After saying goodbye to the scorching sun in Saigon as I enjoyed a trip to the central region, I celebrated my birthday in My Son site and was kindly met with a nice gift of some sudden rain mingled with a chill in the air of early spring.
This was an unforgettable celebration as I found a peaceful place to review the past and ponder my future plans.
The bus carried around 12 guests, mostly foreigners from Hoi An ancient town, to the site in about an hour. Traffic to My Son site is quite convenient on a flat road with some beautiful landscapes of rivers, bridges and fields where tourists can see local people with gentle smiles on their faces.
Our troupe was greeted by a local humorous tourist guide aged around 40. He spoke English fluently and made his guests laugh at his jokes so I didn’t feel it was a long distance at all. While presenting briefly about the sanctuary he collected entrance fees which are priced at VND100,000 for foreigners and VND60,000 for Vietnamese.
My Son located in Duy Phu Commune, Duy Xuyen District of Quang Nam Province is about 70km away from Danang City and is a complex of Champa architectural constructions and towers. The sanctuary which was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1999 is a worshipping place and has royal tombs from the Champa dynasties.
It is in between a 2km valley surrounded by mountains and hills so from the front gate tourists are taken to a parking lot by bus then they have to walk about 400m to get to the relics. I myself find this is the most romantic path under the shades of high trees swinging their leaves in spring breezes. Looming under the shades and bushes are winding streams with sparkling pure water. Those who come in pairs may find an ideal place to have good pictures for their albums.
The tourist guide’s loud voice woke me up from my daydreaming and made me focus on a small board featuring the map of My Son site which consists of six stone construction complexes affected from Hinduism named A to H. Group A is still in its original shape while others were mostly destroyed during wartime. They were built from the 7th century to the 13th century during the splendid time of the Champa kingdom. Tourists can find many huge statues of linga, yoni and especially a headless Siva in the site. Thanks to the tour guide our troupe knew that Siva is both man and woman but his original shape is man.
Numerous artifacts, including statues of apsara, holy animals and daily activities of ancient people found at My Son are displayed at Champa Museum at the corner of Bang Dang and Tran Phu streets in Hai Chau District of Danang City.
Travelers can register a tour to My Son site by bus and boat at numerous agencies in Hoi An ancient town at VND150,000 per person with lunch served on a boat drifting on dreamy Thu Bon River. Furthermore, guests will be taken to some local sightseeing spots on their way back to Hoi An like Kim Bong wood carving village or Thanh Ha pottery village which is 3km away from the ancient town.
Read more about My Son site at The holy land My Son.
Source: Thesaigontimes
