Return of Dien Bien Phu: Defeat of the French

It's our last post from Vietnam! We left Sapa on a bus to Muang Khua (a little town in Laos, about 35km from the border).  This entailed a hellish night journey, over unsealed mountain roads, via Dien Bien Phu, over the border and into Laos.

After a mere 10 hours, we reached Dien Bien Phu.  This is where a key battle with the French occurred in 1954, eventually leading to the departure of the French and to Vietnamese independence.

This last leg, a whopping 40 km, took another 5 hours due to (1) more bad roads, (2) a confusing border process, and (3) an unwelcome stop for lunch at 10am, just 1 hour before arriving at our destination.

Anyway, we finally made it to Mung Khua, ready to enjoy Laos!!

Jeremy and Alina,
Nonsense Shall Prevail

The bus. Notice the psychedelic lights.

This is before the ride. Poor guy has no idea of what is about to happen to him...

Dien Bien Phu victory monument (at the top of a bunch of stairs)

The monument up close

The highlight of our stop in DBP: we saw a bee attack a dragonfly. An air- and then ground-battle ensued.  It was brutal.  The bee won and chopped off the head of its victim (head displayed towards the bottom of the picture)...it's odd the things you find amusing after being trapped and shaken around for 10 hours.