Sofia and I were only able to take one road trip. It was a fun day trip outside of Hoi An, visiting the clay brick Cham temples out there. A lot of societies grappled for Vietnam- particularly the south eastern portion of the country. The Chams were a Vedic culture, which brought Buddhism with them. They controlled different territories over the years had a lot of infighting between kings.
The temple complexes we visited were initially intended to be big tourist draws, but had seemingly been forgotten in some bureaucratic shift or other and, as such, relegated to a slow, moldering decline. The jungle has taken back the modern stone-block paved roads which were supposed to carry tourists around on golf carts and reclaimed the visitors welcome center as well as the foundations of a hotel (a hotel for Cham temple enthusiasts? Pretty narrow market, that). It is a neat area. I tried to help a lady hawk her coconuts for 30 minutes or so, but my capitalist, American showmanship did not impress any potential customers. It’s a bummer because her coconuts were top notch.
We also took some photos at the Vietnam History Museum, which I’d never been to before. It’s really cool. A decent effort at outlaying the history of the area; some typical lapses and a lot of stuff tarped-off due to renovations, but definitely a worth-while visit. HCMC is a kick ass place.
