Nearing the end of our time in the UNESCO World Heritage port town of Hoi An, we arranged to take a ‘day trip’ out of the historic town to another UNESCO-recognized spot located about 50 miles away.
There are actually few places in the world where you can go from one massive World Heritage site to another in such a short time, but I guess thats the magic of this particular area of Vietnam.
When I say ‘day trip’ though, I’m probably overstating things.
It wasn’t exactly a day trip - It was more of a go to bed early, wake up really early, get on a bus, tour some ruins, get back on the bus and then enjoy a lovely brunch before continuing our Hoi An adventure.
Knowing that we had to wake up early the next day, we stopped by the famous ‘Banh Mi Phuong’ restaurant to pick up some of their world-renowned sandwiches, then stopped by a convenience store to get some beer and then went back to our hotel to relax before heading to bed at a respectable hour.
The next day we woke up at around four o’clock, got dressed, gathered our things and then dragged our tired selves downstairs where our shuttle bus was already waiting to take us to the beautiful “Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary”, the home of a long-lost kingdom dating back to the 4th Century.
That’s almost 1600 years, if you’re counting.
Once home to over seventy Hindu temples, the religious sanctuary of the former Champa Kingdom, which controlled most of southern and central Vietnam for more than sixteen centuries, is now but a fraction of what it once was.
Still, the sanctuary is one of the foremost archaeological hotspots in South East Asia and the ongoing work on the site is helping to provide the people of today with an amazing lens into an important part of human history.
And while they work, tourists get to walk around making a bunch of noise.
If you’re spending any amount of time in central Vietnam, a trip to the My Son Sanctuary should be one of those destinations that is at the top of your list. Understandably, it takes some time to get there and back, but walking through the ruins of an ancient kingdom is well worth the effort.
I’m going to approach this article a bit differently than what I’ve done with almost all of my other Vietnam travel posts thus far. With the others, I feel like there is so little information available online that it was important to do a deep-dive into their history.
With this one, there is already an ample amount of information available online from strong sources.
I’m more than willing to admit that while I enjoyed my visit to this World Heritage Site, its a history that is out of my depth of expertise, so I’m not going to pretend that I can offer you anything better than what you can already find online - which I’ll gladly link you to below.
I will spend some time on some of the important historical facts about the site and some of the notable things to see, but the focus on this one is more on the photos and the pertinent travel information to help you get there in one piece.
History of My Son
The Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary is a collection of abandoned and ruined Hindu temples in central Vietnam, near the historic port town of Hoi An. The temples, some of which date back to the 4th Century, are often compared to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar and Ayutthaya in Thailand, which goes to show just how important they are with regard to the history of South East Asia.
You might be thinking: Why were there Hindu temples in Vietnam?
That’s a valid question, especially since India and Vietnam are separated by about 3000 kilometres of somewhat hostile terrain - The answer probably shouldn’t surprise you though.
Buddhism, which is probably the most prevalent faith in South East Asia finds its philosophical origin in the rejection of (certain) Hindu beliefs. In the early days though, a lot of Hindu traditions carried over and as Buddhism spread throughout the sub-continent, societies also adopted Sanskrit-style text, rituals, architectural styles and systems of social organization.
For thousands of years Indian culture, religion and traditions spread throughout South East Asia through immigration, trade and religious missions.
It would be an understatement to say that the influence India had in the region was huge.
This is why you’ll find so many historic temples and shrines from as far as Indonesia to Vietnam.
Link: The Spread of Hinduism in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Britannica)
My Son was the religious headquarters of the Cham Kingdom, which in its heyday spanned from modern-day Cambodia to Southern Vietnam, between the 4th century and 14th centuries.
Unfortunately the history of the Champa Kingdom hasn’t been very well recoded, so researchers often find themselves at odds with each other over competing theories of whether “Champa” was a unified kingdom, or a collection of principalities that shared a common language, culture and religion.
What we do know is that it was an agricultural society that would later became a maritime powerhouse.
Known best as the inventors of the irrigated rice terraces, from around the 7th to 10th centuries the Champa controlled much of the trade in spices and silk between China, India and Indonesia.
Whether you agree on whether Champa was a united country or a set of states, most seem to agree that “Indrapura” (Modern day: Đông Dương) on Vietnam’s eastern coast (near Da Nang) eventually became the political capital and that My Son, which was little more than ten kilometres away was the ‘Mecca’ of the civilization.
My Son, which is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains consists of about seventy or more temples and shrines dedicated to the worship of Shiva (Bhadreshvara) and was a place of religious worship and ceremony as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes.
While the Champa temples at My Son were Hindu in nature, inscriptions and sculptures discovered on the site shows that Buddhism eventually took a foothold within the kingdom. For several centuries though, Vietnam was home to one of the most vibrant Hindu cultures in the world.
Interestingly, once the kingdom was toppled, Hinduism more or less disappeared in Vietnam.
