Vietnam: Part 3

Prepared April 11, 2012, the Arabian (Persian) Gulf in Port, Fujairah, UAE and April 14, 2012, Khasab, Oman

March 22  2012, Sapa, Vietnam:  Weekly Market and Lao Cai

Another early start; we were up at 7:00am and after breakfast on the road toward Lao Cai by 7:30am.  The major project of the day was to visit an ethnic minority weekly market about 75 miles (120km) from Sapa near the Chinese border at a small village called Lung Khau Nhin.  Here, we would be able to see a number of ethnic groups and the kinds of activities that take place at the market.  But, first we had to get there.

At 5,250ft (1,600m), Sapa was shrouded in fog and mist, and you could not see more than a few feet beyond the hood of the SUV.  Down the two-lane mountain road we went, toward Lao Cai.  By the time we were about half-way down the mountain at 2,500ft (750m), the fog had lifted and visibility had greatly improved.  Lao Cai is 22mi (35km) down the mountain in the Red River (Song Hong) Valley and is on the border with China's Yunnan Province.  We crossed the Red River bridge at Lao Cai and turned north on National Route 40, which parallels the Vietnamese side of the border in a tributary of the Red River.  (Our guide pointed out Chinese border guards on a ridge line along the opposite side of the stream.)  At Muong Khuong, we left Route 40 just before it ended at the Chinese border and turned east on a provincial road.  This road climbed into the mountains and along the ridge line for approximately 20mi (32km) until we reached the village of Lung Khau Nhin.

Red River Bridge at Lao Cai

The weekly market at Lung Khau Nhin takes place along both sides of the only road as it passes through the village.  Although there is an open-sided, roofed market building, it is mainly given over to commercially-made soft goods (clothes, blankets, etc.) from China.  The real market is on the street, where every type of item is sold.  A number of the local ethnic groups were represented, both as vendors and buyers,  including the Black H'mong, Flower H'mong, Lung, and Man.  (Ethnic groups in Vietnam are identified by the predominant color of the women's costumes -- leave it to the French!)

The Weekly Market at Lung Khau Nhin

One interesting aspect of the market was the trading of pack ponies and water buffalo; also, the electric utility bills were paid on market day, and the payment queue, or lack thereof, gave one the impression that the price was subject to negotiation, or at least a great deal of loud complaint.   (Sadly, automatic payment by computer does not give one the opportunity to call an employee of the utility company a dumb SOB, while surrounded by many of your friends and neighbors.  J thinks it would be a very stress-relieving activity.)  There are also strange delicacies being prepared for sale and food stalls for both men and women, who, it seems, do not eat together in public.  The market was a beehive of activity.  We spent about an hour and a half wandering around and looking at everything; we did not buy anything, therefore keeping the local economy free of international economic contamination.

Paying the Electric Bill

This is the Famous Circular Queue

Women's Food Stall

Men's Food Stall

Pony/Buffalo Market in Background

The Local Fabric Shop

The Super Market

Last Chance for Watermelon

The Other Super Market

Watermelon -- No Problem!

Hats, Many Hats

Pots and Pans in Metal or Plastic

Back in the SUV, we proceeded down the mountain and returned to the district town of Muong Khuong, where we stopped for lunch at a newly-opened tourist restaurant (Build it and they will come!).  While we ate our delicious box lunches prepared by the hotel, our guide and driver enjoyed fresh local dishes.  We think that they may have had the best deal.  Finishing lunch, we were back in the SUV for the drive to Lao Cai.  The agricultural area between Muong Khuong and Lao Cai supports commercial plantations of both tea and pineapple.  On the hillsides along the road toward Lao Cai, large acreages are given over to both crops.

Pineapple Plantations Near Lao Cai

Eat you heart out Mr. Dole!

Picking Tea

Lao Cai is the provincial capital of Lao Cai Province, and the largest city in northwest Vietnam.  Its location on the Yunnan, China border and its railway links to Kunming, China make it a major trading center -- foodstuffs from Vietnam for manufactured goods from China.  The physical boundary is the bridge that crosses a tributary of the Red River between Lao Cai and the Chinese city of Hai Chau.  Locals from both sides seem to be able to cross without a great deal of hassle.  According to our guide, they only need to have a valid national ID card.  At both ends of the bridge, both countries have erected monumental gates, but on the Vietnamese side, there is a small traveler's temple, which is very attractive.  Viewing the bridge-crossing from the park along the Vietnamese side, we were impressed with the amount of traffic moving both ways across the border.  (Another indication that nothing improves international relations like greed!)

