My Son Sanctuary

The bus down from Hue passed some really beautiful coastal scenery. We took roughly the same route that the train took. Danang was a really nice city--large enough to be interesting but it wasn't as crowded as Saigon. The road between Danang and Hoi An was scattered with the beginnings of very nice and exclusive looking resort hotels. I think this area is in the works to be the Riviera of the area. It is a convenient short flight from Japan.
We arrieved in Hoi An and were greeted at the bus station by two young men with motorbikes who whisked us off to the Thanh Xuan Hotel. The name of the hotel means Long Life. This is probably the nicest hotel we have stayed in since we have been here.
One interesting thing about the room--there are no outside windows. We could have gotten a room with a balcony overlooking either the city in the front of the garden and pool in the back, but to economize we opted for an interior room with a window overlooking the spiral staircase.
Breakfast was served in the open air restaurant next to the small pool A couple of German tourists jumped in the pool after they ate breakfast. We have more of a choice here for food than we have had at other hotels. Most offer an egg that is cooked omelet style and a baguette with juice and a hot drink. We were offered a menu here and were given a 25000 dong allowance. I ordered a banana pancake with honey and my mother ordered an omelet.

We had planned on having an easy day today, walking around Ancient Town and perhaps renting bicycles and going to China Beach. But mother's friend Phi Mi from Hue called. She is in Danang at university and wanted to come down with her friend Linh. Phi Mi's uncle is the man my mother met on the overnight bus from Hanoi to Hue. He loaned her the cell phone that we have been useing. He left Vietnam in the eighties and has a business in Holland now. They were really nice to my mother in Hue, taking her around town. And it was through them that she met Hoi and Loc, the couple who are getting married at the end of the week.

We asked the girls what they wanted to do, and after consulting with the ladies at the front desk they said they wanted to go to My Son. We had planned on doing that tomorrow but it works just as well to do it today, and it was nice to have locals along to explain and translate.

We hired a van through the hotel. It was a fairly harrowing 60 km drive to My Son. We went through several small villages and past many farming areas. My heart was still in my throat after the driver almost hit a dog when not five minutes later he came within inches of hitting a four year old girl who was trying to cross the road. The poor thing started across without looking and she appeared to be absolutely terrified as the driver barreled down the street with his horn blaring and she zig zagged up and down the road until she finally and luckily turned and ran back the way she came. No parents were in sight.

We arrived safely at My Son. It cost us 60,000 dong each to get in, but Phi Mi and Linh's tickets were only 30,000. There was an exhibit at the front gate with some of the better pieces, I suppose they were moved for their own protection from the elements. But I have read complaints that they should have been left in their natural place. Above is a reconstruction of a Champa temple.
Here are my mother and the girls crossing the bridge to the sanctuary. On the other side a jeep carried us up 1.5 km further to the site. My Son is an old Champa site. They were the people who lived in Vietnam before the present Vietnamese people moved in. The oldest part of the site was construc ted in the 4th century, and I think the latest is around the 12th century. The Champa were defeated and like other indigenous people their culture was basically lost.
The various temples and buildings lie in ruin with lush vegetation surrounding them.
The site is Hindu, with many images of Siva and Ganesha and other Hindu gods.
The weather was really nice, in the low 80's fahrenheit.

Two of the larger temples in the first site had been remodeled into more or less waterproof places to house the better preserved carvings.
The art reminds me of Cambodian carving from the same period, but the cultures are not related.

As we crossed a bridge Linh decided to crawl down into the water and wade around. She seemed to enjoy nature, picking various grasses along the way.
The second site we visited was set in a valley between two beautiful mountain ranges.

I suppose if we had had a guide we might have had a little more appreciation. But there really is little known about the civilization and I had read some. The site is in a very slow renovation stage. At least it is protected and will undergo no further looting or damage.
On the way back I had my camera ready to take photos of the rice paddies.

Luckily we did not come close to hitting any children or anything else. When we got back we went to a small cafe for a bowl of cau lau (I think that is the spelling) which is a Hoi An version of pho. It is made with noodles that are more like pasta and it did not have any broth--just the noodles, some meat, and leafy vegetables. Then the girls went on their motorbike to get us some sugar cane juice and some kind of a pudding made with rice and coconut and what seemed to be potatoes.
When I got back I got a call from a man at the consulate. I have to say he was very helpful and seemed concerned with assisting me in getting my fingerprints expedited. As I suspected the government does not pay for the FedEx shipping that I will need to get it to Washington DC. So I have to arrange to get a FedEx waybil delivered to the consulate in Saigon and it should just take four or five days after they get it. I am trying to get my FedEx information and see if they can send it with my number or I will ask somebody in Saigon to go to FedEx and get the waybil and take it to the consulate. Hopefully it will cause no delays.

I was reading a rumor today about some kind of change in the way the immigration forms are filed here in Vietnam. They say people will file before they leave home. The wait time will be longer but the trip will be shorter if I understand it right. The new plan is supposed to take effect next Monday, but hopefully I will be "grandfathered" in since I'm already here.