Champa Ruins and Hoi An Day-Trip from Da Nang

Traversing Vietnam from South to North in 10 Days – Day 3

Today, we flew to Da Nang – a coastal city of Vietnam and the largest city of Central Vietnam. It is located midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It does not share the hustle-bustle of either of them. Da Nang is popular for its own city beach and beautiful bridges. The bridges lit up in the evening making the city look beautiful. The city is just by the East Vietnam Sea with Han river passing through the heart of the city. The city is used to be a French colonial port. Its close proximity to ancient cities of charming Hoi An, Champa ruins at My Son, and imperial capital of Hue makes it a popular vacationing spot for taking day trips or transit city for your onward journey.

Highlights of the Day

• Fly to Da Nang
• Stop at Marble Mountains
• Vegan Lunch at Lovely Hut
• Explore Champa Ruins at My Son
• Ancient City of Hoi An
• Vegan Dinner at Karma Waters

Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang

Our flight to Da Nang from Ho Chi Minh City was at 7.45 AM with Vietjet. It is an economical airline of Vietnam. The reception staff of our Ecobackpackers Hostel arranged a taxi for us to the airport. We reached airport well before time. So we had some time to grab some veggie Bahn Mi for breakfast.

We had booked rooms at Funtastic Beach Hostel, which is close to the beach. Also, we arranged a car for us with a driver for day-trip to Champa ruins and Hoi An. The driver was supposed to pick us up from Da Nang airport. He took us to the hostel, and waited for us while we dumped our luggage there and freshened up. Then he took us to the Champa ruins at My Son and also Hoi An ancient city. Finally, he dropped us back to our hostel at Da Nang.

Getting Train Tickets in Vietnam

It was difficult to book the tickets from the railway website. You need to have Vietnam bank cards for that and we did not have them of course. It is better to book from agents though we booked from the station directly.

On the way to our hostel, we requested the driver to stop at the railway station of Da Nang. We had to get the train tickets from Dong Hoi to Hanoi for day 5 and from Hanoi to Lao Cai for day 8.

Getting the tickets directly from the station was not tough at all. As you enter the railway ticket office, you have to take a coupon. Wait for your coupon number that would appear on the LED screen. When your turn comes, go to the railway ticket officer. Give him or her the details of your train journey. He or she would handle you the tickets after you pay the amount directly. They accept both dong and dollars.

Check-In at Funtastic Beach Hostel

The hostel we had finally booked was only a minute away from the city beach. We had booked one room with a double bed and two bunk beds with private bathroom and a double room with shared bathroom.

On the Way to My Son Ruins

It was 11 AM when we left the hostel. The first thing we did was we picked up two 5-l water bottles for us and kept in the car. We were also hungry enough. The driver knew we prefer vegetarian food, so he stopped by a lovely vegan restaurant called Lovely Hut on the way to the ruins. The food was economical, delicious, and on top of that, it was cruelty-free.

Champa Ruins at My Son

I had studied of the Chams or Cham people of the Champa kingdom in the history of Southeast Asia. They migrated here during the 2nd-4th century and populated the central and southern Vietnam up to the mid-15th century forming the My Son civilization. The My Son sanctuary is located around 50 km south-west of Da Nang. We reached there in around 1.5 h.

The opening time of the My Son sanctuary is 6 AM to 5 PM, and the entrance fee is quite high – 150,000 d or 7.5 $, but it is worth a visit.

It is listed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main reason is because it carries outstanding universal value for the people of Vietnam, for Southeast Asia, for societies across the world. It is mainly because of the two criteria:

1. Cham people were an ethnic group of Austronesian origin in Southeast Asia. They were adapting to external cultural influences, for example the Hindu art and architecture of the Indian subcontinent. So the My Son Sanctuary is an exceptional example of cultural interchange.
2. Moreover, the Champa kingdom was an important episode in the political and cultural history of Southeast Asia. It is graphically illustrated by the remains of a series of impressive tower temples in My Son.

The site was discovered by a French architect, archaeologist, and art historian Henri Parmentier and his colleagues. They began excavating and documenting the site in 1887. Today, you can only see groups of towers simply dotted throughout the forest. The temples are in varying states of repair, with restoration still undergoing.

We spent one whole hour exploring the ruins, and came back by the same path by taking the tram ride back to the entrance of the site. History had always been so interesting, so I had a great time indeed. We left the site at around 2 PM and proceeded east to Hoi An ancient town, which is around 40 km from the My Son sanctuary, which we reached in another hour.

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An traded with countries of Southeast and East Asia and also with the rest of the world.

