Paso to Dien Bien Phu

The Lan Anh Hotel is the mandatory accommodation stop in Pa So. Basic but ok.

Road works are everywhere on the first part of the drive to Dien Bien Phu - and they seem to be leaving some very nasty erosion and scarring.

Roadworks en route to Dien Bien Phu.

These suspension bridges are everywhere in this area.

Typical Thai minorty house on the roadside.

Rice terraces run down the raging river.

The riverside complete with roadworks induced erosion.

Kids play in the river in Old Lai Chau town.

Balancing the past and the future. The boy on the right wears the hat that is the symbol of the "bo doi" - North Vietnam's victorious communist army. The boy on the left's hat needs no explanation.

Ferocious dogs are part of the landscape in Old Lai Chau. Lucky these dogs can't read or they'd know they're condemned to the kitchen.

This man is from one of the smaller minority groups and spent the first part of his life in Laos before migrating to Vietnam during the war.

We stopped at this beautiful Thai village about 15 kms north of Dien Bien Phu - our visit was the highlight of the day.

This memorial commemmorates the contribution of the Thai people to the Viet Minh campaign against the French in 1954. Many minority villages also sided with the French.

Classic Thai house on stilts.

Thai children.

The village elder - he remembers the French bombings of the Viet Minh.

The hospitality of Thai villagers throughout Vietnam's far north is amazing. This family invited us in for a chat and a cuppa.

This woman at 108,  was the oldest person in the village.

Arriving in the Muong Thanh valley, the setting for the town of Dien Bien Phu and the historic battle.