Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [320]
Arrival information and accommodation
Son La’s bus station is located 5km east of town, so it’s necessary to take a xe om into the centre (15,000đ). The best place for information is the helpful Trade Union Hotel(See "Arrival information and accommodation"), where you can also hire transport and English-speaking guides, or arrange to see Thai dancing and sample rice wine. The major part of Son La lies off the highway, straggling for little more than a kilometre along the west bank of the Nam La River. There’s just one main street, To Hieu, where you’ll find all the important municipal buildings, including the Agribank, at no. 9, which will exchange dollars, and a post office. Motorbikes are available for rent for $7 a day.
When it comes to accommodation, the Trade Union Hotel (022/385 2804, congdoanhotelsla@yahoo.com; US$21–30) is a welcome exception to the generally gloomy and uninviting government-run places found in many Vietnamese towns. Its range of almost a hundred rooms is the best in town, and it organizes a variety of local trips. The nearby Sunrise (022/385 8799, buixuandai@yahoo.com; US$21–30) is new, more intimate and offers good clean rooms and friendly English-speaking staff. The Thanh Mai (022/385 2984, US$11–20) is a spotless, newly-built guesthouse, situated above an internet café, and a good budget option. On the other side of the river, the Bien Phong (022/385 2373; US$11–20) has spacious rooms and is popular with local business groups. To the north of town, the Hoa Ban 2 (022/385 2395; US$10 and under–20) is basic and only a good option if you want to be close to the caves.
The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 | Son La and around |
The Town
At the far end of To Hieu, in front of the Hoa Ban 2 Hotel, a parallel road heads back south on the opposite side of the river, past the covered market – selling local minority handicrafts, including handmade cloth and lively embroideries – to rejoin Highway 6. Between these two roads, patches of paddy and vegetable plots are slowly being consumed by new buildings, and two bridges have been built to ease the constant bustle of traffic.
Son La’s principal tourist sight is the French prison, Bao Tang Son La (daily 7.30–11am & 1.30–5pm; 5000đ), which occupies a wooded promontory above To Hieu and offers good views over town. The two turn-offs from the highway are both marked with chunky stylized signs suggesting incarceration; walk uphill to find the prison gates and an arched entrance, still announcing “Pénitencier”, leading into the main compound. This region was a hotbed of anti-French resistance, and a list of political prisoners interred here reads like a roll call of famous revolutionaries – among them Le Duan and Truong Chinh, veteran Party members who both went on to become general secretary. Local hero To Hieu was also imprisoned for seditionary crimes but he died from malaria while in captivity in 1944. Most of the buildings lie in ruins, destroyed by a French bombing raid in 1952, but a few have been reconstructed, including the two-storey kitchen block (bep), beneath which are seven punishment cells. Political prisoners were often incarcerated in brutal conditions: the two larger cells (then windowless) held up to five people shackled by the ankles. Behind the kitchens, don’t miss the well-presented collection of prison memorabilia. Enter the second arched gate and upstairs in the building on your right you’ll find an informative display about the dozen or so minorities who inhabit the area, including costumes, handicrafts, jewellery and photos.
The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 | Son La and around |
Eating and drinking
For food, the Trade Union Hotel and the Sunrise have very good restaurants, but the former is open to residents only (closes 10.30pm). The Hai Phi is also a good option, especially if you like goat dishes, and is a popular venue for large gatherings. If you didn’t find black rice (com gao cam) in Dien Bien Phu, then try it here in one of the com pho stalls near the big junction at the south end