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Published: August 7th 2007
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My Son is famous for its Cham ruins set in forested hills, sanctuaries built between the 7th and 13th centuries by the Indian-influenced empire that ruled southern Vietnam at the time. The simplest way to see them was on a cheap "tour" from Hoi An, which essentially consisted of transport to/from the site on a coach full of Australians with a few pieces of commentary thrown in by the "guide". Background music included ABBA, Boney M, and Modern Talking, which unfortunately falsely raised my hopes for the day.
Once at the coach park, we had to walk a couple of hundred yards to a pick-up point and wait while 2 minibuses and 2 Jeeps ferried the various tour groups the 1km to the ruins themselves. This didn't strike me as the most efficient way of doing things, but it did provide further evidence that the lambada is the tune of choice for reversing vehicles in Vietnam.
We had barely an hour at the ruins, which proved to be more than enough. The towers are in a poor state of repair, partly through age and partly due to being bombed during the Vietnam War, with fine detail completely lacking. The
overall complex is small, and it was difficult to take photos not containing 1 or more fellow tourists. I found the whole experience decidedly underwhelming. Granted, I've maybe been spoiled in recent months with what I've seen elsewhere, but My Son seemed to me to only be of academic interest rather than a worthwhile stop for travellers.
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