Bản Giốc Waterfall

We were underway super early to travel 211 km (7.5 hours with stops) north east to Thác Bản Giốc (Bản Giốc Waterfall) that sits on the border between Việt Nam and China. Until the 1979 Sino-Việt Nam War it was wholly within Việt Nam (see Wikipedia). The Falls are part of Cao Bằng Province and were one of the three invasion points used by the Chinese in 1979. They are now shared between the two countries who both operate separate tourist facilities, in the photos it’s easy to see tourists from the Chinese side on the boats because all the passengers have mandated  life vests on.

After spending nearly an hour at the falls we went up the road and round the corner to Động Ngườm Ngao (Nguom Ngao Cave, literally many tigers). The name has two origin stories: the prosaic one being that the sound of the waterfalls in the cave was like the roaring of tigers while the other, more colourful, story states that in the past it was the den for ferocious tigers. Stories aside, tour leader Điêu informed us the cave system was used by fighters during the Anti-French Resistance War (more generally The First Indochina War) and later by local villagers taking shelter during the 1979 Sino-Việt Nam War.

As we were leaving, I saw two photos waiting to be taken but wasn't able to get the bus to briefly stop: one was a scoop in a rock face, used as a silo for rice straw, and the other a grove of trees lining a small stream; in both cases the light was just perfect causing me great regret.