My Son is a valley ringed by green hills in Quang Nam province, and the first thing that strikes you is the quiet. After the traffic of Da Nang and the tourist streets of Hoi An, a muddy path leads into a hollow where red-brick towers lean out of the trees. The temples were built by the Cham, a seafaring Hindu kingdom that ruled much of central Vietnam for over a thousand years, and who used this valley as a place for royal ceremonies and worship of Shiva.
Building went on from about the fourth century to the thirteenth, so the complex shows many styles. The bricks are fine and tightly fitted, and archaeologists still argue about how the Cham bonded them, since the walls show almost no mortar. Many of the towers were destroyed in 1969, when American bombing hit the area during the war, and craters are still visible beside the surviving buildings. Walking through it feels a bit like stepping around a half-finished conversation. Carved sandstone figures of dancers and gods, some worn nearly smooth, have been gathered in a small museum on site.
The ride from Hoi An takes the best part of an hour on busy roads, past rice paddies, water buffalo, cafes and roadside stalls. Surfaces are generally fine, though lorries and scooters mean you must keep your wits about you. Arrive early, ideally at opening, to beat the heat and the tour buses that fill the site by mid-morning. The dry season, roughly February to August, is easier; autumn brings typhoons and flooded roads.
Hoi An, twenty-seven kilometres away, has fuel stations, restaurants and plenty of beds. Along the way, small towns like Duy Xuyen have petrol and noodle shops. Try cao lau, the thick local noodle dish, before heading back, and bring water and a hat for the walk because shade is patchy.