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dered why it is not a common destina-
tion on tour packages. Still, we were
not the only ones there and the lack of
crowds lent the site a special ambience.
The buildings of My Son were mas-
terpieces of their time, but they are
sadly now in ruins. They suffered heavy
damaged by United States bombing
during the Vietnam War which is being
patched up with help from a number of
countries and NGOs.
The Cham people derived their cul-
tural and spiritual influences almost ex-
clusively from Hindu India. My Son was
the place where kings were cremated
and towers built to commemorate their
great deeds. The majority of the tem-
ples were dedicated to the Cham kings
who, upon their death, were associated
with divinities of the Hindu pantheon,
especially Shiva, who was considered
the founder of the Champa civilisation.
While enjoyiong the ancient sculp-
tures and statues at the B1 tower, the
main temple of group B, and the only
one built completely with sandstone, I
was lucky enough to bump into archi-
tect Doan Khac Tinh, a lecturer at the
University of Civil Engineering. Only the
foundations remain relatively intact, he
told me. Amongst fallen pillars we could
see altars carved with dancing girls, lotus
flowers and the linga and yoni - the Hin-
du symbols representing the male and
female reproductive organs.
“Cham people used sandstone to
create various decorative objects in the
towers,” Tinh expalined. “They carved
sandstone in the shapes of a lotus flow-
er or a star to put on the top of all tow-
ers.” It’s amazing that a lot of the towers
now lie in ruins or have disappeared
but the stone tops still exist. This is how
archaeologists know how many towers
once stood here.
Next, we left My Son, bound for
Chien Dan Tower in Tam An commune,
Phu Ninh district, about 60km south
of Danang City. The area is another
heritage site that is in need of funds for
preservation. Chien Dan is a group of
three towers built in the 11th or 12th
century and dedicated to three Hindu
deities - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Our next stop was Binh Dinh prov-
ince, 300km south of Danang. Over-
looking Quy Nhon city, the Thap Doi
towers are one of Binh Dinh province’s
finest examples of Cham architecture.
They are also one of the most accessible
monuments for tourists on Vietnam’s
heritage trail.
The towers served as a religious
site and show obvious influences from
the world renowned Angkor complex in
Siem Reap, Cambodia.
For hundreds of years, the tow-
ers were left to oblivion – testament
to a nearly forgotten civilisation as Vi-
etnam endured a decades-long scrap
for independence and harsh economic
conditions. Five years after the country
was reunified in 1975, the towers were
recognised as a national historical and
cultural site, but restoration work did
not begin until 1996.
It is a crumbling edifice and a histor-
ical vestige that we are lucky to still have
standing. Once, the towers would have
been filled with lavish gold decorations.
It is believed that in 980AD the
Cham abandoned their capital of My
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THE GOLD COAST IN CENTRAL VIETNAM