Dien Bien Phu

Fri 6/12/13 to Mon 9/12/13, 60km

Spent my birthday going round the various battle sites in Dien Bien Phu, which was kind of fun. Let me explain a little. Dien Bien Phu was the battle which put the full stop on the French war in Indochina. The French forces had built up Dien Bien Phu in order to interfere with Vint Minh operations extending into Laos. The place itself is a little flat valley in some very mountainous terrain. In order to secure their outpost the French airdropped the bridgehead in, including 2 bulldozers that were used to create the airstrip that then supplied the place. This was in November 1953.

Seven bastions were built by the French and at the same time the Viet Minh used 300000 conscript labourers to drag the heavy weapons and supplies in place for some 50000 soldiers. On March 13th 1954 the first shells were fired by the Viet Minh and on May 7th the French forces there finally surrendered, on the day that peace talks started in Geneva. Lets just say this didn't put them in a strong negotiating position. So, the battle of Dien Bien Phu has an important place in modern Vietnamese and French history.

The sites to be seen are OK. One of the bastions, A1 (Elaine to the French), has been rebuilt, the bunker of the French commander likewise, there's a gun emplacement where the first shells fired from and various other monuments and bouts and bobs. Well worth a poke around for a day or two.

At lunchtime on my birthday I went looking for the vegetarian restaurant that Google Maps, via Google Translate, told me was in town. After 50 minutes of pedalling back and forth I found the place! It was shut but that didn't really matter as not only was it shut it was also a fire extinguisher shop... Google Translate had translated vegetarian into both chay (vegetarian) and cháy (fire) then maps had just given me the wrong place anyway. I did find the veggie restaurant a couple of days later, it's opposite the junction of 7-5 Duong and Truong Ching and as a veggie in Vietnam it was well worth the finding.

And one other birthday mention: my hotel dimmed the lights in their restaurant, the staff sang happy birthday and they brought me out a cake with three candles on it (if only they'd made that four)! They even provided children to help it eat!

Yes, been here four days now waiting for the computer to turn up. Made the decision this afternoon I'm going tomorrow morning however finally got through to TNT in Hanoi who need more details for me for customs (after sitting on the parcel since Friday and not flagging this need for more details to me). So I'm awaiting a phone call or email for the details they need after which, as it's almost 5pm, they might ship it tomorrow for delivery on Wednesday (two days time). Might just go tomorrow anyway, I really am getting bored witless and unless it arrives damn early on Wednesday I'll have to wait until Thursday for the border run.

Anyway,the mileage is from exploring the place and surrounds. On with the photos.