Morning My Son Sanctuary Tour From Hoi An: Going Early Changes Everything
What It’s Like To Experience My Son Sanctuary Before The Crowds
After spending most of December riding out the end of the rainy season in central Vietnam, I was finally waking up every morning to more and more beautiful days. The Hoi An, Vietnam weather in December is still pretty wet, but there’s so much emerging after the rainy season — lush greenery, the young rice paddies, and flowers beginning to bloom all around around Hoi An.
Hi I’m Jason!
I didn’t even see my 3rd country until age 40, then I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 42…in the middle of Covid. This is where I share personal stories, deep thoughts, and travel shenanigans to encourage and empower others with a fear of travel, or of traveling with major medical conditions, to push through and live an unconventional life!
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So I finally booked this sunrise My Son Sanctuary guided tour — an early-morning trip about an hour and fifteen minutes west of Hoi An, and similar in distance from Da Nang. The tour picked me up outside my hotel in Hoi An at 5:20 a.m., and after picking up two or three more groups — about ten of us total, from several different countries — we started the quiet drive west.
It was a beautiful, calm ride ending in the sun peaking up over the young rice paddy fields, still waking from under their covers of fog and mist in the morning.
In reality, I didn’t really know what to expect as we arrived to My Son Sanctuary. I knew very little about Vietnam when I arrived, and admittedly, very little about the Vietnam War and the history surrounding it. That’s something I’ve been trying to remedy while I’ve been here — learning more about the past, and as a U.S. citizen, the role we played in it.
My Son Sanctuary – A Unesco World Heritage Site
After buying tickets to enter this Unesco world heritage site — about 150,000 Vietnamese dong, roughly six U.S. dollars at the time — we made our way into the park to the shuttle station, where small golf-cart-style vehicles carried visitors closer to the ruins.
Our amazing (and kind of hilarious) tour guide, Lin, explained that the shuttle system was added in recent years to manage traffic as visitor numbers increased. She’d first been here more than twenty years ago, and she said that the contrast in tourism then versus now was striking, and that she is worried about the long-term.
Later in the day these spots were swamped with people getting selfies.- A calm morning approach to the ruins sites.
- Our final approach to the main area of the ruins.
- Not a soul in sight just after My Son Sanctuary opened.
The shuttle dropped us near an open-air restaurant in the park where this specific guided tour included free coffee or tea before exploring — and lunch later! I loved the little pond filled with frogs belting out a surprisingly loud morning symphony. We chilled there for a bit to listen before heading toward the ruins.
But What Exactly Is My Son Sanctuary?
So My Son Sanctuary was an extremely central part of the Champa Kingdom, a civilization that lived in central Vietnam for centuries. Research shows that beginning around the 4th century, the Cham people built these temples as places of worship, largely dedicated to Hindu deities like Shiva. But you don’t need to know much history to feel that this was once an important place.
One of the details that stuck with me most was the writing — ancient Champa script etched directly into stone…and it’s freaking gorgeous! (Said the design nerd…)
I think during these “touristy” type moments, I try to remember that these aren’t just “some cool ruins,” or a place that lends to beautiful photos, but a place that once held real meaning for generations of people. There were serious spiritual and cultural activities that were an important part of life for those that lived here before they were ruins.
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There’s Beauty In The Breakdown
The main architectural area of My Son Sanctuary is beautiful, but one thing that our guide explained very well is that much of what we see throughout the sanctuary has actually been rebuilt. Details like this is where the experience began to shift for me.
- We were told the Champa people walked here from miles away every day for ceremonies.
- Proof I was actually the one taking all these photos!
- Early morning light burning off the mist.
- Notice the new bricks (reinforced base) compared to the cleaner, older, original bricks.
I hadn’t realized how involved this area was during the Vietnam war, even though I understood that the war mostly took place in central Vietnam.
When our guide pointed out small pockmarks in the walls and asked us what we thought they were, the answer — bullet holes — stopped me in my tracks.
She talked about how people around the country are still finding live bombs from the war, even now. She stood next to two casings from unexploded bombs — they were taller than she was.
Seeing that in person was difficult and eye-opening. According to the Vietnamese government, an estimated 35 million landmines and 300,000 tons of unexploded ordinance still remain buried across the countryside decades after the war ended (source).
Standing there, next to those bombs, that number and the literal impact the war had on this area and it’s people stopped being so abstract.
We walked past massive indentations in the ground — twenty or thirty feet across — bomb craters left as they were. Our guide said she hoped they’d never be filled in, so people would remember.
Some of the bomb craters had been filled with water and turned into lily ponds. There’s something beautifully troubling about that contrast.
- An old bomb crater that has turned into a small pond.
- Another empty site pre-crowd.
- This guy.
- I love the mixture of colors; greens, blues, golds and reds.
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Centuries Old vs. New Construction
One of the more fascinating details was learning how the original structures were built. Clay formed into precise blocks, coated with natural materials, then lit on fire (almost like a pottery kiln) as entire structures to melt the coating to create strength.
In photos, you can clearly see the difference. The original blocks — hundreds of years old — often look cleaner and more intact than the newer reconstructed sections, which show more moss and discoloration. We also saw an area being rebuilt almost from scratch.
It was a subtle reminder that many of the ruins we admire around the world — in Europe, in Vietnam, everywhere — are often reconstructions after centuries of destruction, often from wars.
Finishing The My Son Tour…As The Crowds Emerged
After finishing the loop through the ruins, we returned to the restaurant for lunch, which was also included in the cost of this specific My Son Sanctuary tour — which only cost about $25 USD by the way. (Make sure you tip your amazing guide well!) Simple, traditional noodles, followed by a few desserts: a banana, a gelatinous rice treat with mung beans wrapped in banana leaf, a small yellow sweet bun, and one I honestly can’t remember.
As we headed back toward the entrance at around 9am, the contrast between now and 7am was immediate. Hundreds of people were arriving and funneling towards the ruins.
At one point as we left, we passed a group of what felt like a hundred school kids — laughing, yelling, and…well, being kids. Joyful, loud, and completely at odds with the calm we’d just experienced.
Our guide mentioned that afternoon tours are rare — it’s simply too hot and humid. Most people visit earlier in the day, which only reinforced the value of going as early as possible.
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Is The Morning My Son Sanctuary Tour Worth It?
If you’re deciding whether to visit My Son Sanctuary or whether it’s worth it, my answer is a resounding yes — if you do it this way. Early. with a small group, and before the heat and the crowds.
As I always say: get up early, get out of bed, explore first. Take your nap later. It’s always worth it.
We drove the hour and fifteen minutes back to Hoi An, and that wrapped up a day that left me with more questions than answers — the best kind of travel day.
On the ride back, I spoke with a couple of Germans who’d visited the DMZ (the demilitarized zone) and described it as one of the most emotional and enlightening tours they’d ever taking. Hopefully, that’s next on my list.
Being here has made one thing clear: understanding Vietnam — or most places in the world, really — means listening, learning, and sitting with its history.
Especially when…and because…it’s uncomfortable.
Cheers.
— Jason
About Jason Robinson
Jason is the author of “The Beginner Traveler’s Guide” as well as the voice behind the words and the eye behind the lens for The Nomad Experiment. “Planning to travel at some point” wasn’t actually getting the job done, so nearing 40 he decided to make it a priority, nomatter how scary that was. A few years later—through the pandemic and a type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 42—now living a life of nomadic travel, he’s speaking out to encourage others of any age, or with any serious medical diagnosis, to live an unconventional life.
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