 |
Nice breakfast. Nothing special, but more than adequate. It is a nice,
open breakfast room. Plenty of space for few guests. |
 |
 |
The
Victory Museum of Dien Bien Phu. It happened
in 1954, 76 years ago when Martin was 10. |
 |
 |
Overview of the outside from March when the trees blossom.
Martin and Uncle Ho. |
 |
 |
Uncle Ho and his commanders.
A 105 mm recoilless rifle or cannon. |
 |
 |
From the inside, the montages are
very well done. A 105 mm Howitzer. A real one. |
 |
 |
An old rusty .45ACP found on the
site. Hauling cannons through the mud was a
tough task. |
 |
 |
Rocket battery.
The looser, the French general Contires on the front of Pari Match. |
 |
 |
Viet Minh soldiers taking a break.
Martin and the winner, Gen
Võ Nguyên Giáp
and Martin. |
 |
 |
They made a video showing the end
game on how the Viet Minh (Military wing of the Vietnamese Communist Party)
won. Very instructive laid out. But the sound was bad.
Picture of the town with the museum in center. |
 |
 |
The entrance mural.
Garden outside the museum. The Vietnamese are very good at keep their
greenery nice and trimmed. This is
De Castries Bunker. |
 |
 |
This is the memorial
plaque put up by the Vietnamese. Unfortunately,
we it was closed so we only could take pictures from the outside. |
 |
 |
One of the entrances.
It is massive. |
 |
 |
One of the trenches.
The other side of the bunker. |
 |
 |
The long side of the
bunker. Time to visit the Vietnam Army's
cemetery. |
 |
 |
June and Martin in
close-up. In front of the main gate. |
 |
 |
Nhai Trang is cemetery
in Vietnamese. Not Nha trang. Martin at the
entrance. |
 |
 |
Neatly lined up graves
of Vietnamese officers. Rank and name plus some
plastic flowers. Looks really neat and respectful. |
 |
 |
Row upon row. It looks
very nice. A side-view of the graves. |
 |
 |
Leaving the graveyard.
June always prays in front of the altar. Of the population of 100 mill, only
26 mill say they are religious. But they pray everywhere. |
 |
 |
In front you have the
statues of soldiers and women.
Martin was impressed by the women statue. |
 |
 |
Walkways.
The French cemetery was closed. |
 |
 |
Martin with the most
impressive tank he ever saw. See the
video.
It is completely made up of Saigon beer
bottles. |
 |
 |
Martin feel well at
ease. They really had some fantasy making this thing.
The details are very good. |
 |
 |
Nice belts.
Martin likes this kind of war machine. Drink beer not make war. |
 |
 |
It is nice.
Impressive gun, at least 105 mm. |
 |
 |
Beer is good. War is
not. June and Martin enjoying a beer with the
tank. |
 |
 |
The 162 stairs to the
top was too much for Martin. June did it alone.
Watch the video. |
 |
 |
City view.
June likes grass. |
 |
 |
Nice bushes.
Looking down on Dien Bien Phu. |
 |
 |
Our road trip for
almost 3 hours. We went to Muang Phang, some 20 kms North-East.
Steep banks on both sides of the road. |
 |
 |
Cut through the solid
rock. House on tilts. They have to go outside to
have a leak. |
 |
 |
No toilet facilities.
Mountain chain. |
 |
 |
Rice paddies.
The season is over. They plant in January and harvest in July. Why not
harvest twice a year. |
 |
 |
Local farm girl.
Hilly mountains. |
 |
 |
Mountains.
Rice paddies ready to be plowed up before planting rice. |
 |
 |
A concrete memorial.
In memory of the fighting at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. |
 |
 |
Uncle Ho is always No
1. Details. |
 |
 |
Martin and the
monument. It is massive.
June and the monument. |
 |
 |
Close-up of June.
Close-up of Martin. |
 |
 |
Full frontal view.
Martin and the monument. |
 |
 |
Ticket office.
A mural of the area. |
 |
 |
They are drying herbs
and plants for medical use. It was stacks of
them along the road. |
 |
 |
On the way back, a
stopover. June at the vantage point. |
 |
 |
Martin at the vantage
point. It is really a nice, sunny day.
Overlooking the valley we came up. |
 |
 |
The terraced rice
paddies. Back in Dien Bien Phu for a lupper.
Martin here with fancy, wooden table. |
 |
 |
Ditto June.
The best beer in Vietnam, the Hanoi beer. |
 |
 |
Amazing carvings from
tree stumps. This one with flash and nice colors.
This one without flash and very washed out colors. |
 |
