Visit to Cao Bang, Northern Vietnam

On 14 and 15 Jun 2008, my foreign friends and myself made possibly the last visit out province before we finished our nine-month course. We left at about 0600H on Saturday morning. The group included Dima, Park, Cuờng, Mấn, Anan, Mee, Supra and myself. Also accompanying us for the trip were Huong and Phuong. Huong, who is the cousin of cô Yến, is a second-year French-language student at the Academy. Phuong is Huong’s close friend from her secondary school. Phuong is a second-year student at the University of Commerce.

The journey to Cao Bằng took us through Thái Nguyên and Bắn Kạn province. Before pushing off for Cao Bằng, we stopped at Sóc Son for breakfast. The first part of the journey took us through relatively flat terrain. Once we hit Bắn Kạn, the terrain became mountainous and we had to drive through a series of uphill climbs. As we entered Cao Bằng, the drive became more harrowing as some of the climbs took us through some serious swerving curves up the mountains. The view from the drive, I must admit is spectacular.

We reached Cao Bằng at about 1230H. We had lunch and checked into a relatively new hotel overlooking the river dividing Cao Bằng. In the afternoon, we headed for Bác Bó on a north westerly direction on route 203, the ride there took us about 2 hours as the road was not in perfect condition. Along the way, we saw widespread cultivation of tobacco plant. Located about 50km from Cao Bằng, Bác Bó is located just across the border between Việt Nam and Trung Quốc. It was the base for Hố Chì Minh when returned to Việt Nam after about 30 years abroad in 1941. It was here that he set out on his quest to liberate Việt Nam until 1944.

Sunday we set off for Thác Bản Giốc (Bản Giốc Waterfall) at 0600H. The journey took us about 3 hours this time on north easterly direction on route 204. Compared with the journey to Bác Bó, the scenery on the second journey was simply breathtaking. This was enhanced by the morning rain making the mountain shrouded in mist. The scene resembled possibly what Shangri-La might have looked like. The trip took us through many climbs and valleys cultivated with rice, maize and tobacco. The rice was cultivated on terraces.

Before heading for the waterfall, we went to a border checkpoint at Tà Lùng. After breakfast at Tà Lùng, we headed for our final destination. The sight at Bản Giốc was awesome. The wide waterfall is also located along the border, which brings to mind Niagara Falls at the US - Canadian border. From our location, we can see Chinese tourists across the river. We even met and spoke to some Chínese tourists who went on raft ride to see the waterfall close up.

At about 1100H, we left the place and made our slow journey back to Hà Nội. We reached the Academy at about 2100H. Although the journey was laborious, it was worth the effort as the scene at the waterfall was a sight to behold.