At Bản Giốc Waterfall, we again found ourselves peering over the Chinese border. However, this time there were no smuggling operations. Instead, there were some tourists, a stunning waterfall, and the Quây Sơn River. Vietnam’s border with China runs along this river and cuts down the center of the waterfall. I was reminded of an earlier conversation with an off-duty tour guide at Soi’s house; when asked what he thought of Bản Giốc Waterfall, he responded, “Well, there’s the good and the bad. The good: it’s a fantastic waterfall. The bad: we have to share it with China.”

We saw tourist boats lined up on both sides of the river. The ones on the Chinese side had green roofs and a noisy gas motor, while the ones on the Vietnamese side had red roofs and were maneuvered via a long bamboo pole that just barely reached the deepest parts of the river. Boats from both sides were filled with tourists, all eager to brave the water spray and get that special selfie near the waterfall.

I’ve heard it said that Bản Giốc Waterfall, at 100m, is the widest waterfall in Vietnam. However, I’m not sure whether this assumes that the separate falls we observed are instead one continuous fall (perhaps during the rainy season), or whether the shape of the waterfall has changed over time. Because we weren’t there during the rainy season, it wasn’t as full as we’ve seen in pictures, but it was still pretty spectacular.

After visiting the waterfall, we spent the night in the nearby town of Trùng Khánh. We tried phở vịt (duck phở) for the first time, and it was fatty and savory and oh so delicious. For lunch the next day, we found another restaurant that served it. This time, the bowl of phở vịt contained not only chunks of duck meat, but also slices of amazingly delicious sausage (of an unidentified variety) — this bowl of phở ranks among my top five favorite meals in Vietnam.

We wandered through Trùng Khánh’s market after eating lunch. The covered, open-sided building contained rows of clothing sellers, with clothes hanging from long bamboo poles and the displays reaching up towards the ceiling. There were also counters of raw meat, and we attracted many friendly stares and smiles as we wandered through. We saw no other tourists during our entire stay in Trùng Khánh, and from online accounts, it doesn’t seem like tourists generally make it to this town. However, both Jake and I loved the laid-back atmosphere and the friendly people. And the food wasn’t too shabby, either (in addition to the phở vịt, we had amazing bánh mì from a street-side cart).

After leaving Trùng Khánh, we headed back to Cao Bằng for the afternoon and night. We explored the extensive market there, and wandered some of the more commercial streets in this large city.