Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam

Alice was out of commission for most of our time here, so Jeannie and I were unsupervised.

It was past 2pm and desperately hot by the time we found a food truck selling cheese-filled pancakes. A couple of those gave us the mental energy to split ways – Alice to the history museum, and Jeannie and I off seeking a google listing of Korean fried chicken in a mall.

But the air-conditioning was wonderful and we gained some local intel. A youth sitting close to us gave advice on where we might find proper food, an ATM, and a toilet, and he pinged these necessities out our map.

We then found a place offering massage, so we committed to 90 min massages.With really limited communication we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. Jeannie got the extra hot essential oil spicy skin version. I got a non-spicy version with plastic gloves on, which was rather strange but still enjoyable.

We find ourselves surprisingly conspicuous in this city. Kids as well as adults wave and say hello as we walk down the street. One fellow stopped us on the sidewalk to point out where we should go to see the local military historical monuments. Using google translate, he asked where we were from and how old we were… he guessed I was 50… The conversation didn’t go much further than that.

Back at the hotel, Alice was doing great work on recuperation sleep, so J and I brought our “Banh Chung” new years cake down to the hotel reception to ask our hosts how to eat it. We’re glad we asked. There’s a specific way to unwrap the banana leaf packaging, and you cut it using the strings that had been holding it together. Our hosts also brought us a dish of shredded dried chicken and a wee dish of fish sauce (to my horror!).

The best part of our tet cake celebration was the audiovisual accompaniment. Vietnamese youth who’s got talent singing and dancing… Often in military costumes and with fake rifles. And then a most dramatic patriotic music video interpretation of war. A love story about a fallen soldier and a young mother whose child would never meet his father. The soldier left behind only a love letter and hard won victory. This video was on repeat for a while… We struggled to look away.

– Felicity (with input from Jeannie)

PS from Alice:

As F reports, I spent most of our time in DDP at our guesthouse.

… and the underdog Vietnamese are proud of defeating the colonial French in 1953-4.

I have much more to say about local bathroom fashions:

Toilet paper universally goes in a garbage basket beside the toilet.

In most cases, the shower is “loose” in the bathroom, with the whole bathroom sharing a common drain. In a few cases, the sink plumbing only goes as far as the main drain. Often there is a sprayer hose beside the toilet.
The upsides are that you can easily spray clean the whole bathroom, and the toilet sprayer does away with the need for the disgusting toilet brush often found in our home bathrooms.
Downsides are that you need to remember to remove the toilet paper and waste basket before showering, otherwise future you (and your travel mates) will be sad. Also, when you shower, you inevitably cover the entire floor and the toilet with water. I think this is why plastic sandals are often available, but if you’re dashing in there in a hurry, I can attest you might not have time or wherewithal to don appropriate footwear!

Happy Valentine’s, by the way. It’s a dangerous day for bike touring – this time last year was appendix day, which I’m in 99% sure is *not* what’s wrong with me. There’s nothing like being sick to make me sick for home and my own bed, but the misery is mitigated by compassionate travel companions. Would recommend F & J.

A