My Son, Vietnam

An hour west of Hoi An, the Cham ruins of My Son [pronounced: me son] sit tucked away in the foothills on the Annamite mountains. Between the third and thirteenth centuries, My Son served as the intellectual and spiritual center of the Cham era. They are not characteristic of other southeast Asian religious sites given the unique artistic inclinations and Hindu leanings of the Cham. Following French colonization, the ruins were restored. Their grandeur was short-lived, to the chagrin of archaeologists everywhere, for the Vietcong used My Son as a clandestine meeting point, which precipitated bombings from US forces. Bomb holes sporadically situated amongst ancient temples give the whole area a peculiar feel.Read more