Viet Nam

 

Central Vietnam

Demilitarised Zone - Dong Ha - Lao Bao - Quang Tri - Hue - Around Hue - Suoi Voi Bach Ma National Park - Lang Co Beach - Hai Van Pass Tunnel
Ba Na Hill Station - Suoi Mo - Danang - Around Danang - Hoi An - Around Hoi An My Son - Tra Kieu - Tam Ky

MY SON

Set within the jungle 55km from Hoi An are the enigmatic ruins of My Son (Tell: 731309; admission 60,000d; Time 6.30am-4pm), the most important remains of the ancient kingdom of Champa and a Unesco World Heritage site. Although Vietnam has better preserved Cham sites, none are as extensive and few have such beautiful surroundings - in a verdant valley surrounded by hills and overlooked by Cat's Tooth Mountain (Hon Quap). Clear streams run between the .structures and past nearby coffee plantations. During the centuries when Tra Kieu (which was then known as Simhapura) served as the political capital. My Son was the most important intellectual and religious centre, and may also have served as a burial place for Cham monarchs. My Son is considered to be Champa's smaller version of the grand cities of Southeast Asia's other Indian-influenced civilisations: Angkor (Cambodia), Ayu-thaya (Thailand), Bagan (Myanmar) and Borobudur (Java). American bombs have reduced many of the towers to ruins, but there's still plenty to see.
History
My Son (pronounced 'me sun') became a religious centre under King Bhadravarman in the late 4th century and was constantly occupied until the 13th century - the longest period of development of any monument in Southeast Asia. Most of the temples were dedicated to Cham kings associated with di-vinities, particularly Shiva, who was regarded as the founder and protector of Champa's dynasties. Champa's contact with Java was extensive. Cham scholars were sent to Java to study and there was a great deal of commerce between the two empires - Cham pottery has been found on Java and, in the 12th century, the Cham king wed a javanese woman Because some of the ornamentation work at My Son was never finished, archaeologists know that the Chams first built their struc-tures and only then carved decorations into the brickwork. Researchers have yet to figure out for certain how they managed to get the baked bricks to stick together. According to one theory, they used a paste prepared with a botanical oil that is indigenous to central Vietnam. During one period in their history. the summits of some of the lowers were com pletely covered with a layer of gold. During the American War this region was completely devastated and depopulated in extended bitter fighting. Finding it to be a convenient staging ground, the VC used My Son as a base; in response the Americans bombed the monuments. Traces of 68 structures have been found, of which 25 survived repeated pillaging in previous centuries by the Chinese, Khmer and Vietnamese. The American bombing failed to destroy about 20 of these, although some sustained extensive damage. Today, Vietnamese authorities are attempting to restore as much as possible of the remaining sites.
Information
The entry fee includes local transport from the parking area to the sites, about 2km away. By departing from Hoi An at about 5am, you will arrive to wake up the gods (and the guards) for sunrise and could be leaving just as the tour groups reach the area. It gets very busy at My Son; go early or late to soak up the atmosphere in relative peace and quiet
The Site
Past the ticket office you will find the large new Exhibition Buildings, containing Sanskrit-inscribed stones as well as panels outlining historical facts on topics including the hairstyles of Cham women. Take time to look at the large map of the site. The complex in¬cludes toilets and a souvenir shop. Archaeologists have divided My Son's monuments into 10 main groups, uninspir-ingly named A, A’, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and K - with each structure within that group given a number.
GROUP C
the 8th-century C1 was used to worship Shiva, portrayed in human form (rather than in the form of a linga, as in B1). Inside is an altar where a statue of Shiva, now in the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Danang, used to stand. On either side of the stone doorway it's possible to sec the holes in which two wooden doors once swung. Note the motifs, characteristic of the 8th century, carved into the brickwork of the exterior walls. With the massive bomb crater in front of this group, it's amazing that anything's still standing.
GROUP B
The main kalan (sanctuary), B1, was dedicated to Bhadresvara, which is a contraction of the name of King Bhadravarman, who built the First temple at My Son, combined with '-esvara', which means Shiva. The first building on this site was erected in the 4th century, destroyed in the 6th century and then again rebuilt in the 7th century. Only the 11th-century base, made of large sandstone blocks, remains-the brickwork walls have disappeared. The niches in the wall were used to hold lamps (Cham sanctuaries had no windows).The linga inside was discovered during excavations in 1985, 1 m below its current position. B5, built in the 10th century, was used for storing sacred books and objects used in ceremonies performed in B1. The boat-shaped roof (the 'bow' and 'stem' have fallen off) demon-strates the influence of Malayo-Polynesian ar-chitecture. Unlike the sanctuaries, this building has windows and the Cham masonry inside is original. Over the window on the outside wall facing B4 is a brick bas-relief of two elephant-under a tree with two birds in it. The ornamentation on the exterior walls of B4 is an excellent example of a Cham decora-tive style, typical of the 9th century and said to resemble worms. This style is unlike anything found in other Southeast Asian cultures. B3 has an Indian-influenced pyramidal roof typical of Cham towers. Inside B6 is a bath-shaped basin for keeping sacred water that was poured over the linga in B1; this IS the only known example of a Cham basin B2 is a gate. Around the perimeter of Group Bare small temples, B7 to B13, dedicated to the gods of the directions of the compass (dikpalaka).
