Hoi An

Was a very lovely town, a bit touristy…but not in a bad way, as you can see why tourists would want to come here. It was an ancient port and trading town and in the 16th century there were Chinese and Japanese settlements there – which controlled trade between SE Asia, China, Japan and India. But there were also Portuguese and Dutch ships that docked at the port – and a little later, of course the French had their foot in this area. It has an interesting feel about it with the mixture of ancient Asian themes intertwined with later colonial French architecture. The Thu Bon River runs through it which empties out into the ocean – and the town is small enough where you can walk to all the main points of interest.



We stayed here four nights. We did a walking tour of the city…see pics:




and also did a fair amount of window shopping, and actual shopping. We went for a boat ride on the river one of the nights and enjoyed several different delicious meals lit up by the city that is famous for its lanterns.








. . .

On our second day, we went to the ancient 7th century ruins of My Son (pronounced Mee Son). Quite a smaller complex than many of the temples in Cambodia, but it is said that is because the Cham kings at that time were far less wealthy and powerful than the god kings of Angkor. These ancient temples were only about 5 miles from where my father fought during the war, and sadly at that time he (nor anyone he was fighting with) had any idea of its existence. Apparently it was a Viet Cong field headquarters located within one of the ‘free fire’ zones during the Vietnam War, and unfortunately some of the sanctuaries were destroyed by US bombings during that time. However, a lot of the sculptures and statues were saved and have been removed to the Museum of Cham in Danang – and what remains intact is still very fascinating to view.