Feb 14-10 day NW Loop 1 History Lesson

French bunker

Dien Bien Phu  35km from Laos border is  used as the caravan route between Myanmar and China.

This is where Viet Minh soldiers under the command of iconic general Vo Nguyen Giape over ran the last French outpost in 1954.

The defeat was so overwhelming that it effectively brought an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam.

Sanitised Vietnamese tunnels

In the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh demonstrated the creativity and determination that later characterised the long struggle against the USA and South Vietnamese forces.

So proud are some people that they have changed their family name!
The commonest surname is Nguyen and we met several Viet.

Modern

The country is pulling itself into the present day at an alarming rate.
Beautiful valleys flooded for hydro-power schemes.
How do you make a town in the mountains?
Flatten the smallest, concrete the buffalo tracks sanitise the villages for home stays.
In ten years all might be greened and the infrastructure up to speed but for now we were pleased to have a guide as only the local dialect is spoken.

Ancient

In 1986 the government began allowing farmers to work individual plots of land now Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of rice.
The growing of it remains as backbreaking but not quite such a time consuming activity - better seed and fertilizer.
Trying to walk between paddy fields on broken mud walls requires precise balance.

At a lunch stop - local medicine