to share their stories.
My Son came up several times so I asked the hotel reception if they had a local guide and driver who could take me there for the day. The negotiations started - $75 US down to $45 AUS in the space of 10 minutes - I was pretty proud of myself! What this meant was I had my own car, guide and driver for the entire day.
My guide, who insisted I call him Hero, spoke some English but the rest of the time we just exchanged smiles. They picked me up from the hotel at 8am and commenced the 2 hour journey to My Son.
My Son became a world heritage listed site in 1999. The guide books will tell you that My Son was a religious santuary that rose to populariy during the Champa reign - 4th until the 15th century AD - and was largely influenced by the Indian culture. What you will actually see as you walk around the site is a fascinating example of ancient architecture and an insight into their sexual practices.
Having a personal guide enables you to drive straight through the entrance gates, past the museum and park in a shaded area near the paved walkway. Hero & I commenced our walk which bring you to a makeshift theatre. I was informed that I absolutely must watch the stage show....believe me this is not necessary - I found it tacky and quite frankly the performances by the young ladies would not have looked out of place in the seedy back streets of Bangkok. After 20 minutes of this, surrounded by tourists and their video cameras I was desperate to hit the ruins.
Don't let the stage show put you off - the ruins are well worth a visit and the efforts of the local people to create paved pathways and easy to follow tracks are warmly welcomed. Probably the funniest thing I noticed was the presence of the security guards around the site - all were seated - let's face it is hot out there - and each had a pair of comfortable sandles on!
There are still plenty of archeological digs taking place on site so don't be surprised if certain areas are roped off or covered in scaffolding - it's exciting to think that more ruins could be discovered any day....
The ruins are an easy walk and you can enter some of the ruins to learn more. Please be aware that there is no shelter available around the ruins so please protect yourself with a hat, long sleeves, suncreen etc. It's so hot out there so take plenty of water with you.
Without a guide you would not learn about the culture of the people who visited the site, that the site hosted the religious ceremonies of kings of the Champa dynasty and also a burial place of Champa royals and national heroes. It is a fascinating place to visit. All of the Cham towers were built on a square foundations and each comprises: a solid tower base - representing the world of human beings, the mysterious and sacred tower body - representing the world of spirits, and the tower top built in the shape of a man offering flowers and fruits or of trees, birds, animals - representing things that are close to the spirits and human beings.
I spent a couple of hours at My Son and really valued the information shared by my guide Hero. The other benefit was having my driver waiting patiently at the exit to whisk me back to Hoi An.
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Comment by postmoderncritic
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Comment by Anonymous
I enjoyed the tour (even though ignoring the guide for the most part) and saw a lot of the ancient as well as the recent history which makes up what is now Vietnam.
Hoi Anh remains my favourite part of my Vietnam experience...