Even though My Son was an important religious site for almost a thousand years, kingdom fell to the Đại Việt in the late 15th Century, it was completely abandoned (and mostly forgotten about) as most of the Cham people fled over the border to Cambodia.
Links: Champa | History of Champa | Lê dynasty | Cham-Vietnamese War (Wiki)
In an amazing stroke of luck, the site was rediscovered a few centuries later in 1898 by M.C. Paris, a Frenchmen who was in the process of constructing telegraph lines in the area.
If you can, imagine for a moment how it must have felt to discover this ancient site - Then imagine being an archaeologist and having the opportunity to start the important work of trying to figure out exactly what they had discovered.
The rediscovery of My Son after so long might very well have been an event comparable to the discovery of the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
Today it is considered to be one of the longest inhabited archaeological sites in Indochina and pieces of its history can be found in museums from Vietnam to Paris. It is also one of the most important heritage site in Vietnam, one of the foremost Hindu sites in Southeast Asia as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For more in-depth information about the history of the My Son Sanctuary, check out some of the following resources where you’ll find people with considerably more expertise on the subject than myself.
Hindu Temples and a Fallen Kingdom in Vietnam: The My Son Sanctuary (Ancient Origins)
My Son Sanctuary (Huang Thanh Thang Long)
My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam (Sacred Sites)
Treasures of the Champa Kingdom (Youtube)
Preservation and Restoration of My Son
Once rediscovered, the ruined and abandoned My Son Sanctuary became a major focus of study for the French Colonialists who were eager to learn more about the ancient history of the site.
(And probably because like all colonialists, they wanted to pillage all of the treasure)
With a few years of study under their belt, researchers slowly started publishing their findings in French journals where they reported that the sanctuary was home to the remnants of over 71 buildings.
Those buildings were then divided into 14 different groups to differentiate them based on their architectural styles, purpose and the materials used for their construction.
Restoration work on the site started in 1937 and was still a work in process when it had the unfortunate luck of becoming a base of operations for the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
This invariably made the sanctuary a target for American bombing campaigns and during a week-long bombardment of the area, several of the structures on the site were completely destroyed leaving a landscape that is still marked with the scars of that terrible period of Vietnam’s modern history.
When the war was over and Vietnam was unified, restoration work on the sanctuary picked up again and would be designated a National Site a few years later in 1979, which gave it protection as a Cultural Heritage site.
Once things started up again though, the restoration of the area was hampered due to the fact that local authorities had to spend a considerable amount of time de-mining the unexploded landmines that were placed in the area during the war. Since then, several countries have signed on as benefactors and in 1999, My Son was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site - all of which ensured that a steady flow of money and resources would be made available to continue the preservation of the site.
Link: My Son Sanctuary (UNESCO World Heritage)
After years of research, it is widely thought that the buildings that remain on the site were all used for religious purposes and are classified by the following four types:
“Kalan” - A brick tower used as a shrine that housed a deity.
“Mandapa” - A “sanctuary”
“Kosaghra” - A “fire-house” with a saddle-shaped roof used to cook offerings for the deity.
“Gopura” - A gate-tower that leads into a walled-temple complex.
Within each of these four types of buildings, historians have further classified six different architectural variations based on the phases of the development of the Champa Kingdom.
This generally gives us an idea of how old the buildings are and what materials they were constructed with.
For the purpose of identification, the buildings that remain at My Son have been assigned letters (A, A', B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K) and are differentiated within each of those groups by numbers.
So, instead of giving each building a name, most of them are just referred to as “A1”, “B7”, “C5”, etc.
Today when you tour the sanctuary, you’ll be able to enjoy groups “A” through “G” but as I’ve already mentioned, there is still quite a bit of work taking place on the site, so the other groups have yet to open to the public.
What you’ll find in groups A through G though date back to the 4th through 10th centuries.
If you want to learn more about the types of buildings, system of identification, architectural styles and building techniques about all of these structures, I can’t recommend enough that you check out the Wikipedia article dedicated to My Son, which is surprisingly one of the most in-depth articles you’ll find on the internet about the sanctuary.
Link: Mỹ Sơn (Wiki)
Touring My Son Sanctuary
The great thing about a visit to the My Son Sanctuary is that there are so many different options afforded to travelers. There are not only numerous options for getting to and from the sanctuary, but also the method by which you tour the site. So, no matter what time of the day you visit or how you choose to get there, you should have no problem touring the sanctuary.
So, whether you choose to rent a scooter and drive out to the sanctuary or book a seat on one of the many tour buses that leave from Hoi An everyday, you’ll have a number of options to choose from. What you’re going to have to decide is what best fits your preferred style of travel and budget and then go with it.
Before I get into the different options for touring the ruins, I think its important to mention a few things about the tour that you’ll want to keep in mind:
The tour is located deep within a valley (between a couple of mountains) and is basically like a sauna on hot days. This is one of the reasons why ‘sunrise tours’ have become so popular. If you are visiting during the afternoon, remember to bring something to cover your head, some sunscreen and more than enough water.
