Travel Adventures
Rusty
By: Rusty“ Indiana” Jones Photos: Colin and the mountains of Dien Bein Phu
An intrepid group of adventurous Westerners headed off to Dien Bein Phu on a fact-finding mission to see what mystical history the city had to offer and much to their surprise an adventure that will stay with them for many years. The group lead by our own Indiana( Rusty) Jones guided the group to their first port of call after negotiating the airport, Dien Bein Phu! On arrival, the almost complete lack of western faces and spoken English made it abundantly obvious this was not a tourist hotspot.
Dien Bein Phu is a relatively small town with a population of around 100,000. Being a traditional Vietnamese city, it was not a surprise that traditional Vietnamese attire was paramount hence, they were obviously the odd ones out( tourists). The journey itself is only about 450kms by road from Hanoi and within 10kms from the Laos border. Fortunately, Vietnam Airlines have 2 scheduled 1hr flights from Hanoi per day.
“ The area is famous for high quality rice and the valley plateau attests to this crop being a primary industry.” The valley city is dwarfed by a spectacular mountain range and is a“ must see” for history buffs of all nationalities.
“ The town is a must see for Vietnam history buffs and was the site where between March and May 1954 the French, under Colonel De Castries were engaged in what history has judged to be a“ disastrous operation” against the famous Viet Minh General Giap. The French loss proved to be the final nail in the coffin for French ambitions in Vietnam and led to the Geneva Convention that divided Vietnam into North and South at the 17th parallel.”
Apparently, the convention also provided for free elections to be held in 1956. The South Vietnamese President Diem reportedly reneged to this agreement which many say ultimately led to the 2nd Indo-China war.
Accommodation in Dien Bein Phu was easy to book online and the group chose the A1 hotel for their base. At a modest 500,000vnd per night for a room, including noodle soup for breakfast, it wasn’ t the Ritz however very spacious and comfortable.
As with many of the cities in Vietnam the hotel had its old-world character with friendly and helpful staff and a BBQ restaurant directly across the courtyard.“ Beer was only 60,000vnd for 3lt towers of cold draft.
After a good nights rest the group headed off( by private car) with an English-speaking guide to see the sights. A more adventurous and fit group would probably walk it but why do it hard, I wouldn’ t.
36 The MAG Vung Tau