As Ivan pointed out, "And now the temple part of our holiday starts." And he was, indeed, correct, having organized the whole two-and-a-half-week-long haul around the remainder of Southeastern Asia World Heritage Sites we were yet to visit. So, temples it were and I was quite happy with Ivan's planning, because going to see the My Son after all of the Cambodian sites would be a tad bit disappointing. This way I've enjoyed my first set of temple ruins and it was quite a pleaasant adventure.

The plan du jour was simple: early breakfast, walk around Hoi An in the morning, then car pickup at hotel at ten, to be at My Son by eleven. Hotel itself recommeded two hours for the whole visit and I can confirm it was more than enough for us. The driver left us at large parking spot with many cars and buses, so we mentally prepared ourselves for many tourists around. We bought our tickets and walked inside. Once again, Vietnam really appreciates its World Heritage Sites: this one had a large banner with quotes from Irina Bokova, former Director General of UNESCO, though it basically said that My Son has an OUV and that's why it has been inscribed. Tautology, anyone? Couple more banners and a UNESCO sign later, we crossed the decorative bridge and reached the electric buggy station that took us to the beginning of the visitors' route.

The ruins are organized around a circular footpath about 1,5 km in length. It is well-signposted, so you won't get lost if you tried. The ruins are set in clusters so you always leave the main route to explore around, then go back and so on. The nature around is lovely, though the history of war and bombings, which partially destroyed the 10th century ruins, reminds you of itself the moment you spot couple of bomb craters. Some of the temples of the main complex dub as a museum, though at the time of our visit they served more as an improptu shelter from the rain. There's a gift shop by the end of the circular path along with a restaurant. Overall, I found the visit interesting, given I haven't seen such temples before. There was also a cultural program by local performers, i believe it started around 11 a.m. or 11.15, we missed that. There's also a museum we visited afterwards, which provides context and also information on similiar sites. We were finished by one and then the taxi took us to Da Nang Airport from which we continued on to Siem Reap.