Vietnam Travel Guide

Enjoy Our Tour of Vietnam and Cambodia



  • Home
  • Vietnam
    • Hanoi
    • Ho Chi Minh City
    • Central Highlands
    • Halong Bay
    • Hoi An
    • Hue
    • Mekong Delta
    • Mui Ne
    • Sapa
    • Can Tho
    • Chau Doc
    • My Son
  • Hanoi
    • Airport
    • Attractions
    • Hotels
    • Shopping
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Weather
    • Visit Halong Bay
    • Visit Sapa
  • Ho Chi Minh City
    • Airport
    • Attractions
    • Hotels
    • Saigon Hotels
    • Shopping
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Weather
    • Cu Chi Tunnels
    • Mekong Delta Tours
  • Central Highlands
    • Buon Ma Thuot
    • Dalat
    • Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • Kon Tum
    • Kon Tum Orphanages
    • Lak Lake
  • Cambodia
    • Angkor Wat
    • Battambang
    • Kampot
    • Phnom Penh
    • Siem Reap
    • Sihanoukville
    • Temples of Angkor
    • Landmines in Cambodia
  • Useful Information
    • Vietnam Map
    • Vietnam Weather
    • Vietnam to Cambodia Border Crossing
    • Vietnam War
    • Causes of the Vietnam War
    • History of the Vietnam War
    • Vietnam Resources

My Son Vietnam

My Son is the major site in Vietnam from the ancient Champa Kingdom which flourished between the 2nd and 15th centuries. Descendants of the Champa civilisation still live along the coast of Vietnam though they are now fully integrated in Vietnamese society. The Kingdom at My Son dates back to the 4th century and remained fully occupied through until the 13th century which makes it the longest occupied of all the major monuments of SE Asia. It served as a religious and intellectual centre where Champa kings were crowned and buried. In 1999 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

My Son VietnamThe site is often compared with some of the other great Indian influenced archaeological sites of SE Asia including Borobodur in Indonesia, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Ayuthaya in Thailand and Pagan in Burma.

Unfortunately, events during the American War destroyed many of the site’s temples. The VC had used My Son as a key base which forced US bombing of the site leaving about 20 of the original 70 structures intact. Bomb craters next to some of the temples are clearly visible.

A major restoration project is underway though nobody from our high-tech world has yet managed to work out how the Chams were able to get their baked bricks to stick together during construction!

Getting to My Son

Every hotel and travel agency in Hoi An is selling excursions to My Son for unbelievably cheap prices. We took the Sinh CafĂ© coach tour which collected us at 8am then proceeded to collect more passengers until the bus was full. On arrival it’s a 2km walk from the car park to the site though jeeps run back and to constantly. We were given a guided tour, returned to the bus that dropped us off at a river stop from where we returned to Hoi An by boat with lunch on board. This whole trip cost a mere $5 plus 60,000 VN (= $4 US) entrance fee.

For a more rewarding experience it would be a good idea to get there before the tour buses arrive. You can hire a car and driver in Hoi An for around $20 and aim to be there at sunrise (truly atmospheric) which is preferable to being there amongst the hordes of tourists. But then again that depends on your budget. The cheap coach trip was fine.

More Recommended Reading:

Vietnam FlagVietnam Information Tour Boat on Halong BayHanoi Tours Hoi An VietnamHoi An Vietnam Angkor Wat CambodiaAngkor Wat Cambodia

Search hotels and more...

Destination

Check-in date

Check-out date

Booking.com

Copyright 2019 Vietnam Travel Guide - All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy

This Website Uses Cookies - Please Confirm That You're Okay With That Accept Read More
Privacy Policy

Necessary Always Enabled