Welcome to China

Welcome to Vietnam

Traveler's Temple, Lao Cai, Vietnam

Having completed our all-too-brief visit to Lao Cai, we drove back up the mountain to Sapa, and the Victoria Sapa Resort, where we spent the late afternoon relaxing and looking at the rabbits in the children's play area.  The resort had four rabbits which E was very fond of watching.  We had tea and returned to our suite to read and rest for our next adventure in Sapa.

E's Favorite Rabbits

Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa

March 23, 2012, Sapa, Vietnam:  The 250 Steps

Having enjoyed a late wakeup (8:00am) and large buffet breakfast, our guide and driver took us to a dropoff point above the mountain village of Cat Cat for a "trek" down the mountain, through the village, and then up the mountain to rejoin our driver -- the 250 steps.  The Cat Cat Tourism Area includes the Hmong village of Cat Cat and the surrounding area where the Dzay minority lives.  Walking through the area is on improved stone steps.  There is almost no level ground.

Cat Cat is a government tourist destination, and an admission price is paid to enter the area.  Our guide, Thuan, went to the ticket booth to get the tickets, and we noticed when he returned that he was quite agitated.  When we asked why, he told us that he had been coming here for ten years and paying admission fees which were intended to help the Hmong  and Dzay;  however, in the ten years that he has been bringing visitors, he has not seen any evidence of improvements for local people (new schools, clinics, etc.).  So, he told off the person in the ticket booth, pointing out the lack of facilities and accusing him and his "higher-ups" of taking the money to buy cars and other personal things (which he himself had witnessed).  In general, they were behaving like criminals, he said.  We were somewhat taken aback by his candor and accusations about the official corruption that seems to be fairly widespread in Vietnam.  Even more so, because Thuan seemed to us a fairly-orthodox, Vietnamese follower of the Government's policies.  But, he was definitely up-in-arms over the corruption and diversion of Government funds for personal use.

We carried on.  The upper part of the path down the mountain was filled with tourist handicraft/curio shops of all kinds.  Those shops were in front of the local people's homes.  Some of the homes contained fabric-dying vats and others were a blacksmith shop as well as an art gallery and curio shop.  Most of the tourists were Vietnamese from the Red River Valley, so there was a great deal of curio buying.

The Stone Path to Curioville

Terraced Rice, Water Buffalo - View from the Stone Path

Water Control at the Blacksmith Shop

Tourists.  What Tourists? Oh, Bore!

The path itself was a series of non-AIA approved steps of various pitches and widths, so it kept you awake or got you injured, and it was steep.  When you were not surrounded by shops and houses, there were views of the farm life and paddy fields, as well as the mist-filled valley.  All in all, it was a very iconic presentation of life in an ethnic, mountain village.  At the bottom of the valley was a stream with a waterfall.  Nearby, there was an old, French-built hydroelectric station which had been converted into a theater for ethnic music and dance.  (A new hydroelectric station now provides power to Sapa and the valley.)  We attended a traditional dance performance at the theater, which was a good way to rest and prepare ourselves for the walk out of the valley and up the mountain.

The walk up the mountain was, as you would expect, more of a trial than the walk down.  With a very deliberate pace and two rest stops, we made it to the ridge line.  We were offered pillion rides on 50cc motorbikes for the last one-third of the way up, but after considering which would most likely cause bodily harm, we stuck with walking.  At the ridge line road, our smiling driver was waiting.  (He was smiling because he didn't have to make the trek.)  Also, that number of 250 steps is misleading.  The more likely number is ~500 -- 250 steps down and 250 steps up!

The Waterfall at Bottom of the Path

The Bridge and the Stream

It is all up-hill from here!

After a brief rest, it was into the SUV and back up the road to Sapa, about fifteen minutes.  Along the road were a number of old French mansions, which seemed to be in various states of disrepair.  Sapa had originally been a French hill station, were the colonials came to escape the summer heat and humidity of the Red River Valley, where Hanoi is located.  Thuan said that most of the French mansions had been "torn down" by the Chinese when they occupied Sapa during the Chinese/Vietnamese incident of 1979.  As a consequence, the "destruction" added to the ill will between the Chinese and Vietnamese.

