Finding My Son

To start with, I should clarify that My Son (pronounced 'mee son') means beautiful mountain in Vietnamese and is not actually referring to my progeny. That out of the way, I'd like to briefly describe a tour I took to the My Son temples and towers, a legacy of the Champa people from between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Initially I had signed up for a 5 AM tour to see the sunrise, but a night of drinking rice wine before hand pretty much made that impossible, so I took the 8 AM tour instead. Like most things I've signed up for, the bus was about a half hour late and full of French and German people, and nursing a hangover, I was content to ride without speaking, iPod headphones nestled firmly in my ears.

We arrived at My Son after an hour drive and the towers and temples were actually very interesting. Apparently, the Cham people used a mysterious bricklaying technique without any normal mortar that no one has since recreated. All well and good, but I still got bored with the sites after around a half hour, as they were very similar. What can I say, I have a short attention span...

Fortunately, I found a footpath leading off one of the sites and decided to follow it. And follow it. And follow it. It began to climb and I kept going, setting times for myself to turn around in order not to miss the bus, then stubbornly continuing on because I did not want to stop before reaching something. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for, maybe a shrine or a hidden temple at the top. Regardless, I reached the top and was disappointed to find nothing but a path leading back down the other side, not even a good view. Time was running short and I didn't want to be left behind, so I decided to hightail it back from whence I came.

Fortunately, traveling down gave me a different perspective and I spied a clearing to the side of the path. Hacking my way through thick brush, I stumbled out onto an open rock face and was rewarded with an absolutely breathtaking aerial view of the valley including all of the Cham temples. It was far better than anything I had hoped for.

Tours can be disappointing, but ultimately they're like everything else during our travels. They provide opportunities that would be difficult to come by on my own, but it's still up to me to make the most of what they have to offer. I'm more than happy to endure a bus ride with a bunch of middle-aged German folk for the chance to break away on my own for a fantastic hike and a stunning view.

In other news, I'm getting on a bus in about an hour for Saigon, where I will likely meet back up with my fellow traveler. Sorry for my dereliction in posting, I'll try not to let it happen again. And I'll post photos/videos of the view from the top of the hike once I figure out how to hook my camera up to the internets.