The My Son temple ruins is from the Champa people (pronounced sharmpa or sharm) and is thousands of years old. Our guide explained that the Cham people still exist in about 7 settlements in Vietnam. They are cut off from most modern things and continue to use their own dialect and writing system. They are a very peaceful people whose main activities in life are "to work, sleep and pray". They do not compete in any manner of sports or games and hold women very highly as the bearer of life.

The temples are made from red clay bricks that were kiln hardened and held in place with a type of mortar made from sugar cane and the sap from a local tree. Apparently this formula remained a mystery for many years and was only rediscovered with the help of the Cham community. They are now replanting this tree in the area, as the local Vietnamese cut most of them down for firewood. Apparently the Cham took out legal proceedings a few years ago to reclaim the land but I don't think they were successful.

The area is classified as a UNESCO World Hertitage site. They were not very happy with the dodgy restoration work done several years ago when a couple of buildings were reinforced with modern concrete motar between the original bricks. It actually looks bloody awful compared to the original fine brickwork. One of the temples had started to disintergrate under other "restoration work". The guide said that it was because the energy being absorbed by the structure had been disrupted and had weakened it to the point of collapse. It was now being held up by massive steel posts and bracing. Whether energy disruption or just plain dodgy restoration, its a real shame to see something this old crumbling away.

Fortunately there is now a massive amount of investment and restoration work being undertaken by various foreign countries under the direction of UNESCO. The Italians are restoring an entire temple using authentic brick manufacture and the original mortar recipe. We saw men working on a smaller structure near the tourist path at it looked amazing. It is taking a very, very long time using the ancient techniques but the result will be spectacular.

Its was a bit wet so we didn't get a lot of photos unfortunately. Very hard to juggle umbrella's and camera equipment. Steve and Daniel said they'd happily spend a full day exploring the ruins but Sue was quite content with the brief tour we had today. We're all hoping we can return one day and see it again.

Lunch was at the Blue Dragon Cafe on the water. The Blue Dragon organisation was started by an Australian teacher working in Hanoi and part of the proceeds help underprivileged kids. The food was ok but still way better than we'd get at home. There were curiousities on the wall include flood lines and photos from when the river floods. The highest was over Steve's head.

We went back to Cloth Shop 52 to see Anh and check our clothe fittings. Daniel asked where the change rooms were and she said "no, you just take your pants off here". She held up a piece of cloth to hide his modesty. Sue stripped her top off in the market to try on the blouses and Steve just stripped down to his boxers to try both the shirts and the shorts. The gi actually turned out better than expected and will be good for summer training. Fortunately there was "changeroom" for Sue to try on dresses - a shower curtain on a circular metal bar in front of a mirror, not dissimilar to a magicians disappearing assistant act. Most of the clothes fitted very well with only minor adjustments for one of Sue's dresses. The evening dresses weren't ready yet so we have to come back tomorrow.

The hawkers run a pretty smooth ship here. The way it works is that while you're waiting getting fitted or choosing colours etc, other people hover around the fringes and start chatting to you. There is no indication that they are not associated with the current stall holder, you just think that they're related. They're very friendly and chatty and it definitely puts you at ease. When your current transaction is finished, without you even realising it, you're being led along to the next stall to buy _______ (insert one of a zillion items for sale at the markets). Because you've already built up a rapport with this person, its really hard to get away without parting with your cash. The cycle continues because while you're negotiating this one, more are hovering and chatting to you.

Had a nice dinner in one of the back street restaurants and enjoyed the relative peace of walking along the streets without the hawkers in the evening humidity fog.

Cocktail Curiosities

• Foozy Lemon = Fuzzy Lemon
• Streaming Orgasm = Screaming Orgasm
• Some cocktails with lots of fruit juice are usually served at room temperatTaking a lick of the spoon between mixing drinks seems perfectly ok. We caught the waitress on video Cheesy grin
• There is no legal drinking age in Vietnam, so Daniel was very excited when Steve said he could have cocktails on 2 conditions - Dad chooses the drinks and Daniel pays the bill. He could have as many virgin strawberry daiquiri's he could handle. Steve strung it along for a few days before explaining the joke. Daniel was most unamused.
• The amount of alcohol added to your drink can vary widely. Just depends on how heavy handed the bartender is.

Tip of the day: If you can't tell if a street vendor is mixing up fish sauce or doing the dishes, probably best you don't eat there.