Border crossing: Tay Trang – sop hun
You need to get a visa arranged in advance to enter Vietnam here, but if you're crossing into Laos most nationalities are able to get a Vietnam visa on arrival (one-month stamp) at the border. There are no banks on either side of the frontier, so have some cash dollars to pay for your Laos visa if you need one. Buses from DBP currently leave at 5.30am only on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This bus takes you through the border crossing and drops you off in Muang Khua, Laos. The journey typically takes between seven and eight hours, but could be longer depending on the state of the roads and border formalities. In the other direction, buses leave Muang Khua for DBP at 7am on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is possible to hire a xe om (motorbike taxi) from DBP to the border for around 120,000d, but you'll probably have to walk 5km to the nearest Lao village for transport to Muang May. Muang May has basic guesthouses (both 45,000 kip) and a daily 9am bus to Muang Khua. You'll need some cash dollars or kip to do the trip this way.
The siege of Dien Bien Phu
In early 1954 General Henri Navarre, commander of the French forces in Indochina, sent 12 battalions to occupy the Muong Thanh Valley in an attempt to prevent the Viet Minh from crossing into Laos and threatening the former Lao capital of Luang Prabang. The French units, of which about 30% were ethnic Vietnamese, were soon surrounded by a Viet Minh force under General Vo Nguyen Giap, which consisted of 33 infantry battalions, six artillery regiments and a regiment of engineers. The Viet Minh force, which outnumbered the French by five to one, was equipped with 105mm artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns, carried by porters through jungles and across rivers in an unbelievable feat of logistics. The guns were placed in carefully camouflaged positions dug deep into the hills that overlooked the French positions. When the guns eventually opened up, French Chief Artillery Commander Pirot committed suicide. He had assumed there was no way the Viet Minh could get heavy artillery to the area. Now it was a reality, Dien Bien Phu would only end in defeat.
About the Author
Vangvieng Laos 2011
guesthouse laos
guesthouse laos
guesthouse laos
This border has finally opened to international travellers. To get into Vietnam, a bus leaves daily from Muang Khua on the Lao side for Dien Bien Phu on the Vietnamese side. The bus leaves at 07:00, and costs 50,000 kip (plus 2,000 kip to cross the river). We suggest getting to the bus departure point (on the Vietnamese side of the Nam Ou) by 06:30 as seats are limited and allocated on a first come first serve basis. If the bus is full you will be left behind! Tickets cannot be pre-purchased. At the border, Lao immigration staff demand a 4,000 kip 'processing fee'. You cannot get a Vietnamese visa on arrival, so arrange this beforehand. In the opposite direction buses leave daily from Dien Bien Phu to Muang Khua at 05:30. Lao visa on arrival is available at the border.
ReplyDelete