Earlier this week, a friend and I took the bus from Luang Prabang in Laos across the border to Kunming, China. Information about the trip is scarce in guidebooks and online, and even in Luang Prabang there is plenty of misinformation. So this post is in the nature of a public service announcement:
There is a [...]
As I researched this trip, one of the most worrying segments was the border crossing from Cambodia to Laos. With Travelfish labeling it a “pain in the posterior,” I was a wee bit apprehensive. But as it turned out, it was a mostly painless experience.
Having heard that visas would not be issued at the border. [...]
As regular readers of this blog have probably figured out, I am an independent traveler by temperament (and usually also by means). In China I take trains and local buses, and I avoid group tours like the plague. But here in Vietnam, truly “independent” travel is essentially impractical, at least when it comes to securing transportation.
Travel [...]
Our trip through western China is progressing, and going well. So well that Internet access and blogging hasn’t been a top priority. But in case any readers are following in our footsteps, I wanted to write a quick post about actually getting to Langmusi and Xiahe in the Tibetan area of southern Gansu Province.
Both Langmusi [...]
(Warning: This post involves a lot of venting. More happy stories to come!)
Yesterday (location: Lanzhou, Gansu Province) was one of those days when it seems that China is trying to tell me that “you shouldn’t be here.” The day was all about transportation: buying tickets for the rest of our trip and then taking an [...]
