The My Son Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed archaeological site in Central Vietnam that is often visited by tourists staying in Danang or Hoi An. But how does it compare to the many other similar archaeological sites around Southeast Asia and is it worth the half day or so that it takes to visit given there are so many other attractions and things to do in that part of Vietnam.

Of course, if you are into ancient history and travel specifically to visit such places, there is no question that you would find the journey to My Son worthwhile, but if you are the average tourist or traveller looking only to wander around and snap a few photographs for your Facebook or Instagram pages, you may find it disappointing.

My Son is a comparatively small archaeological site and nowhere near the scale of the better-known temple complexes of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar, or Borobudur in Indonesia. It doesn’t even match the scale of the archaeological sites in Sukhothai or Ayutthaya in Thailand. It’s closer to the size of the Phimai Historical Park in Thailand.

There used to be about 70 buildings at My Son, but about two thirds of those were destroyed by American bombing during the Vietnam War. There are around 20-25 ‘buildings’ of significance left at My Son, but some of those are partly collapsed or little more than piles of rubble or building foundations.

There are only a dozen or so large buildings left that are reasonably intact and it takes little more than an hour to visit them all. Some are undergoing restoration with financial support from the Government of India, whilst others appear to be suffering from the ravages of time and the weather.

The weathered red brick buildings look similar to those at Phimai – which is not surprising given that both are Hindu-influenced temple complexes and are of a similar age (11th-12th centuries), although the My Son site dates back to the 4th century when it became the capital of the Champa Kingdom, many centuries earlier than when Phimai was at its prime as an important town in the Khmer Empire.

So, if you’ve been to the Phimai Historical Park and you are not a student or aficionado of ancient history and archaeology, you probably won’t get a lot out of a visit to the My Son Sanctuary. The only thing that My Son offers over Phimai is a small cultural show (which I thought would be touristy but was actually well-performed).

The one big advantage that My Son has over Phimai is that it’s only an hour’s drive from Hoi An (or a little over an hour from Danang) whereas Phimai is not close to any popular tourist destinations. It’s a four-hour drive from Ayutthaya and five hours from Bangkok. So Phimai is not easy to reach unless you happen to be heading out into Thailand’s Isan region.

The My Son Sanctuary is also ideal for visiting on a rainy day because its inland location means that it can be very hot there on sunny days between April and September. However, when it is raining use the main roadway to reach the main buildings and return on the same route. If you take the stone pathway that takes you back on the recommended anticlockwise route past two more old temple buildings, you may find it very slippery depending on the type of footwear that you are using.

The entrance fee to the My Son Sanctuary is 150,000 Vietnamese dong (about US$6) and it’s easy to find a Grab car from Hoi An or Danang for around 600,000 dong one way Usually the driver will be happy to wait for you for no additional charge, but you’ll need to have cash on hand for the trip back.

A cheaper way to visit is to join a van tour where they will allow 90 minutes to two hours to explore the My Son Sanctuary. After purchasing tickets from the ticket booth at the entrance, you will need to walk about 300 metres to a shuttle station (on the other side of a pedestrian bridge) and from there golf cart-type shuttles (included in the ticket price) will take you to the entrance to the actual historical park (it’s too far to walk).

Did I find the visit worthwhile? Having previously visited all the other ancient temple complexes mentioned in this post, I personally found it a little underwhelming. But given that I was on the Central Coast during the rainy season, which limits the outdoor activities that I enjoy, it was still a pleasant way to spend half a day.

All images: © David Astley