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jon8406 · Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Posts: 15

Dien Bien Phu which is situated 500 kilometers to the northwest of Hanoi, Vietnam, is a comparatively new town established in the middle of the 19th century to help to rid the area of incursions by bandits from Siam, Laos and China. It lies in the 20 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide Muong Thanh valley which is surrounded by mountains providing the small town with a spectacular view. Across the valley flows the Nam Rom River making the land fertile. Its remote location in the extreme northwest of Vietnam deterred both visitors and development, apart from becoming a French garrison during the colonial period.

Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam has been known as the Vietnamese battle ground that changed the course of history of the country. The famous battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought in the Dien Bien district of the Lai Chau province and today it has become one of the popular destinations in Vietnam. During Operation Castor of the First Indochina War the French Union force fortified the region to draw out the Viet Minh forces. This resulted in the battle of Dien Bien Phu which resulted in the defeat of the United States backed French Union in the hands of the China backed Viet Minh forces in 1954. The victory of the Vietnamese over the French forces created a ripple throughout the world. The town has retained some of the remnants of the war like the Doc Lap Hill, the airport, and the command tunnel of General de Castries.

Getting evisa Vietnam very easy, a flight to Dien Bien Phu is the most practical means of travel if time is limited. Or you can take most of two days for a five hundred kilometre journey, assuming an overnight stay because there is a reasonable road to Dien Bien Phu.

Though it still draws tourists as the site of the famous war, Dien Bien Phu is also a town of exotic natural beauty. There are few hotels in this area of the northwest, and none above our ‘local’ standard.

The major attraction is the battlefield, its associated museum and relicts, and more recently, the largest statue in Vietnam erected to commemorate the 2004 anniversary. However, for the adventurous visitor, it is an attractive centre for majestic scenery and an access point for encounters with Lai Chau Province’s wide variety of ethnic minority groups that have hardly been touched by tourism.

A road journey from Dien Bien Phu to Sapa will take through some of the best scenery in Vietnam. Rough roads, very basic hotels and few amenities deter the tourists and leave the forests, waterfalls, terraces and the many minority villages in a pristine state waiting for the serious traveller.

Sin Ho village is definitely worth a 20km detour. The track runs across vertiginous mountain sides and is not for the faint-hearted, but rewards the traveller with spectacular views of near perpendicular terracing and majestic forests. The area is home to Red, White and Flower H’mong and Dao ethnic minority communities. Those that have the good fortune to arrive on Sunday morning will find a wholly authentic local market.

Tam Duong has even more colourful ethnic minority communities – White and Flower H’mong, Dao Khau, Giay and White and Black Thai peoples.
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