Back in Sapa, we had lunch at a local restaurant, with Thuan doing the ordering.  The food was excellent, most of the dishes being vegetarian.  We then walked for about an hour through Sapa, spending most of our time in the town's large, covered market.  J, of course, had to buy the obligatory map t-shirt.  Then, it was back to the Victoria Resort, a hot shower, nice long nap, and tea.  This was in preparation for our return to Hanoi on the Victoria Express -- the night-train to Hanoi.

Shop Houses, Sapa, Vietnam

French Period Gas Street Light, Sapa

Strange Things to Eat, Market, Sapa

E's Favorite Calla Lillies, Market, Sapa

French Era Catholic Church, Sapa

One Last Walk Up Hill to the Sapa Resort!

Vietnam: Part 2

Prepared April 9 and 10, 2012, the Arabian Sea en route, Fujairah, UAE


March 21, 2012, Dien Bien Phu to Sapa:  The Road Trip from Hell

Northwest Vietnam from Dien Bien Phu to Sapa

Ending a night of unwanted karaoke and disco, compliments of the Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel, was a 6:30am wake-up alarm, quick breakfast, and checkout for the 233 mile (375km) road trip to Sapa.  The luggage was loaded, and we drove almost due north on National Route 12 toward Phong Tho, 99 miles (160km) north of Dien Bien Phu.  (Route 12 follows the alignment of roads and trails that were major supply lines for the Vietnamese Army during the attack on Dien Bien Phu.  Even on currently-improved roads, the trip is a vivid insight into the huge logistic effort the Vietnamese made to supply their troops.)  Traveling to the north end of the Dien Bien Phu valley in a light mist and fog, which eventually cleared, we began to climb up to the first of four passes that we would cross to reach Phong Tho.

The Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel

Home of Karaoke and Disco in Dien Bien Phu

Goodbye Yard Art Dragon

Yard art suitable for McMansion or other tasteless dwellings.

As we entered the first pass, it became clear why we had an all-wheel drive, beefed-up vehicle.  The good, two-lane road in the valley degenerated into a lane and one-half road of marginal quality, and the road cut often was impacted by landslides.  Further, large sections of the road were being reconstructed and/or relocated because of hydroelectric development in the valleys along the route.  This also explained why Tang, the driver, said it would take ten hours to reach Sapa (22mph!).

Lowland Valley Terraced Paddy Rice

Leaving the Valley Lowlands

We climbed up to the passes, then down to the new road cuts constructed into the side of the mountains, passing through major villages of Muong Cha, Muong Lav, Nam Cay, finally reaching Phong Tho, about  10 miles (16km) from the border with Yunnan, China at Pa  Nam Cum.  This entire area is mainly settled by ethnic minority people -- Thai, Hmong, Dau, etc.  Vietnamese are largely confined to the larger towns, such as Dien Bien Phu, Lai Chau, Sapa, and Lao Cai.  Earlier, settlement had been concentrated in the valleys.  With hydroelectric projects, many people were relocated by the government  into larger village sites.

Hydroelectric Power Plant Under Construction

There are small minority settlements and homesteads along the road, and slash-and-burn agriculture is widely practiced on the hillsides.  Only at very high elevations and on extremely steep slopes do you see much native forest, although there are reforestation projects underway along the entire route.  Another sign of development is the widespread availability of electric power.  It seems that no matter how isolated the homestead or village, if it is accessible by road, there is power.  (Some villages and areas in this region are only accessible by pack ponies.)

Highland Settlement with Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

Since the 1970s, the mountains of northwest Vietnam have yielded more new species of flora and fauna than any other region in the world.  We saw a sample of this when some local boys tried to sell us a critter.  We had never seen anything like it, and until we get back to Kona and J can forward the image to the Smithsonian, it remains (at least to us) an unidentified critter.  In the market in Sapa, we also saw a number of pelts of animals that were unknown to us.

Name this Critter!

Song Bird For Sale Beside Road

Seller wanted VND 5,000,000 - NO DEAL!

