Forums > Travel Yunnan > Are turnaround visa runs possible at the China-Vietnam border in Hekou? Vietnam issues VOA for nationals of some countries, but not many...they include Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore (30 days) and all other ASEAN nationals with the exception of Myanmar for periods ranging from 14-30 days. Scandinavians and South Korean and Japanese citizens get 15 days. Everyone else needs a visa in advance, including Chinese citizens. I travelled through that crossing with a Norwegian friend recently and he didn't have a Vietnamese visa because he didn't need one. The Chinese border guards were well aware of that rule (even more aware than the Vietnamese border guard, who needed a supervisor to confirm that a visa was indeed not required!) For Laos, Swiss citizens can cross for 15 days without a visa, ASEAN nationals (except Myanmar) get 30 days.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Is Kundu safe? The guy that died yesterday was probably Chinese from what I heard. The Thai guy who was stabbed last year apparently died from his injuries...
I've also heard of a Lao guy who would always pick fights at Kundu and elsewhere and get himself into trouble nearly everywhere he went...he was on a student visa and in fact got deported after a serious incident at his dormitory.
It's hard to say because each situation is different, but it seems that foreigners in these situations are often getting themselves into trouble by not being careful enough, given they're in a foreign country, different culture etc. they really should be extra careful. Also, like everyone else has said...just be careful, don't do anything stupid and definately don't pick a fight.
Forums > Travel Yunnan > nearest Yunnan-Laos border crossing to Kunming? It's Boten, which may be near the place you mentioned, but i also heard another one in Phongsali may be opening sometime soon, but probably isn't open (to those using passports, including foreigners) yet. I'm guessing it's only for locals using day passes and probably is quite isolated. Once it does open, it would be much closer to Kunming, but on the other hand, wouldn't cut travel times down much since roads in Phongsali province are horrible and that province is quite impoverished. Therefore, it would simply mean getting to Laos more quickly and spending more time inside that country compared to the current situation. That's because if you look at a map, Xishuangbanna extends like a spur southward between Laos and Myanmar...everything to the east is Laos and eventually Vietnam east of that.
Forums > Travel Yunnan > Can Chinese get a visa in Bali on arrival? I have read that the Chinese authorities have recently made it harder for Chinese citizens to travel abroad, by requiring that all Chinese citizens have a visa in their passport IN ADVANCE despite there being a visa on arrival facility available in some countries.
What this means is that even if a Chinese citizen can apply for a visa on arrival from certain countries provided they are in possession of a round-trip air ticket and sufficient funds (for example 15 days in Thailand), the Chinese authorities will require Chinese citizens to have a visa in their passport before they are allowed to board a plane to that country. I saw evidence of this in Thailand, where a Chinese citizen on his way back to Beijing had only stayed in Thailand for 4 days but had a visa sticker in his passport from the embassy in Beijing. This inspite of Thailand allowing Chinese citizens to apply for 15 day visas on arrival.
Only if a Chinese citizen visits a second country WITH a visa in their passport and then proceeds to a third country from that other country would it be possible to apply for a visa on arrival. For example, if a Chinese citizen with a Singaporean visa in their passport goes to Singapore first and then Indonesia (assuming they actually allow Chinese citizens to apply for a visa on arrival) would they be allowed to board the plane and apply there. Otherwise, if leaving directly from China a visa must be applied for in advance.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Impressions of Kunming from a foreigner waidiren I hate those small jiao notes too...1 Yuan notes are fine, but I'd rather see more 1 Yuan coins. In Shanghai, all I ever got were jiao coins and most of the time even 1 Yuan coins, especially as change from taxis (which made me very happy). The problem with jiao notes is that they tend to be ripped and basically only useful as toilet paper. I usually just throw them somewhere as I can't be bothered keeping them in my wallet...they take up too much space.
I even know someone who actually used jiao notes as toilet paper in a public toilet...just in case you're not sure what to use them for...
Riding into Kunming's future
Posted byThere's a flight from Kunming to Beirut? Wow...
Changshui Airport set to debut
Posted bySome airlines, particularly international ones like THAI have not updated their systems to reflect the new airport. At the beginning, starting tomorrow, I'm sure there will be some passengers that won't know about the change and will thus go to the wrong airport and miss their flights.
Yunnan goes infrastructure crazy
Posted byYeah the Lijiang line is currently under construction, while the Ruili line is supposed to form part of a proposed Kunming-Myanmar rail link - it will probably also be constructed at some stage (as reported by GoKM last year) but I suspect it will take a little while.
Yunnan goes infrastructure crazy
Posted byAll of this is quite amazing, but even in China not everything goes to plan. Originally the proposed high speed railway from Kunming to Vientiane, Laos via Jinghong and Boten was supposed to be completed by 2015, but a number of issues will likely push back that project for another 10 or more years, though I do believe that it will eventually be built. Also, since the idea is to link south-western China with the south-east Asian coast, Thai and eventually Malaysian and Singaporean co-operation is vital to building this link in the first place; building a line only as far as Vientiane would likely turn out to be a white elephant project since the objective is to make most income from moving goods between SE Asia and SW China quickly via train rather than passengers and that requires linking SW China to a coastline - something which Laos doesn't have.
Regarding the Hekou line, they've been proposing that one for years now since trains stopped running between Kunming and Hekou in 2002. Finally this article mentions a new high-speed line is under construction, but this will be of little use unless the Vietnamese also build a complementary high-speed line on their side (sure, they already have an existing railway line running from Lao Cai via Hanoi down to Saigon, but it's rather slow). Also, the Vietnamese government recently turned down a proposal for converting their existing line into a high-speed line, citing the high cost and the low passenger volumes that would utilize the line.
Changshui Airport set to debut
Posted byWow, it's finally upon us. The new airport will finally open at the end of this month! Only thing is, I'd avoid non-essential travel in and out of this airport for the first couple of weeks since it will probably be more chaotic than usual and things may not go as planned (for example baggage claim may be unusually slow).
I like the statement "For travelers without cars, taxis are always an option." well of course they are. For starters, most people in Kunming still don't own a car despite all the cars on the roads these days. Secondly, even if you do have a car, who would drive to the airport in order to catch a flight and then park their car for the duration of their overseas or interprovincial stay there? I don't think long-term parking is well known in China so even a week's worth of parking could become very expensive and possibly more expensive than even in some western countries.
I am looking forward to the proposed direct Europe flights. Anyone have any idea about when these flights might begin and who which carriers will offer service (presumably Chinese carriers I would imagine)?