This post is also available in: French
On our way from Sapa to Dien Bien Phu, we briefly stopped in this strange town. The arrival is “grandiose” with a brand new eight-lane boulevards and monumental government buildings, but the reality is somehow more prosaic.
This is a new city, formerly known as Tam Duong, split between the old town, with its market full of hill-tribe people, and the concrete new town a few km away. But we didn’t see much behind all these new buildings. Strange impression.
Like most visitors, we only stopped for a quick break on our way to Dien Bien Phu. The drive from Sapa along Hwy 4D, threading through the Fansipan Mountain Range near the Chinese border, was a beautiful stretch of road.
Lai Chau, Vietnam, April 2014
Recent Comments