This was not a road trip for napping - white knuckles, yes, but no napping!  (If you napped, you would not have time to pray before you died.) After crossing numerous land slides and driving on partially-completed road beds, we reached Phong Tho and stopped for lunch at the only restaurant deemed suitable for foreign tourists between Dien Bien Phu and Sapa.  Following our normal procedure, we asked our guide, Thuan, to order cooked, largely vegetarian, local dishes for us, and the food was not only excellent, but passed the 24 hour test. (If you are not sick within 24 hours, you are safe.)  Then, it was back in the SUV, and turning south on National Route 40, we passed Lai Chau, Tam Duong, then over the pass at Phan Si Pang Mountain (10, 328ft/3148m) and into Sapa at 5,250ft (1,600m), arriving about 6:00pm (total elapsed time ~12 hours).   Much of the last part of the drive over the pass between Tam Duong and Sapa was in light rain and fog.  Although the road was an improved, two- lane highway which even had guardrails, the intermittent rain and fog reduced visibility so the trip remained exciting.   This was not a boring road trip at anytime!

There Was A Road Here

Aftermath of a recent landslide

Express Bus -- We Took Turns

Over That Edge Is Where Mistakes Go

Our route north along Highway 12 and southeast to Sapa on Highway 40 followed one of a number of roads, trails, paths, and waterways used by the Vietnamese to supply their army fighting at Dien Bien Phu.  The difficulty and dangers posed to the tens of thousands of Vietnamese who drove trucks, pushed bicycles, rowed sampans, or manually pulled guns and ammunition along this route can only be dimly glimpsed from our drive, but there is no doubt that they faced nearly as many dangers as the troops on the battle lines at Dien Bien Phu.

National Route 40 Near Sapa

We arrived at Sapa, and proceeded to the Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa, where we were checked into a suite.  Having started the day at the Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel, followed by the road-trip-from-hell,  the Victoria Sapa was paradise.  We had tea and cakes, long luxurious hot baths to soothe the jarred and bounced body, and a wonderful night's sleep in the cool, if damp, night air of Sapa, where we would spend the next two days.

Sapa From the Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa

Welcome to the Sapa Resort and Spa

A bouquet of E's favorites -- Calla Lillies

Vietnam: Part 1

Prepared April 3 to 7, 2012, en route, Cochin and Mormugao (Gao), India


March 19, 2012, Ha Long Bay to Hanoi:  The Road to Hanoi

We were finally cleared by Vietnamese immigration authorities; had our passports in hand; and took the tender ashore about 3:00pm.  On disembarking from the tender at Bai Chay, we were met by our guide, Hoang Thuan.  He escorted us to our vehicle, a Toyoda Highlander-type SUV, and we met our driver for the trip to Hanoi.  There was still a heavy overcast with visibility greatly reduced by haze.

Our original plan --  to leave the ship, proceed to Noi Bai airport, and fly directly to Dien Bien Phu -- was shot.  The last flight to Dien Bien Phu departed Noi Bai at 12:55pm.  So, the revised plan was that we would drive to Hanoi, spend the night at the Hotel Metropole, and fly to Dien Bien Phu at 9:55am the next morning (March 20).  This reduced our sightseeing time at Dien Bien Phu battlefields by half a day, but there really was no other option.  And, spending the night at the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi had other advantages which will become apparent.

Heading east along National Route 18, passing through the Ha Long Bay resort area along the coast and turned inland toward Bac Ninh.  We travelled through the villages and paddy fields that distinguish the Red River delta.  It would take five hours to reach Hanoi, with a break mid-way at a village, Poi Moi, east of Bac Ninh.  As we moved away from the coast, the cloud-cover lifted and the haze vanished.  After driving about 2 1/2 hours, we stopped for a break at the largest tourist souvenir shop we have ever seen.  It had every form of souvenir geegaw known to man.  Starting at the high end -- Vietnamese emeralds and rubies, and proceeding to the low end -- logo key chains and refrigerator magnets.

A Few Stone Carvings for the Tourist

E Looks at Vietnamese "Newly Discovered" Rubies

NO! She did NOT!

According to our guide, this sourvenir shop had started as a venture of the the Humanity Center (Hong Ngoc) to provide training and employment for orphaned children who were picked up from the streets of Hanoi region.  Other facilities at the site provided housing and meals for the children.  The children produced some  of the products sold, such as silk paintings, wood and stone carvings.  The older children staffed the shop.  Some children, because of extreme physical or mental disabilities, could not work at all and were in the care of this state-run organization.    We spent a half hour stretching our legs, but overcame the temptations of rubies and refrigerator magnets!

