My Son World Heritage site

The World Heritage site of My Son was a religious center of the Cham Empire between the 4th and 13th centuries. Discovered in the 1890s by the French, it was later on devastated during the American War (what a pity).

Anyway, to truly enjoy My Son one has to go there either very early or late. The site, I've heard, can get very crowded, so it's best to go there when you know you're one of the only few people there... who wants to bring home pictures of landmarks with hordes of tourists anyway.

I've opted to visit the site during sunrise and leave the hotel around 530AM, but since it was a cloudy day I had the schedule moved 30 minutes later. Really, what's the point of wanting to see the sun when the sun doesn't intend to show right? The drive to My Son took about an 1 1/2 hour. It was quite a scenic ride actually, and it was nice to see the countryside wake up... farmers getting ready to plow the field, children biking their way to school. I regret not having the driver stop so i can take pictures of those things.

Anyway, upon arriving in My Son, I had to pay the entrance fee which is 65,000VND ($4). Getting to the site involves a bit of walking - a good morning exercise, I must say. As we reached the ruins, the rain poured so i had to seek shelter in one of the temple structures. Good thing the rain lasted for only a few minutes and I get to explore the place.

The site is divided into 10 groups named after letters from A and A' to K. A number is assigned to a structure within a group. There's only a few groups that visitors can explore since most groups are severely destroyed by the war, and wandering off from the marked paths can be quite risky given the fact that there still might be unexploded land mines. Although, authorities claim that it has been cleared of the mines, it's better to be safe than sorry. A

Anyway, a little summary about each group:

There's Group C, where once the altar of Shiva stood. It has a bomb crater in front of it and it makes you wonder how it survived that.

Then Group B which was the main sanctuary dedicated to the King who built My Son.

Group D. Meditation halls in the past, but is now used as galleries that feature relics from the site.

And finally there's group A, completely destroyed by bombs.

The My Son ruins is said to be the counterpart of Ayuthaya in Thailand, Angkor in Cambodia, and Borobodur in Indonesia, but it does pale in comparison given that the site is almost completely destroyed and the size is quite small. Looking at the map you'd think it's big, but you can thoroughly finish exploring it for an hour. It would take you a longer time to walk to and from the site even.

I personally think though that even if the other ancient temples are more grand in scale, size and beauty, in My Son, the way it was built and it's place in history to the Cham people (and the Vietnamese) it is just as impressive.

It's a pity the weather wasn't that good when I got there. I would have enjoyed it more and have taken better shots of the place. Then again, not even rain can stop me. It did let me have a different take on the site as far as pictures go. And I still consider myself lucky because right after I left, it did rain harder and longer as the first bus of French tourists arrived.

Several days later, I talked to this American couple who has beento My Son just about the same time when I was there and told me about their horrible experience with Indochina Travel who took them to the ruins despite knowing that the area is flooded. Now I think I'm even more lucky.

We paid over the odds for our tour- on the upside it was early so no one else was around, but the breakfast provided was bread, the english speaking guide, didn't speak english and the entry ticket wasn't included in the price. However the place was well worth seeing, very peaceful and gives a real insight into the history (and the bombs dropped near by in recent years). I was really disappointed with the pillaging and stealing and lack of care of what was once such a beautiful place- people need to understand what they have and look after it! You could do it a lot cheaper by hiring a motorbike and heading out there yourself (its quite straightforward to find).

My Son World Heritage site is a place not to be missed if you are travelling anywhere near Hoi An. It's about an hour and a half drive from Hoi An passing through some beautiful rural scenery on the way. We set off early in the morning (before 7am) to get there before the swarms of tourist buses and it was well worth the effort as we were able to experience the serenity of this spectacular place. You can book private tours from travel companies and hotels in Hoi An or hop on one of the bigger tour buses. Personally I'd recommend paying just a bit extra for the private tour so that you can get there early and avoid the crowds. Private cars/mini buses are also able to drop you off closer to the site where as the larger tour buses can only park in a designated area about 2km from the actual site so you have to walk from there.