At sunrise to My Son and last hours in Hoi An

This morning I was up at 5:00 AM. I had booked another guided half-day tour. The plan was to go to My Son for sunrise, and the tour promised that one could avoid the crowds of tourists. Even though it was a difficult decision considering my usual sleeping habits, I chose to go; not least because it would help escape the sweltering heat of the day and the midday sun. So, at 5:40 AM, I was already on the mini-bus heading to My Son. This site is an ancient temple city, which is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The area is shaped by Cham culture, which had a significant Indian influence and became widespread in Central Vietnam from the 2nd/3rd century. The temple complexes, dating from the 4th to the 13th centuries, were heavily damaged during the Vietnam War and are now being restored primarily using Indian methods, with involvement from Italians, French, and Mercedes as well. Our guide, Thao, studied history and English, which allowed him to provide in-depth insights... He also shared stories about his village, where there are direct seekers of American bombs from the Vietnam War - and probably still are - who earn a side income from the materials found in the bomb debris. The bomb defusals are carried out themselves; rather than evacuating, the interested villagers come together to watch the spectacle... Occasionally, things have gone terribly wrong, as one can imagine...

Even though some of the tour participants were a bit peculiar and socially awkward, it was still an interesting tour. We walked for 2.5 hours through the entire area, exploring the sections of the respective temple complexes, which are beautifully nestled in mountainous terrain interlaced with streams. The heat and humidity were already intense despite the early hour, but the early rising was worth it; this became clear when we saw the crowds on our way back, queuing up to enter the temple complex...

The tour also included a group breakfast, which we had afterwards. The typical breakfast in Vietnam includes noodles, which suits me just fine as I could eat noodles any time of the day. By 11:00 AM, we were back in Hoi An, and after a brief relaxation and freshening up, I sneaked off for my first fitting at the tailor. The basic cut already looked great after one day, and we could move on to the fine-tuning. Four hours later, I should be able to go for the second fitting. In the meantime, I strolled through the city and stopped by different eateries from time to time. Around 4:30 PM, I went for the second fitting. Everything was mostly great. Only various adjustments and a final quality check were necessary. By 10:00 PM at the latest, everything should be delivered to the hotel, although I lived just five minutes away and mentioned that it was no problem to pick everything up... After the early wake-up and only about 4.5 hours of sleep, I headed to my room for some late afternoon relaxation in a horizontal position...

The delivery from the tailor even arrived much earlier, and everything had been adjusted down to the last detail, with all seams undergoing a quality check again. After a power relaxation in the late afternoon, I ventured out again for a stroll at the night market and various food stalls, where instead of a larger meal at a restaurant, I wanted to sample food today, and in some taverns until after midnight my mattress called...