Back in the SUV and on to Hanoi!  Once we entered Bac Ninh (~15 miles northeast of Hanoi), the urbanization and industrial activity largely replaced paddy rice.  Large, light industrial facilities followed one after another, many sporting globally-recognized logos like Sony, Canon, and Panasonic, to name but a few.  Finally, we crossed a new bridge over the Red River and entered the northwest side Hanoi.  We struggled through late-evening motorbike and automobile traffic to reach the Old Hanoi Quarter and the Hotel Metropole, which was originally opened in 1901.

When the SUV pulled up to the hotel's Opera Entrance, we were greeted by our Butler and escorted to the Executive Floors and club lounge, where the Butler collected our passports, filled in the forms, and made arrangements for a wakeup call, while we had juice and a cookie.  (The equalitarianism of the new Communist states like Vietnam sometimes astounds you.)  Declining going out to dinner because we were a little road weary, we were escorted to our suite, where after hot showers, a short night's sleep awaited us.  We had to be on the move at 6:00am to catch our 9:55am flight to Dien Bien Phu from Noi Bai airport, which is about 25 miles from Hanoi's Old Quarter.


March 20, 2012, Ha Long Bay to Hanoi:  Finally, Dien Bien Phu -- Maybe

Northwest Vietnam (From Tourist Map)

Dien Bien Phu to right of Phong Saly, Laos -- Lower Left on map.

The alarm clock and wake-up call both sounded at about the same moment.  6:00am had arrived and it was all hands on deck!  We had an excellent breakfast in the Executive Lounge at the Metropole (the best thing the French left in Vietnam was the bread, and the Vietnamese coffee is excellent!).   Into the SUV and the 30-minute drive to Noi Bai Airport in rain and thick fog -- not a good sign.  Arriving at the Vietnam Airlines Domestic check-in counter, we were informed that the flight (VN1702) scheduled for 9:30am was indefinitely delayed because of visibility at Dien Bien Phu.  The airport at Dien Bien Phu is visual flight rules (VFR) only.  After a two and one half hour wait, we were checked in, and boarded for the one-hour flight.  Also, the Hanoi weather had improved -- rain had stopped and fog lifted.

The Vietnam Airlines ATR-72 took off from Noi Bai at 11:15am, and after clearing the low-cloud layer, the flight was uneventful.   Dien Bien Phu is actually the name of an interior valley surrounded on all sides by mountains.  The town of Dien Bien Phu is located on the east/central side of that valley;  it is the Administrative Center of the Province bearing the same name that includes most of the northwestern portion of Vietnam along the Laos border.  Dien Bien Phu is nearly equi-distant from Hanoi and Vientienne.  In General Vo Nguyen Giap's account of the battle ("Dien Bien Phu," English Translation, The Gioi Publishers, 2011),  the town (or more correctly, village of Dien Bien Phu) was known to the Vietnamese as Muong Thanh.

 On Approach -- Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu (Valley) and French Fortified Camp

From: "Dien Bien Phu," Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, The Gioi Publishers, 2011

When we began our descent into the valley, J could not help but think about what it was like for the French pilots flying C-47s from the same airfield (Hanoi's Noi Bai), along the same route, to the same Dien Bien Phu airfield in early 1954.  (The airfield had been originally built by the Japanese in WWII.)  Or, for that matter, the American pilots of China Air Transport (CAT) flying C-119s with the US Air Force markings scraped off and/or painted over to support the French.  A lot more tense for sure than landing in an ATR-72 on a short runway in broad daylight without any anti-aircraft guns to focus your concentration.  We landed on a recently-resurfaced runway, turned around and taxied to the newish terminal.  No jumping out of airplane in the middle of the night, for old, silly American tourists!  The Vietnamese closed the airfield by bringing it under direct artillery attack on March 27, 1954, and only air drops of supplies and personnel were possible until Dien Bien Phu fell on May 7, 1954.

Landing -- Dien Bien Phu

Walking across the apron to the terminal, just like in Kona, you could see the surrounding mountains on the east and west sides of the valley, but the ones to the north and south were lost in the haze.  After collecting our luggage from the belt, the local authorities looked at our passports (upside down) and we were on our way to the parking lot to meet with our driver, Mr Tang, and our vehicle for the next four days, an all-wheel drive, diesel, Toyota Highlander SUV with oversized wheels, heavy-duty tires.  Is this a hint of things to come?  Our guide, Mr. Thuan, had flown with us from Hanoi and would be with us for our entire visit.

