The last stop of our day trip around Da Nang was the Hindu ruins of My Son. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which we usually go out of our way to visit. The site was active from the 4th to the 14th centuries and was then abandoned and claimed by the jungle until it was rediscovered in 1898. In 1937, it underwent restoration but that effort was wasted during the Vietnam War when it was used as a base and subsequently carpet-bombed. Even today, they say not to venture off the trails because there still could be unexploded ordnance there.
Most of the structures were built with red bricks and the techniques used, such as how the bricks were stuck together, are still unknown today. It’s interesting that bricks used in the restoration have already changed colors and have moss growing on them, unlike the originals.
It seems like people love to compare My Son to Angkor Wat in Cambodia by saying there’s no comparison and that My Son isn’t worth the visit. We’ve also been to Angkor Wat, and it is truly amazing, but we are still glad that we went to My Son.