While My Son was the spiritual capital of the Champa kingdom, Hoi An acted as the commercial capital. It was the principal port from 15th to 19th centuries. Even after its decline, it has managed to retain its traditional and original form till the date. Now it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site, mainly because of the following reasons:

1. Hoi An is an outstanding evidence of the fusion of cultures, both indigenous and foreign. You will find especially Chinese and Japanese with later European influences. All these influences have survived uniquely in its traditional wooden buildings, organically developed street plan, and its beautiful setting by the north bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River.
2. Hoi An is also an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional South East Asian trading port and commercial center.

It was almost 3.30 PM when we reached Hoi An ancient town. Our car parked outside the ancient town. Outside vehicles are not allowed beyond that zone, except cyclos (cycle rickshaws) and bicycles. So from there, we had to walk down the street.

You have to purchase a ticket worth 120,000 d or 6 $ to get access of any of the five attractions in the ancient city. It can be any of the museums, old houses, assembly halls, handicraft workshops or traditional theater, and either the Japanese Covered Bridge or the Quan Cong Temple.

I would help you with a rough plan below that you may use when you visit Hoi An, without getting confused to choose the five attractions as per the coupon:

1. First, you may choose one of the two landmarks of Hoi An:
   
   i. Japanese Covered Bridge’s Pagoda, which is in one corner of the bridge that was constructed in the early 17th century by the Japanese community
   ii. Quan Cong Temple, which is a small, 17th-century Chinese pagoda temple decorated with elaborate statues and artwork

   

2. Second, you may choose any of the four museums in the Old Town:
   
   i. Museum of Folk Culture, which documents the dress and culture of rural Vietnam
   ii. Museum of Trade Ceramics, a beautiful house that displays broken pottery of the old era
   iii. Hoi An Museum of History and Culture, which contains some old black and white photos of the 20th century, 9th century bricks and tiles from the Champa period, an old canon, and some 2,000-y old pots
   iv. Museum of Sa Huynh Culture, which consists of pottery and urns from the 1st and 2nd centuries

   

   

   

3. Third, you may choose to visit any of the three old houses:
   
   i. Phung Hung House, which is a traditional two-story wooden house, inhabited over 100 years by 8 generations, and is considered as the cultural heritage of the town
   ii. Quan Thang House, which is over 150-y old house of Chinese architecture style
   iii. Tan Ky House, which shows the interminglement of Japanese and Chinese influences in its architecture

   

4. Fourth, you may visit any of the numerous congregation halls, where Chinese expatriate residents socialized and held meetings:
   
   i. Cantonese Assembly Hall from the 19th century
   ii. Hokien (Fujian) Meeting Hall from the 18th century
   iii. Chinese All-Community Meeting Hall from the 19th century

   

5. Finally, you may choose one of the following to get an idea of the impalpable culture of ancient Hoi An:i. Hoi An Handicraft Workshop, where folk music performances are offered
   ii. Hoi An Traditional Theater, where folk shows are offered showing the cultural influences on Hoi An
   iii. Swan Boats on the river near the footbridge – it is a great experience to witness Hoi An from the river especially when the sun is setting

   

   

   

   

   

   Dinner at Karma Waters

The food was delicious and economical, served by happy and smiling staff.

If you are a vegan, even if you are a vegetarian or a healthy eater, choose Karma Waters to dine at while in Hoi An. It is located in the center of the ancient city. Our driver took us there and waited for almost an hour while we enjoyed our healthy and organic vegan dinner.

After dinner, the driver drove us safely to our hostel at Da Nang within an hour. It was an extremely long day for us. I would advise you to spend at least two nights or maybe more in Da Nang or Hoi An. We were very tired even though we had the comfort of the car. The next day would be long too as we have plans to explore Hue – the Imperial City! Goodnight!

NET EXPENSE FOR 1 PERSON (IN USD)

Let us have a look at the expenses of Day 3 in Vietnam – Da Nang.

• Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang (flight): 60.5
• Hostel in Da Nang for single bed (1 night): 10
• Getting around: 15
• Entrance fee of the places in My Son and Hoi An: 13.5
• Food: 10

Total expense (roughly): 109 USD

For an overall idea of itinerary and expense of the trip, whether for solo or couple or group of any number of people, feel free to contact me on Contact Us page. You can also have a look at Traversing Vietnam from South to North in 10 Days – Itinerary and Expenses.

If you are planning for a much-organized, tastefully-curated, stress-free yet exciting vacation, consider booking your holidays at Travel Love Repeat. It is going to be a treat for sure!