Up at 6:30am. Breakfast. Tour left at 8am with two other people from my hotel. Walked in the rain to the street and waited for the bus. Had a 1.5 hour drive where our guide explained the events of the morning. His accent was so strong; it was almost impossible to understand him. I really had to concentrate. Got to the outside of My Son. Walked to the entrance. Got in a jeep to take us to the site. Walked around group B, C, and D which according to our guide are the most beautiful (he repeated this fact about 20 times). He told us some history and other information but it was hard to understand him. Raining on and off the entire time.
[Some information about My Son from LP and Footprint] My Son became a religious centre under King Bhadravarman in the late 4th century and was constantly occupied until the 13th century – the longest period of development of any monument in Southeast Asia. Archaeologists figured out that the Chams first built their structure and only then carved decorations into the brickwork. The ruins are set in a lush jungle valley surrounded by streams and overlooked by Cat’s Tooth Mountain. Only about 20 structures survived where at least 68 stood, partially because of American bombing. My Son still remains cloaked in green. My Son is important in the broader context of Indian influence of Southeast Asia, not just in terms of architecture but also in terms spiritual and political development. Falling as it did so strongly under Chinese influence, it is all the more remarkable to find such compelling evidence of Indian culture and iconography in Vietnam.Ran into David and Myan. Looked around group A and group E. Took the jungle path back to a van and walked to the rest stop. Bus to the boat station. Had to wait for the boat, it was sunny at the time, but by the time we got on, it was raining. Had lunch, a small plate of rice with some vegetables and tofu, and went down the river. Sadly it was raining pretty hard. Stopped at a small village for handicraft, but it was pouring and the wind was blowing so I gave it a miss. Docked around 2pm in Hoi An. Went to pick up my skirts then went to two old buildings, Tan Ky House (built two centuries ago as the home of a well-to-do ethnic Vietnamese merchant) and Diep Dong Nguyen House (built for a wealthy Chinese merchant in the late 19th century).
Tried on my shoes; fit ok but weren’t exactly how I thought they would be so I asked them to make some adjustments. Then went to Kimmy’s for my first fitting.
Loved my jacket! Lining came out beautifully. Didn’t like the work dress, so I’m having the neck-line changed. The blue party dress was nice but I’m not sure I like the color. Work shirts looked great and fit perfectly. My red jacket needed to be let out a little. Then I decided to get another blouse, short-sleeve this time and a dress, the style of which I took from a sample they had. Took me forever to decide on the pattern but I think it will look nice. Really excited about everything, except maybe the blue dress.
Ran into the same people I’d met when I was picking out my clothes (Chris, Jess and Wandy who happen to be staying at the same hotel) and they invited me to join them for dinner. Pouring rain again. Had a couple hours at the hotel and said bye to Philippa. Met up with Chris while Jess and Wandy finished a fitting. We joined a couple Irish guys they’d met in Hanoi and had a drink at Café 43, where we ended up eating dinner. Got the Cao Lau and shared the fried wonton with Jess. Hung around drinking the fresh beer (3,000 dong a glass, the equivalent of 15 cents) and went back to the hotel around 10pm. It started pouring, like in the movies when all the sudden its gushing down, about a minute after I got inside.
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