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Vietnam's most important site of the ancient kingdom of Champa, and now a Unesco World Heritage site, reached by day trip from Hoi An. A beautiful, verdant spot overlooked by Cat's Tooth Mountain, which contained over 70 monuments until the Americans bombed the area; now there are twenty. (It's pronounced something like 'Mee Sonn', rather than like your male offspring or a popular Cockney term of familiarity.)

38 photographs - click any one to see an enlargement (Please see the note on the home page about popup blockers).

Muddy pond full of ducklings where our bus got stuck in the mud
Muddy pond full of ducklings where our bus got stuck...
Impending bridge repairs? Note the blokes on the oil-drum raft.
Impending bridge repairs? Note the blokes on the oil...
This is the bridge we crossed instead
This is the bridge we crossed instead
The Jeep trip up the road to the main site
The Jeep trip up the road to the main site
Mary, after alighting from the genuine (they said) Willys Jeep
Mary, after alighting from the...
[ Transport ]
Approaching the ancient complex
Approaching the ancient complex
One of the Group B or C temples
One of the Group B or C temples
A temple with Cat's Tooth Mountain beyond
A temple with Cat's Tooth Mountain beyond
The same temple, closer
The same temple, closer
Looking up inside the temple, showing the stepped construction
Looking up inside the temple, showing the stepped...
Well preserved carvings on the (mercifully) brighter side of the temple
Well preserved carvings on the (mercifully) brighter...
Another temple, roofless
Another temple, roofless
Going for a look inside
Going for a look inside
A yoni (representation of the vulva, into which a linga fits) inside
A yoni (representation of the vulva, into which a...
Cat's Tooth Mountain
Cat's Tooth Mountain
A pair of carvings in the small on-site museum
A pair of carvings in the small on-site museum
A multi-armed god
A multi-armed god
A liophant? An eleon?
A liophant? An eleon?
What's left of a carving of an elegant scene
What's left of a carving of an elegant scene
A grinning serpent and another fragment on the wall
A grinning serpent and another fragment on the wall
Good view of another temple
Good view of another temple
A bridge across a stream - the site's all beautifully appointed
A bridge across a stream - the site's all beautifully...
A more distant view through the foliage
A more distant view through the foliage
Reduced to a heap of rubble - by the Americans?
Reduced to a heap of rubble - by the Americans?
More to be uncovered
More to be uncovered
In spite of everything, some bits are very well preserved
In spite of everything, some bits are very well preserved
Statue of Shiva
Statue of Shiva
Linga and yoni in front of a monument strapped together against final collapse
Linga and yoni in front of a monument strapped...
Concrete bench and waste bin made to look like wood
Concrete bench and waste bin made to look like wood
Another small temple, inaccessible to us
Another small temple, inaccessible to us
Back over the bridge
Back over the bridge
New hotel being built
New hotel being built
Smart bus, fancy curtains
Smart bus, fancy curtains
Bridge across another huge Vietnamese waterway
Bridge across another huge Vietnamese waterway
Lunch we were given on the boat - we've had better!
Lunch we were given on the boat - we've had better!
Pottery in production at the village where we stopped off
Pottery in production at the...
[ Pottery Village ]
A couple of boats complete with, er, outhouses
A couple of boats complete with, er, outhouses
Carving little Buddhas in the woodcarvers' village
Carving little Buddhas in the...
[ Wood carvers ]

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