GROUP D
Buildings D1 and D2, which were once meditation halls, now house small displays of Cham sculpture.
GROUP A
The path from Groups B, C and D to Group A leads eastward from near D4.
Group A was almost completely destroyed by US attacks. According to locals, massive A1, considered the most important monument at My Son, remained impervious to aerial bombing and was intentionally finished off by a helicopter-borne sapper team. All that remains today is a pile of collapsed brick walls After the destruction of A1, Philippe Stern, an expert on Cham art and curator of the Guimet Museum in Paris, wrote a letter of protest to the US president Nixon, who ordered US forces to continue killing the VC, but not to do any further damage to Cham monuments. A1 was the only Cham sanctuary with two doors. One faced east, in the direction of the Hindu gods; the other faced west towards Groups B, C and D and the spirits of the an-cestor kings reputedly buried there. Inside A 1 is a stone altar. Among the ruins, some of the brilliant brickwork, (typical 10th-century style) is still visible. At the base of A1 on the side facing A 10 (decorated in 9th-century style) is a carving of a worshipping figure flanked by round columns, with a Javanese sea-monster god (kala-makara) above. There are plans to partially restore A 1 and A 10 in the future.
( IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?
Yes, it's a giant stone penis. A common sight around Cham temples, these linga have an important spiritual value, symbolising the God Shiva. You'll often find them on a square base with a channel cut through it, a yoni, which represents female genitalia. Art important Cham religious practice at My Son saw priests heading up to Cat's Tooth Mountain (where Shiva was believed to reside) to retrieve water from a sacred stream. This was then ceremonially poured over the head of the linga, draining out through the spout of the yoni.
OTHER GROUPS
Dating from the 8th century, Group A' is at present overgrown and inaccessible. Similarly off-limits. Group G, which has been damaged by time rather than war, dates from the 12th century. Group E was built from the 8th to 11th centuries, while Group F dates from the 8th century. Both were badly bombed and parts are propped up by scaffolding. There are statues scattered around, including a female figure without a head (perfect for those comedy photos), another linga, an oxen and several stone tablets scarred by shell holes.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel-Garden(Tell;734028;thanhphongltd@)dng.vnn.vn;s/d 200,000/300,000d) If you're serious about beating the crowds and don't quite believe that 5.30am exists except at the end of a hard night, it's possible to stay right at My Son's gates. This complex offers a number of bungalows scat¬tered around an attractive garden. There's also a large restaurant and a café on site.
Getting There & Away
CAR
A hire car with driver from Hoi An to My Son costs around US$15 to US$20. Going under your own steam gives you the option of arriv¬ing before or after the tour groups, and My Son is quite atmospheric when you're one of only a few people there.
BUS/MINIBUS
Numerous hotels in Hoi An can book a day trip to My Son that includes a stop-off at Tra Kieu. At US$2 to US$3 per person, you could hardly do it cheaper unless you walked. The minibuses depart from Hoi An at 8am and return at 1pm. Some agencies offer the option of returning to Hoi An by boat, which adds an extra couple of hours to the trip.
MOTORBIKE
It's possible to get to the sites by rented mo-torbike. Make sure you park in the official parking area. Otherwise, get somebody else to drive you on their motorbike and then ask them to wait for you.
KINGDOM OF CHAMPA
The kingdom of Champa flourished from the 2nd to the 15th centuries. It first appeared around present-day Danang and later spread south to what is now Nha Trang and Phan Rang. Champa became indianised through commercial ties: adopting Hinduism, using Sanskrit as a sacred lan-guage and borrowing from Indian art. The Chams, who lacked enough land for agriculture, were semi-piratical and conducted attacks on passing trade ships. As a result they were in a constant state of war with the Vietnamese to the north and the Khmers to the southwest. The Chams successfully threw off Khmer rule in the 12th century, but were entirely absorbed by Vietnam in the 17th century. The Chams are best known for the many brick sanctuaries (Cham towers) they constructed throughout the south. The greatest collection of Cham art is in the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Danang. The major Cham site is at My Son, and other Cham ruins can be found in Quy Nhon and its surrounds, Tuy Hoa. Nha Trang, Thap Cham and Mui Ne. The Cham remain a substantial ethnic minority in Vietnam, particularly around Phan Rang, numbering around 100,000 people. Elements of Cham civilisation can still be seen in techniques for pottery, fishing, sugar production, rice farminq, irrigation, silk production and construction throughout the coast. While over 80% of the remaining Cham population are Muslim, the rest have remained Hindu, and many of their ancient towers in the south are still active temples.