Nha Trang, Vietnam — The driver spoke no English; my Vietnamese vocabulary was limited. But we were going to spend five days together driving along the central coast of Vietnam. Hand gestures and pointing at places on a map would have to work.
Before long, I had learned a valuable motto for travel here: "Things rarely go as planned, but everything usually turns out just fine."
I was seeking the lost kingdom of Champa, a great maritime empire that once ruled much of what is now Vietnam. For 900 years, the Cham people controlled an independent state, but they fought often with their neighbors -- the Vietnamese to the north and the Khmer to the south.
Little is known of the Cham, but their land was one of the more exotic places visited by Marco Polo on his legendary journeys in the late 13th century. Champa no longer exists by that name, but with a little imagination, it can still be seen along the central coast of Vietnam. A few temples, sensuous art and sculptures of Cham gods survive as testimony to this highly developed civilization. As a bonus, visitors can discover some of the finest scenery and beaches the country has.
I got hooked on the Cham culture a few years ago while visiting Nha Trang, a beach resort along the central coast that's becoming popular with tourists.
I thought I knew Vietnam pretty well, having lived here for several years before the war, but Nha Trang startled me with its temples, which bore a strong resemblance to those at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
So when I returned last March, I decided to add an excursion along the coast. Hiring a car and driver was inexpensive: I paid $75 a day, which included car, gas, driver and the driver's lodging.
Though I had made arrangements with one of the better-known tour groups in Vietnam, no one showed up on the day of departure. After placing a few phone calls, the company hurriedly sent driver Doan Duc Hung from Hanoi in an Asian-model SUV.
Our starting point was the ancient town of Hoi An, now a popular stop for Western tourists. It was an important port in the time of the Cham, receiving Chinese emissaries and traders from faraway lands. After the Viet lords vanquished the Cham and began to move into the region in the 17th century, they used the town for their dealings with Japanese, Chinese and Western traders.
These days most visitors come by land rather than by sea, and they find their tastes catered to with dozens of handicraft shops and many restaurants, including one called Champa.
