Date: 28 October 2019

I arrived in the coastal town of Mui Ne in the afternoon. Mui Ne is located just outside Phan Thiết city. It’s a sleepy little resort town but Mui Ne is getting more popular on the Vietnam tourism trail, largely thanks to its unique attractions. I had booked a tour to see the sand dunes tomorrow but today, before the sun set, I decided to make the most of my time and visit a the Po Shanu Cham Towers.

I hailed a Grab bike taxi and negotiated with the driver, who agreed to take me there, wait and drive me back to Mui Ne for 70,000 VND (₹220/$3/€2.5).

It really looks like Mui Ne only recently developed as a major tourism destination. I saw a lot of construction activity in Mui Ne along the coastline — new hotels, resorts, and housing projects.

The ride to Ba Nai Hill, where the Cham towers are situated, took less than 15 minutes. Once we arrived, I had to pay for parking.

There are three towers still standing and the place is also referred to as the Champa temple complex because the towers house symbols of Hinduism — Yoni & Lingam in one, a Nandi bull statue in another, and Agni (fire god) in the third.