Forums > Travel Yunnan > Chengdu to Thailand Am thinking about starting in Laos and going up to Jinghong in Sipsongpanna, then going back to Laos and eventually Thailand using a Lao-registered rental car, but this won't be until the second half of July. Purpose of travel is business to collect some product samples, but of course, I will also visit some tourist sites as well. If your trip is flexible, please send me a PM to discuss. Although I will be travelling with a couple of people, would still be nice to have one more person to share the costs with.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Getting a driver's license in Jinghong or Mengla There are some websites that mention getting a temporary Chinese driver's license for foreigners that wish to participate in self-drive tours, in the Mengla area, however, these are temporary licenses only. Would this be an option for me in case the information I received above is incorrect? As mentioned earlier, I won't be going back to Kunming until well after the end of the trip, so going up to Kunming just to get my license wouldn't be a practical option.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Getting a driver's license in Jinghong or Mengla OK, thanks for that info regarding where it is possible to get a driver's license. In any case, I have been told it is possible to take a Lao-registered vehicle up as far north as Jinghong, but no further. Presumably a foreign driver's license would be acceptable for driving in this region of China, if a foreign registered car is being driven...this is the information I have been given so far.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Getting a driver's license in Jinghong or Mengla Hi, I normally live in Kunming, but am currently out of the country and will be travelling on business to Laos and Sipsongpanna (西双版纳 in Chinese) as far north as Simao, but will be travelling back to Laos after that, and so won't be back in Kunming until later on.
I plan to go by car (although i may or may not be driving myself and it might be a Lao registered vehicle, haven't got the details yet though), and was wondering if it was possible to get a Chinese driver's license in Jinghong or Mengla or Simao city or somewhere like that. Would it also be possible to take the exam in English, as I am not fluent enough in Chinese to take the exam in Chinese yet, or otherwise, take along an interpreter? Also, I'm guessing I would need to get a new translation of my driver's license done somewhere in that area too.
On another matter, I took the test once in Kunming back in December but didn't have enough time to study the whole manual, so I got 89%! which absolutely sucks because that's only 1% short of passing and didn't have the opportunity to redo it since then, would my details still be in their system? I know a case of someone who retook the exam after like 3 months and their details were still there, so they simply showed up with their I.D., paid the 60 Yuan fee again and retook the test, no problem.
Also, how do drivers of Lao registered vehicles (mainly in southern Yunnan) legally drive in China if their Lao licenses aren't officially recognized by China? Would they have to go through all the hassle of getting at least a temporary Chinese driver's license? Anyone know?
Forums > Travel Yunnan > Chinese National going to Laos by land The information given above is correct; Chinese authorities do not care if Chinese nationals are eligible for visas on arrival, because they won't let a Chinese citizen exit the country without a visa in their passport. This regulation has recently been strictly enforced according to an article I read recently. I can also corroborate what the posters above said, which is when I was at Suvarnabhumi airport on my way to Kunming a few months ago, a group of Chinese nationals on their way back to Beijing all had Thai visas in their passports from the embassy in Beijing in spite of Thailand offering a 15-day visa on arrival service and those persons having only spent 4 days in Thailand. Therefore, this service is a mute point for Chinese citizens, who can only take advantage of it if they are entering Thailand (or Laos) from another country, other than China.
Getting Away: Luang Prabang
Posted by@flengs, what do you mean by being fed up with the "foreigner-local" relations? Some of them seem quite superficial, but it depends on what level the relationship is. When both parties speak at least one of the other's languages really well, then mutual understanding will increase of course, however, this is rarely the case as few foreigners can speak Lao (except for a few words maybe) and few Laotians can speak very good English.
Major Kunming traffic arteries converted to one-way roads
Posted byAn interesting read. I first came to Kunming in mid-2009 and by then the changes were already made. I actually live just off xue fu lu and everytime I'm in a car or taxi (except late at night) we have to go the long way round starting on yi er yi, passing by hongshan bei lu and finally onto xue fu lu. In the reverse direction it's a straight route direct to yi er yi that takes all of 5-6 minutes outside or rush hour; in the original direction going back home it takes about double that. Good for taxi drivers (they get more money!), good for bus patronage but a little annoying for the average commuter affected by this everyday. Anyway, nothing wrong with it, it's just the way it is now - i never realized it used to be different before!
Getting Away: Jinghong
Posted byReally nice city.
First-hand account: Setting up a guesthouse in Xishuangbanna
Posted byGeezer, where did you hear this? Would be really sad if it was true. I too have thought about such a business and indeed have also considered xishuangbanna, which is one of the nicest parts of all of China. However, all things being considered, I find it much easier to set-up something in SE Asia.
First-hand account: Setting up a guesthouse in Xishuangbanna
Posted byFirst of all, Thais are foreign tourists too if they are outside of Thailand. Anyway, nice article, I wish these people lots of success. I think it would be nice if there were more westerners (and foreigners in general) travelling in Xishuangbanna, because right now it's a world away from neighboring Laos and Vietnam. In fact, even though it's so restrictive, I find it easier to come across other travellers in Myanmar than in Xishuangbanna...why is that? I look forward to the day you can find a central backpacker district in Jinghong that looks like its equivalent in Laos filled with hundreds of western backpackers.