Vietnam - Hoi An and My Son

I spent a few days in Ancient Hoi An town, enjoying the shopping, food and seeing a few sights in the staggering humidity.

Hoi An's Old town is a collection of Japanese merchant houses, Chinese temples (lots of influence from previous colonists) and ancient tea warehouses that have been beautifully converted into shops, restaurants and tailor shops galore. Hoi An is known as the place in Vietnam to get clothes tailored (obviously I didn't give up that opportunity). I walked around the streets of the old town and loved all the architecture and the beautiful bridges. I also bought a ticket to see a few of the insides of the buildings. As beautiful as the town is, it was about a million degrees with 95% humidity (well, maybe 40 with 80%, but still....it was sooooo hot), I needed a few breaks in the amazing restaurants in the old town. Central Vietnam, and particula Hoi An is known for its local culinary delights. I took a break from the tried and true Pho and sampled the local fare over the few days I was there. From Cao Lau (noodle soup with salad and wonton chips) to White Rose (delicate shrimp dumplings), every dish was new from the Vietnamese I am used to back in Canada. I also did my fair share of shopping. I got a dress and suit jacket made. I'm pretty happy with the jacket (I picked out an awesome purple lining), but not 100% sure about the dress, I'll have to get people's opinion when I'm back. I also controlled myself and only bought a few things from the many, many stores.

Bridge along the river in Hoi An

A dragon inside one of the temples

The beautiful architecture

I was thinking of getting a Gortex coat next year. hehe!

Candles at night at the Full Moon festival

The Japanese bridge at night (no tripod, so the street worked as my flat surface

I did a day trip from Hoi An to the ruins of My Son. The temples were built by the Cham people, one of the old tribes of Vietnam whose ancestors now live in the Mekong Delta region in the south of the country and in Cambodia. They were built between the 4th and 13th century as a religious site (Hinduism) of the Cham people. The ruins are located in a valley surrounded by mountains and thick jungle and were actually forgotten for many years until discovered by the French in the late 1800s (I think that's right, trying to remember what the guide said). Anyway, the French cleared the area, photographed the temples and like any good colonist would do, stole a bunch of the carvings (most heads are missing from the statues) to bring back to their museums in Europe. Unfortunately, My Son was heavily, heavily bombed during the Vietnam War as it was used as a hiding area for the VietCong, so many of the grand temples are now in ruins and only pictures remain of the originals. A lot of the area is also out of bounds as there are many land mines and potentially undetonated bombs around. The most interesting thing I learned on the tour (and those who know me well, know I'm the biggest nerd and listen intently on tours) is that it's still a mystery how the Cham people constructed the temples. They used brick, but didn't seem to use anything for mortar. Their structures witheld the test of time (and the jungle) without any decay or mold, only 20th century bombing brought them down. The Cham history is now lost, so I guess it'll remain a mystery.

The Ruins of My Son

Some of the remaining structures

Beautiful mountain scenery around My Son

I'm in Hue now, the ancient Imperial city and tomorrow I am setting out on a 3 day motorbike trip to the interior of the country....rice paddies, here I come!

I will write about that adventure in my next post!

The head is a replica on this statue, almost all the heads were taken by the French