Tet Holiday - Hoi An and My Son

Hoi An
Hoi An is generally regarded as the must-see town in the centre of Vietnam, even ahead of Hue. This is because of the historical record that the town forms, and for more consumer-driven reasons: Hoi An has built a reputation for 24 hour tailoring. This was not an attraction for us. We were there to take in the ambience, visit the nearby beach, and make the trip to My Son, the most intact vestige of the Cham civilisation.

In fact, we elected not to even spend much time in the museums, temples (visited one) and old houses, but just to walk and cycle around, and relax! So the record I have of Hoi An on this occasion is not the typical tourist experience, but enjoyable none-the-less, and informed by the advice of Tiep, a friend we made one night at the restaurant he manages. So here are some pictures of our time in the town, with a focus on food and lights! We also managed to find the Ba Le well, the water from which is an essential ingredient in cao lau noodles. Without this water, the noodle is not considered to be authentic. We also enjoyed black sesame porridge (a dessert) which left the watery substance I've eaten at yum cha in Sydney for dead. It was so good I had two bowls, and we tried in vain to convince another foreigner to eat it.
We cycled out to a pottery village, and during the boat trip back from My Son, visited some high quality wood carving shops. We did make it to the beach, one we were taken to by Tiep, where we enjoyed some local seafood for an early lunch. I was the only one to go in the water, though. The beach was almost deserted, though in a few days time it was likely to be crowded with holiday-makers.

My Son
Bao and I have both been to Angkor Wat and knew that My Son would not be on the same scale as that site. It's older and smaller, and suffered extensive damage during the American War. There is still unexploded ordnance in the vicinity, and it is very important to stick to the trails. Parts of temples have been obliterated by bomb craters.

These things aside the visit was still interesting. The temples are located inside a verdant valley overlooked by Cat's Tooth Mountain (Hon Quap) and other high peaks. Unlike Angkor Thom next to Angkor Wat, My Son was not a major residential centre. The Hindu priests lived here, and the king would visit to conduct annual important ceremonies. The kings were also buried here, but eventually the site was abandoned as the Cham people were forced to move south by Vietnamese, Chinese and Khmer invaders.

We had booked to go and return to Hoi An by bus, but took the opportunity to switch to a boat trip back that brought us down the river and around some of the islands that make up the greater Hoi An town.