My Son Early Access Tour at Opening

What a fascinating tour this was! We had an amazing time from start to finish. We learned so much amazing history and gained a deeper respect of the Champa Empire. It helped us put together the pieces of the various unique parts of Vietnam. Although our tour started early in the morning, it was very worthwhile because we missed the bulk of the crowds and could experience My Son’s beauty in peace without having to navigate around big groups and guides. Just as we were leaving we started to see the crowds arriving and were glad to have avoided them!

Nguyen really brought the history and architecture to life in an unexpected way (we won’t give it away for you). Our trip started from the touristy Hoi An, and it was helpful to see how the trading and maritime culture fits into the Champa Empire. The famous ancient well that is used to make the Hoi An specialty Cao Lâu noodles was built by the Cham people, and added an additional dimension to our experience in Hoi An.

Nguyen is a top-notch tour guide with a true heart and passion for Vietnam. We highly recommend this tour to everyone!

We booked this early morning tour with Nguyen after we had gone on his Vegan Food of Hoi An. We had enjoyed his company so much we knew his tour to My Son would be wonderful. From the moment we were picked up from our hotel by Nguyen and his charming driver in a new SUV we knew it was going to be a great tour. The very early morning pick up was a fantastic suggestion as it meant that we beat the heat. We arrived as the site opened and we were also ahead of all the tourist buses arriving! It was so atmospheric in the cool early morning with the mist still hanging on the surrounding mountains and beautiful bird song. During our journey to get there Nguyen shared with us the history of My Son and its influences. His exceptional knowledge of the Champa Empire was so educational and he was so fabulous at answering any of our questions. He had even gone to the trouble of preparing charts, photos and timelines as additional visual supports to the information he was sharing. After a light breakfast at the car we set off to tour the site with Nguyen. His deep respect and knowledge of the site was evident in everything he told us as we walked around the various areas. At one of the temples he actually demonstrated some of the building techniques that had been used to build the structures by producing some of his own hand made wooden blocks. Just amazing the amount of effort and thought he had put in! At another temple we stopped to look at a team of archaeologists working on the site and Nguyen discussed the progress they were making. He then delighted us with
some delicious home made Champa ginger cakes for us to enjoy while relaxing in the shade. What a lovely personal way of sharing the Champa culture and his absolute dedication to the finer details. We will be recommending all of his tours to our friends and family when they visit Vietnam. The deep love he has for his country, it’s culture and his enthusiasm for sharing it was a very positive experience.

We didn’t know about Champa and My Son temple until we arrived in Hoi An and decided to go for it, and found this tour by chance. This is the most intimate and informative tour to take. Yes, you will need to get up early, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it because when you arrive at the My Son temples, the site isn’t crowded—you’ll have it all to yourself. It’s cooler, and you’ll feel like you’re discovering this marvelous temple for the first time in hundreds of years. And the guide, Nguyen explains it all in his smooth, engaging way. As visual learners, we appreciated the effort Nguyen put into crafting building techniques from wood Jenga models, and prepared charts, collected history images. And the Champa’s delicious ginger cake at the end is the best way to combine history and food.

Private note to Nguyen: “you probably didn’t know this, well until now, but I majored in history in Portugal and have a pretty good overview of many civilizations around the world, but your deep knowledge shines in a truly unique way that I’ve never seen in any historical tour before. Well done”