January 12, 2017

January 12, 2017

This morning our group took off from our hotel in Hoi An and drove upriver into the mountains to My Son, the religious center of the Cham Empire that lived and ruled in central Vietnam.  My Son, a World Heritage Site is quite extensive, with about seventy temples spread out over a dozen complexes.  Sadly in 1969, the Viet Cong took shelter in the area and US B-52's carpet bombed the area heavily damaging most of the structures. Craters can be seen all around the temples.  Aimee and I were careful to stay on the path because unexploded ordinance is still a problem.

We tour the best preserved temple complex.  Even it is not in good condition. Constant rain and jungle vines play havoc with clay bricks. Surprisingly, the temples are Hindu, evidently because of immigration and frequent contact with Indian traders. Unfortunately for the Cham, after the Nam Viet of Hanoi broke free of the Chinese, they spread south conquering the Cham Empire.  The Viets didn't stop here.  They kept going and eventually took the south and the Mekong Delta away from the Khmer Empire of Cambodia.

My Son has an open-air theater where we watch a performance of Cham Folk Dancing by some colorfully dressed young Vietnamese. It was entertaining.

Back in Hoi An, we had lunch and then toured one of the required craft shops.  This one specialized in demonstrating silk production, wood carving, inlaid wood, embroidery, and tailor-made clothing. Outside the shop, an old lady trying to sell me fruit let me borrow her gear. It weighed a ton!

We then set out on a walking tour of the historic district of Hoi An, another World Heritage Site.  Hoi An (Vietnamese for Peaceful Meeting Place) used to be the major trading port of Vietnam. Everybody had representatives here, including the Portuguese. About 200 years ago, the river mouth silted up and trading moved to nearby Da Nang leaving Hoi An left in a time warp.  Out tour starts at the town’s iconic Japanese Bridge, a wooden covered structure that spans a little stream running through town.  We also visited the town well, and an elaborately decorated Chinese meeting hall and temple.  But mostly the Old Town is one big tourist mall.

We walked back to the hotel to rest up, and drop our packs, and then went back downtown to shop and enjoy the lights and festive atmosphere.  There were many newlyweds getting their photos taken with the historic town as a backdrop. Back at the hotel we were drenched.  We are not used to the humidity anymore.