Núi Hòn Ngang

I was told Vietnam got cooler as you travelled north, but it's bloody boiling! Seems the country is experiencing a heat wave at the moment, so the next week is forecast 35-40°! 10° higher than expected temperatures for this time of year in this region -_-
Today we did a morning trip to My Son Sanctuary. A site full of temples, meditation halls and palaces built between the 4th and 13th century during the rain of the Champa Kingdom. It's spiritual origins date back to Hinduism from India: most of the temples were built for Hindu divinities such as Krishna and Vishnu, but predominantly Shiva (god of destruction). There is seemingly no cement between the clay bricks, and to this day, how they built the structures is a mystery. Some of them are over 1,500 years old and have stood against weathering. New parts that have been reconstructed haven't lasted as long as the original, and have had to be replaced!
The site was only rediscovered by the French in 1885, hidden in dense jungle unbeknownst to the Vietnamese people. During the cold war, the site was bombed by the Americans as they 'believed' Viet Cong soldiers were hiding in the buildings, where in fact they were hidden in the surrounding jungle and tunnels. This meant sadly most of the site was destroyed, leaving 10 out of 75 buildings remaining. It was interesting to look around, our tour guide was very enthusiastic, he had a voice like a cartoon character, and was super knowledgeable on the site, having previously worked on it as an a researcher. The site was in a valley surrounded by jungle so very little breeze reached us, was a whopping 40° so I had a constant stream of sweat down my face as we walked through the temples.
After lunch, the tour took us back to Hoi An along the river on a boat. In the afternoon we wandered around old town, visiting a pagoda, bahn mi store (my second of the day!) and a coffee shop. As sun was setting, we found a lantern making class. We sat outside a lantern shop on tiny stools, while we instructed how to assemble our lanterns (stick fabric on). Was actually harder than it seems, felt a bit like we were in primary school, our instructor was very lovely and encouraging, and praised us even though we knew we were doing a terrible job! 😅
In the evening we found a bar along the waterfront, then got Indian for tea before heading back to the homestay, being greeted by our new favourite friend Ri (the puppy).Baca selengkapnya