4/29: My Son and Hue

My Son (pronounced Mee Sun), which is about an hour drive from Hoian.

Adam, our class expert on My Son, telling the group a little about the ruins.

Though the Cham people of My Son were Hindu, this sure does look like a sculpture of Buddha

History of My Son, from Adam's report: My Son is a cluster of abandoned temples built during the Cham Dynasty, between the fourth and fourteenth centuries. The technique they used to hold the bricks together is a mystery, scientists today still do not know how they did it (while wondering around the ruins, our guide Mike pointed out how you can tell by the moss growth where the original temple still exists and where the temples have been reconstructed - the bricks in the original sites were so tightly placed together that even after 1000 years, moss still cannot grow between them). The Cham Dynasty ended in 1832 at the hands of Viet troops during the Nguyen Dynasty. Many of the temples were damaged during the American War from US bombings.

Caleb looking sad, or maybe contemplative

Shirley, Rebecca, Madison and Anna

Luca, my six-armed student

Hai Van pass, about an hour north of Hoian

Colorful reflections on the Perfume River in Hue, about four hours from Hoian (but Ha, our national guide, told me to write that it was only three hours: "Don't say too much, because people get scared.")

My student, Josh, being green