Dien Bien Phu Hotels
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The Road to Dien Bien Phu
Entry 7 of 11 | show all | print this entry |
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I began at the southern bus station in Hanoi at 5AM catching a public minibus north. The schedule is 8 hrs and the route is west to Hoa Binh, north to Son La and finally north west to Dien Bien Phu. As we wind our way though the outskirts of Hanoi the morning light increases as does the Hanoi traffic. On the streets there are people going to work by bus, van, car, motorbike, bicycle and even walking. Most vehicles are packed with people, animals, goods etc. It is not uncommon to see 3 persons, 1 adult and 3 kids, 1 person and 3 pigs or 1 person and 20 ducks on a single motorbike. The "Rules of the Road" are the vehicle with the loudest horn has the right of way with vehicle size being a key factor.
In an hour we pass through the town of Hoa Binh (Peace) and traffic lightens up. At about noon we are nearing Son La and the halfway mark (400km).
We stop at a local "Greasy Spoon" for fried pork, veggies and rice.
Beyond Son La the road becomes a construction zone rough, dusty and busy with large trucks.
For what seems like days we grind our way over the mountains on the rough, dusty road to where the French met their final defeat. It was the battle of Dien Bien Phu that helped the French decide to abandon their colonial aspirations. Unfortunately the U.S. decided to take their place.
I stumble from the bus near the center of this small town (40,000)which is the most populous in the north west of Vietnam. I notice a fabric shop across the street with a small sign saying guest house. I make my way across the busy street and ask, "Room for One?" laying my head on my hands as on a pillow. She points upstairs. I motion with hands in the form of spectacles that I would like to look. Hum, clean, mosquito net, bathroom, $8 ... OK. I'm tired and don't want to look further. I immediately stretch out and take a nap!
After an hour or so I'm revived and begin to explore the town which is the hub of NW Vietnam. Soon I discover that the only Internet is a gaming shop filled with yelling teen gamers. Oh well I'll just send off a couple of short messages. It's getting dark now and the noodle cafes are closed but I manage to persuade one to serve me a passable stir fry and beer. The next morning I discover a coffee house and order a cafe sua nong (Hot Vietnamese coffee with canned milk). I notice a group of Vietnamese men across the aisle trying to get my attention. They speak little English and my Vietnamese is extremely limited. We start with ages. I'm the oldest. Then where we live (a map helps here). They are on a holiday from Da Nang where they work. They are very surprised to find an American traveling alone. The dialog is mostly mime, with sketches and my travel map. I wish I had brought my phrase book! Damn!I return to my guest house in the afternoon and sit at the storefront writing in my journal watching the activities in the street. A refrigerator goes by on a motorbike and it's no big deal.
The husband of the storekeeper comes and sits beside me.
He speaks no English or French, but through maps, much pointing and mime I discover he was a veteran (Viet Cong)had served in the DMZ, went to liberate Saigon then was shipped to Cambodia to fight the Khmer Rouge. He really was excited pointing to places on the may where he had done battle. If only I had stronger language skills in Vietnamese!
The next morning at 5:30 I'm at the edge of town roaming the bus station looking for the bus to the Lao border and Muang Khua.
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