My Son Sanctuary & Da Nang

We have arranged a car transfer from Hoi An to Da Nang, which if you are going directly only takes 45 mins or so. We have decided however to complicate things a little by detouring into the interior (kind of) to visit the My Son sanctuary.

My Son hosts the ruins of a number of Hindu temples and other buildings that were constructed by the ancient Cham people of central Vietnam. Although some buildings have been partially restored, most of the intricate sculptures are original. The site is enjoyable to walk around, set in a remote forest up in the hills, despite the humidity and not so subtle presence of many many small insects that want to eat us.

After probably our first 'proper bad' meal (a plate of salt served with some rice and even less chicken), we are taken to our hotel right on Da Nang beach. It's at the northern end away from the central part, so nice and relaxed, and affords us the opportunity of gazing from the balcony out to sea, before heading below to get our feet wet and stroll along the shore.

For dinner, we head to the (very) bright lights of downtown Da Nang. We have mixed results with our selection of sausages, but the beers are ok!

In the morning, it's off to the local station to catch our next train south towards Nha Trang. Luckily for us once more, we have the compartment to ourselves so the 9hr trip passes quite pleasantly.