On our 4th Day into our Vietnam Tour experience, we made a trip to My Son Sanctuary. This tour was really good as it was super organise and were taken by an English-speaking guide provided through our tour company
Vietnam Unique Tours.
My Son Sanctuary is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu Temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD by Cham people. The temples are dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva, known under various local names, the most important of which is "Bhadresvara".
Located about an hour's drive or 40km drive from Hoi An city (where we were staying at the time) and 55km from Da Nang, My Son Sanctuary is set in a small valley belonging to Quang Nam Province.
The place eeringly beautiful, as you walk through the ruins of what you can imagine would've been great structures. It's absolutely gobsmacking to think of what happened here and that something still remains, and you can easily understand how it became a UNESCO world cultural heritage site.
The architecture and construction techniques of My Son are mainly red brick with a similar component to the mortar used as glue to keep the pieces together, and just a temple was held in stone. Sculptures and also all of the decoration were directly sculpted on the brick.
According to various experts, it is the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, My Son was used as a base for the Vietcong and therefore, the entire area of My Son was mined. Although the entire area has been cleaned, I would suggest visitors not to stray from the defined paths and established areas. As this is an outdoor experience in the jungles, would recommend to wear a hat and sunscreen; and also bring a bottle of water and a fan.