Dien Bien Phu Airport and Vietnam Airlines ATR-72

Before we began touring the battlefield sites, we drove to the Muong Thanh Dien Bien (MTDB) hotel to check in and have lunch.   J & E had suggested that lunch was unnecessary, but the idea was met with no enthusiasm by our Vietnamese guide and driver.  (Vietnamese do not miss meals!  The whole idea of missing a meal is regarded as subversive Western behavior.)  The MTDB hotel is the best hotel in Dien Bien Phu; however, the term "best" is relative.  The thought that you might be getting into something unusual strikes you first when you see the vast amount of very colorful "yard art" that surrounds the hotel.  J's favorite was the dragon that hung over the swimming pool.  E tended to favor the African wild animals.  The lobby and restaurants were fairly clean, and the food at lunch was good.  Our guide did the ordering, and he stuck to a vegetarian and rice cuisine.

The room was another matter.  It was, in the A&K tradition, to be a VIP suite.  In fact, it was the "wedding suite" and unbelievably bizarre.  The suite had two very large rooms (~20x20) with a large (~10'x12') bathroom.  The rooms were tan from the floors to the 12 foot ceilings, all tan.  The bathroom was black marble and lit by a single 12v fluorescent bulb -- very dark.  (Not enough light in the bathroom to shave!)  The bathroom had a fancy Jacussi tub, but it had never been plumbed, and a shower stall that delivered two water temperatures -- too hot and too cold -- with no place to put soap.  The most prominent decorative item was a new ironing board and iron displayed in the bedroom -- bridal chamber.  We wouldn't even speculate why it was there.  Light was provided by tray fluorescent tubes that lit up the place like Walmart; and there were, what we supposed were electrical, wires hanging here and there about the rooms.  Wonderful, wonderful!  But the worst, as we found out on returning to MTDB that evening, was that the room was located on the 2nd floor, directly above the karaoke and disco bars (Zulu drumming) that played noise until 1:00am in the morning.

After lunch, we began our tour of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield sites.  The first stop was the French Command Bunker, from where General de Castries and his staff operated.  The five-room bunker was heavily protected and intact when de Castries surrendered the French Expeditionary Force, so you can now visit the interior, but there is virtually no explanation of the rooms' functions.  J and E wanted to know in which room de Castries and three of his staff officers played bridge every evening during the siege, but no one seemed to know.  The next stop was a preserved hulk of the US M-24 Chaffee tank loaned to France by the US.  Almost every weapon used by the French at Dien Bien Phu had "Made in USA" stamped on them.  For that matter, so did most of the Vietnamese.

The Battlefield and Campaign

From: "Dien Bien Phu," Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, The Gioi Publishers, 2011

Gen. Castries Surrenders Outside Bunker, May 7, 1954

The Bunker Wall

Interior of French Command Bunker
Bridge Anyone?

J & E Outside French Command Bunker

The Obligatory Photo

US M-24 Chaffee Tank "Loaned" to the French

Maybe we should ask for it back and send it to Afghanistan.

We then proceeded a short distance to the monument honoring the 7,000 French troops who died in the defense of Dien Bien Phu.  The monument stands on the site of the mass burials conducted immediately after the fighting ended between May 8 to 10, 1954.  The area around the monument was the site of the main French hospital bunkers (no longer in existence), where conditions became so bad by May that wounded men preferred to return to their units to die rather than drown in the rain water or from gangrene that riddled the bunkers.

Memorial to French Forces at French Cemetary

Next, we visited the Vietnamese Army Memorial and Cemetery.  Names of all known soldiers killed in action are listed by district on bronze plaques covering the interior cemetery walls.  Graves stones and graves inside the walled area are reserved for 650 unknown Vietnamese soldiers who died in the battle.  There is a small shrine at the back of the cemetery where offerings of incense, flowers, and food are made.  According to one of the ladies who tends the shrine, families of the soldiers still come to talk with the soldier's spirits.  Like the US, the Vietnamese have an active forensic effort underway to identify unknowns.  When a person is identified, his name is entered on the bronze plaque for his district, and his remains are disinterred and sent to his home district to be reinterred in the district's military cemetery.  You see these military cemeteries everywhere in Vietnam.  The official number of Vietnamese killed in the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu is listed as 20,000.  Our guide said that General Giap has used the number 50,000, and others think it may have been as high as 70,000 men and women.  Especially, when you consider the logistic support elements that faced unbelievable conditions to provide supplies to the combat units in and around the valley, the higher numbers are believable.

