The Chams

Back around 1,500 years ago there was a small empire covering southern Vietnam along the coast that lasted around a thousand years through was constantly fighting the Chinese (in the north) and the Khmers (in the West). Of course I had never heard of them but keen to learn more went to the site (called My Son) with the most Cham remains, which was religious site.

Unfortunately, despite having a guide (who seemed more keen on talking about selecting a female virgin from amongst our group to throw in the sea for good luck than telling us about the Chams) and the area being a UNESCO -protected site; I came away having learned very little from the poor museum and disappointed from viewing the limited remains of the site (partly destroyed by time, partly during the Vietnam war).

Most striking though was the TOTAL lack of information anywhere, no signs saying what the building used to be used for, what it was made of, how it was made, who made it, when it was built or anything. I know there is not much information about the Champa Empire but there must be some. An embarrassment to UNESCO, especially since there is a sign up declaring one of their restoration projects 'a model restoration project'! ha ha. Anyway, the whole group agreed the 4 USD we had paid was probably only used to pay for the (quite nice) paving stones on the paths. Fortunately the boat ride back was quite pleasant with a wonderful breeze!

In complete contrast to the disappointment of going to My Son, a visit to Hoi An was one of the highlights of Vietnam. The city was an important port a few hundred years ago with traders from across East Asia using it frequently but then, all of a sudden, deserting the town to use another nearby port instead due to the river in Hoi An silting up. They left behind an old town of a few square kilometres of wonderful old buildings, mostly wooden, though some with French influence. The town has a wonderful set of 'attractions' like temples, museums, houses open to the public, cultural sites and so on that can be visited as well as just walking around the streets and into the houses; many of which have lots of information and the owners proudly tell you of their family history.

Of course, most of the contents of those buildings is now taken over to art galleries or gift shops, but the buildings are unchanged and the atmosphere is lively with a busy local market and plenty of friendly backpackers. It is rather unlike Li Jiang in China which has almost no local atmosphere (as insanely crowded as it is with tourists) and has been restored and rebuilt countless times and, though being pretty to look at, lacks little other opportunities to learn about the town's culture or history. The best part to Hoi An, though, was the swimming pool (and accompanying bar with free cocktails for an hour a day) and the beach, which is totally under-rated.