There is quite a bit of walking involved on this tour, so make sure that you wear something comfortable. I know backpackers in Asia love their flip-flops, but you’ll probably want to leave them in your hotel for this one.
The sanctuary is considered a religious site, so it’s important to dress modestly. You won’t really encounter people at the gates with measuring tape, but they request that people practice “civilized tourism,” so try not to wear something that you’d wear to the beach.
Remember that the sanctuary is an active archaeological site that also allows tourists to wander around while professionals from all over the world are making new discoveries. Try not to wander off the tourist paths and interrupt their important work.
You’re free to take photos, but don’t climb on things and act irresponsibly. Some of these ruins are more than a thousand years old. They have withstood war and the test of time, but don’t need a bunch of tourists climbing around on them.
Now that we’ve got that settled - What are your options for touring the ruins?
Driving Yourself
If you’re on a tight budget, you may want to choose to simply rent a scooter in Hoi An and make the trip inland to the sanctuary on your own. The price of rental ranges from 80,000 VND to 160,000 VND per day (Between $4 and $8 dollars) depending on where you rent. Once you’ve arrived at the sanctuary there is a $150,000/pax VND admission fee and a $5000 VND parking fee.
If you haven’t rented or driven a motorcycle in Vietnam before though, there are quite a few things you’ll want to take into consideration before making your decision.
I recommend reading the article below, which is an excellent resource if you prefer this option.
Link: An Introduction to Motorbike Rental in Vietnam (Hidden Hoi An)
Private Car
If money isn’t an option and you’re traveling with several other people, you might want to consider springing for a Private Tour. What this means is that you’ll essentially be renting the services of a professional driver and driving to and from the sanctuary in style in an air-conditioned car.
It goes without saying this is the more comfortable option, but also the most costly as a professional driver will pick you up at your hotel, drive you to the sanctuary and then wait for you in the parking lot while you explore the ruins.
There are many tour operators located in Hoi An that will offer competitive rates for Private Tours to My Son, which you can book in person. There are also several private car companies that you can find online where you can book your tour in advance.
Personally, if I were to choose this option, I’d much rather book the tour in person a day or two beforehand in order to get the best price. Some of the private car services that you’ll find online can be a bit overpriced.
The issue with both of these options is that once you’ve arrived at My Son and purchased your admission ticket, you still don’t have the services of a professional tour guide to help explain some of the things you’ll be seeing.
So, if you choose to drive yourself or take a private car to the sanctuary, you have the option of going in blind or hiring the services of one of the tour guides on site, which should cost about $100,000 VND per person.
The estimated costs for private cars varies between the kind of service you are going for.
If you just want the driver, it’s cheaper, but if you want the driver to also be your tour guide, then you’ll pay a bit more. Still, it’s cheaper to hire a driver who is also a tour guide than just hiring a driver and then hiring a separate guide when you arrive at the sanctuary.
Estimated Cost (Without tour): $780,000 VND (2 people) + Tip
Estimated Cost (With tour): $850,000 VND (2 people) + Tip
Public Tour
Probably the most convenient option is to book a public tour, which most often is a package that includes your transportation to and from the sanctuary as well as a tour guide who will introduce the important aspects of each of the ruins that you’ll see on the tour.
One of the main drawbacks about this type of tour is that they generally last for only about four hours (including travel time) so your time for viewing the ruins is a bit more limited.
In most cases the tours depart from Hoi An twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon, but a lot of people prefer to leave even earlier on one of the Sunrise Tours where you’ll be walking around the ruins as the sun is rising for the best light.
Estimated Cost: $160,000 VND + $150,000 VND (Admission Ticket) + Tip for tour guide
Public Boat Tour
Another option is to arrange a boat tour which includes your drive out to the sanctuary in a car (or a bus), your tour of the ruins and then a boat ride back to Hoi An on the Thu Bon River. This tour takes a bit more time, but you have the added bonus of being able to enjoy the local scenery while floating down the historic river that many of the worlds early traders and explorers once did.
Estimated Cost: $200,000 VND (tour) + $150,000 (Admission Ticket) + Tip
There are several operators online that will help you book the kind of tour you prefer.
I’m not the kind of travel writer that accepts money to promote tour companies, so I’m not going to go on and on about how great they all are in order to get some affiliate cash.
I recommend taking a look at some of the links below to check their tour times and their prices to compare and decide what best fits your itinerary.
All I’ll say is that I took a Public Sunrise Tour and was fully able to enjoy my experience with enough time to explore the ruins, get the photos I wanted as well as listen to the professional introduction from our tour guide.
We were also back in Hoi An in time to enjoy a great breakfast at one of Hoi An’s most popular breakfast restaurants.
The Sinh Tourist | VM Travel Hoi An | Tommy Dao Tours |
Rose Travel Service | Go Asia Tours (Boat) | Grasshopper Adventures (Bike Tour)
Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)