Vietnamese Military Cemetery

Bronze Plaque for One District with Names of Killed in Action

Markers for the Unknown Killed in Action

Statue Honoring the Families of the Fallen

Shrine to the Fallen with Offerings

Tree Planted by General Giap in Honor of the Fallen

On our way out of the Army Memorial and Cemetery, we met a group of six young (teenage) Vietnamese with their teacher who were making a video about Dien Bien Phu.  They were carrying incense and flowers to make an offering at the shrine.  A conversation ensued with our guide as translator, and there was mutual picture taking.  The students all spoke English, so the conversation was often multisided.  Finally, they asked if we would be in their movie.  Being in the movie consisted of sitting on the boundary of one of the unmarked graves and all, except us, singing a patriotic Vietnamese song.  We guessed our role was to be props or maybe the villians.  But everyone seemed to be having a good time.

The Movie Makers with J and E

The next stop was the Battlefield site, which the Vietnamese call Hill A-1 and the French called position Elaine.  It is the only part of the French fortifications at Dien Bien Phu that has been preserved and was where some of the very heavy fighting between the Vietnamese and French occured.  Fighting for Hill A-1 was nearly continuous from March 30 until May 7, when the French garrison surrendered.  There is a small museum at the base of the hill which features a three-dimensional, scale model of Hill A-1 showing the French wire, trenches, and bunkers.  It also shows the Vietnamese approach trenches and tunnels, and the lines of attack.  Having viewed the museum, we began our walk up a paved path to the top of Hill A-1 past the French positions.  This was a heavily-fortified position, which was taken by direct assualt, so Vietnamese casualties must have been high.

The Battle for Hill A-l (Elaine)

From: "Dien Bien Phu," Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, The Gioi Publishers, 2011

The Fight for A-1 Mural and Part of three-dimensional, scale model

On top of the position are four captured M-24 tanks,  French trenches and bunkers, and a moument to the Vietnamese who died fighting there.  Also, you can see the crater that a Vietnamese 1,000kg tunnel bomb caused.  This bomb initiated the final assault on Hill A-1 on May 6.

French Trench, Hill A-1 (Elaine)

French Command Bunker, Hill A-1 (Elaine)

Walking down from the summit, you pass a scrapyard of destroyed French (American) weapons, including parts of aircraft, trucks and artillery pieces, and some Vietnamese Army weapons (mainly artillery and anti-aircraft guns of various types, including Russian, Chinese and American).

Scrap Metal Now -- Weapons Used in The Battle

Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work (Circa 1954)

US-made bombs with parts of crashed US-built aircraft in background.

After one last stop to see the new (2007) Vietnamese memorial to all the people who brought about the victory at Dien Bien Phu, we completed our tour of this Valley of Death, as Ted Morgan has named it in his recent book with the same title.  If you are interested in a detailed account of the causes, events, and consequences of the battle, J recommends you read Ted Morgan's book, "The Valley of Death."  The only major battlefield sites we did not visit, because of our shortened schedule, was General Vo Nguyen Giap's headquarters in Tham Pua Cave, outside of Dien Bien Phu.  Most of the battlefield has returned to paddy rice or is covered in urban development, so the rest of the French positions can be seen only from a distance, unless you want to do some rice-paddy trekking.

2007 Monument to the Victory at Dien Bien Phu

The Statue is at the top of the Walk.

The rest of this long day was spent visiting a Black H'mong village about ten miles north of Dien Bien Phu off  Route 12.  It was early evening and very quiet; families were having dinner, and the only ones interested in us were the local dogs!  The village seemed prosperous, with numerous new teak houses and many motor bikes.  The H'mong women still wore their traditional black dresses and unique hats, while the males seemed to have adopted standard international fashion -- t-shirt and jeans.  Returning to the SUV and the city, we walked through the large Central Market.  Then, it was back to the Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel, and a night of karaoke and disco!

House Under Construction -- H'mong Village

Drying Rice on Concrete Road - H'mong Village

Why Did the Ducks Cross the Road or Did They?

What Are You Doing?

The Central Market -- Dien Bien Phu