Hoi An

Hoi An a UNESCO World Heritage Site is situated in central Vietnam a short distance from the South China sea.

The town dates from the 15th to 19th centuries and much of the character of the old town resembles that of the original trading port.

Though there has been a Cham centre and town in the area since before and since the 5th century.

The town has easy access to the sea and for miles inland along the wide and navigable Thu Bồn river.

Chinese influences are reflected in the number of pagodas and assembly halls along the main street of the old quarter.

Some are now small museums providing local information.

Apart from the exhibits, the architecture of the building housing the museum is well worth exploring. The free tea ceremony is a bonus.

The architecture of the town reflects the many international visitors over the centuries, who settled in the area.

The buildings have distinctive Chinese and Japanese flavours.

In the 16th century a Japanese colony was established in the area close to the Japanese Bridge, which helped create a multi-cultural city.

The town is now a major tourist centre with hotels, restaurants and bars to suit all tastes and pockets.

The old town is pedestrianized and a ramble or cycle down the streets past the long houses and wooden beamed homes is a pleasant way of spending time in the area.

In much older times, the Cham community controlled the major spice trade between Indonesia and this region.

While Hoi An was the Cham's commercial centre, My Son not far away was its spiritual capital.

Take a stroll through the markets - perhaps buy some souvenirs or if you fancy barbequing dinner, select some fresh fish from the wet market.

Along the river front there are a number of restaurants in which you can relax and while away the time watching the river traffic.

Unfortunately due to its close proximity to the river and sea, Hoi An suffers from flooding and typhoon threats in the rainy season in October and November.

While walking through the town you may see some high water marks well above eye level.

The Thu Bon River rises in small springs in the Ngoc Linh Mountains, its source is at a height of 2,598m.

The river runs through forests of cinnamon-trees on its way down the mountain and meanders across the plains on its way to sea which it enters in the Cua Dai Estuary near Hoi An Town, though a tributary runs from the Thu Bon into the Vinh Dien River which flows into the Han River in Danang City.

In older times, the river was famous for the mulberry bushes which grew along the banks.

The silt brought down from the mountains by river is deposit on the flat plains between the mountains and the sea, this silt makes the land fertile.

While only the width of the river apart, the communities on the north bank differ culturally from their neighbours on the south side.

From Hoi An, boats can be rented either by groups or individuals to bring one up shore to the many villages and markets.

My Son is a site about 56km from Hoi An which was formerly the spiritual centre of the Cham people.

The site set in a verdant valley overlooked by the Cat's tooth mountain is now in partial ruins as a result on bombing ,which just a few of the buildings remaining intact.

The temples were Hindu influenced and built between the 4th and 14th centuries by the Cham emperors.

The Cham people ruled central Vietnam right through to the 18th and finally overcome by the Vietnamese in the 19th century.

It is thought the area may have been the burial place for the Cham emperors but no evidence exists to confirm this.

The site is particularly noted for its fine detailed stone and brick carvings sating back over 1000 years.

The site is a UNESCO heritage site since 1999.