Vietnam TravelTravel Special FeaturesA glimpse of Quy Nhon

A glimpse of Quy Nhon

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Visit Quy Nhon at noon and you'll see the sunlight blanket the hills that surround it, shimmer on its urban streets, and glisten on the tip of each pristine wave that laps a nearby beach.

Away from the noise and bustle of Highway One, away from the crush of development, Quy Nhon offers the peace and tranquility of bygone times. As I walk down a side street I hear a song emanate from a radio and its lyrics engrave the essence of Quy Nhon in my memory:"...Today the streets are encased in sunlight, I am alone on an empty street. Far away, waves sing softly the song of my longing for you...".

I've been drawn to Quy Nhon for a long time. In my imagination, this is the place of the ruined Do ban citadel from which the rulers of Chiem Thanh city ruled unchallenged for so many years. In my mind I can hear horses neighing and solider shouting as they fight the deadly battles between Cham soldiers and those of the Vietnamese dynasties that imposed their might from the north. Later, once the area came under Vietnamese control, it gave birth to powerful military heroes (Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu all hailed from this region).

There were artists too. Van Cao, a famous poet, painter and composer, came from here and wrote about the Cham towers that "take cover under the blue sky". His poetry inspired me to visit some of the towers, which draw thousands of tourists every year.

The twin granite towers in Thap Doi, just outside Quy Nhon, are as red as lipstick. They're relatively small and are humbled by the powerful sunlight that beats down on them, but they are unique from other towers in one way: their creators were heavily influenced by Hindu architecture and each tower is carved with Garudas, mythical birds still revered in Indonesia. North of the towers are two bridges where lovers have traditionally opened their hearts to each other with poems like this:

Two towers stand together,
two bridges stand together,
So why can't I get close to you?

Like the Egyptian pyramids, no one knows how the Cham were able to build these towers. Each brick was compacted tightly next to its neighbor before another was added above, yet none were tied with mortar. Without this glue, how did these monuments withstand the test of time and survive hundreds of years of rain and heat? The secret of their resilience increases their appeal.

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