Champa Folk Dance

The Cham people are the descendants of the old Champa Kingdom of Vietnam. It is believed that the Champa are of Malay or Polynesian origin and were Hindus.  Here is an example of the Champa folk dance.

This video by jujujulog shares a performance captured at My Son.

My Son - Hindu Kingdom of Vietnam

My Son is a World Heritage site filled with temple ruins of the Champa civilization of Vietnam.  It sits south of Hoi An. My Son, Hoi An, Tra Kieu (Simhapura) and the Cham Islands played important roles in the old Champa Kingdom. 

At My Son, you can find the remains of over 70 Hindu temples and tombs. These red brick towers and sanctuaries are important heritage remains for Vietnam, but the extant of the site is not on the scale of Angkor Wat or Borobudur.   Scriptures in Sanskrit and Cham have been recovered or identified at the site.

This video from UNESCO gives a glimpse of My Son and its surviving people. 

This video from TripAdvisorTRIPWOW4 shows some good pictures of the site.

Hoi An - Old Vietnam

Hoi An is a quaint old city, making it to the UNESCO World Heritage List due to the fact that it is virtually unscathed from the wars and retains its old buildings and way of life going back 500 years.  Previously called Faifo, Hoi An was a significant port of call by the Japanese and Chinese traders.  They left their mark on this city with structures such as a bridge and shop houses.  It’s a peaceful place, with trishaws, boats, craftsmen, heritage buildings and great food.

There are a lot of things to see and do in Hoi An with lost of great food, accommodation and shopping.  Both Wikitravel and Lonely Planet have a comprehensive guide on Hoi An.

Hoi An is a jump off point for many tours.  So setup base camp in Hoi An and off to the Marble Mountains, the Cham Islands, My Lai Peace Park, My Son and many other tours.  My Son is an archaeological site full of 4^th to 14^th century temples build by the Champa.  The Cham people of Vietnam are descendants of this civilization. The My Lai Peace Park is a Vietnamese-American dedication to peace in memory of the My Lai massacre.

This video by overlander gives us a glimpse of Hoi An.  Do take of note the short Cham dance snippets contained in this video.