@tigertiger, I too have noticed all the trucks outside gas stations, but mainly on expressways rather than in the cities or rural highways. Even though I have previously only driven cars running on unleaded fuel within China, all the gas stations I have been to in the cities appeared to have diesel available as well.

It seems the Ford Explorer is not available in China, only another SUV with FWD transmission or AWD for the most expensive variant. It's called the Ford Echo - it looks good but doesn't offer 4WD transmission, which is what I need.

Any other recommendations for good quality SUVs available in China?

@chris8080, I have heard of this before, it sounds a bit racist but are you sure you were rejected because you're a foreigner? Also, were you quite "dirty" as you say? What is that supposed to mean? Many locals don't have showers very often and then go clubbing too and besides all the cigarette smoke and people, being clean is hardly possible after a night out there.

If so, you should file a complaint or post your experience on an international news site. Imagine the outrage this would cause if say, a black person were refused entry to a club for being black. Remember when "Mongolians and blacks" were refused entry to Beijing clubs during the Olympics and the outrage it caused, particularly in America and other foreign countries?

I have been to Kundu numerous times and generally not had any problems there, although once a friend of mine from Norway (he has since returned home) tried to enter a club I previously visited the weekend before (I think it was Babi club) and was refused although it looked quite full inside. Can't say what the reasons were although he was also already drunk. At the time my Chinese wasn't good enough to understand what the bouncer was trying to say...so we went to the club next door which was better anyway where he had no problems entering.

In any case, if you want quality clubbing, either look elsewhere or go to Thailand. Kundu kinda sucks anyway and given the amount of smoke in there, spend a few nights in there and you'll probably get a heart attack, stroke or lung cancer from all the smoke that fills your body. Thailand is way better- smoking was banned back in 2007 in nightclubs.

Thanks for the tip. I am actually most interested in diesel, since it's cheaper and more widely available than unleaded in neighboring countries but will consider some hybrid models as you have suggested. BTW are they also affected by the high tax rate you mentioned earlier? You mentioned the Escalafe 5.7ltr, which is quite a large engine, but it is a hybrid. Does this mean higher taxes or tax incentives by the Chinese government?

@tigertiger, I was just thinking the same thing. We might be better off purchasing a vehicle in China and then trying to register it in Laos aswell than the reverse, based on my initial enquiries on import taxes for vehicles imported into Laos. We will try to explore which option is better tax-wise.

I have noticed the huge difference in price for the 6.4L Jeep Cherokee compared to the smaller engine models. I guess this is evidence of the larger taxes applied to larger engine vehicles. Check www.jeep.com.cn (only in Chinese I believe) for details.

I would recommend flying to Cambodia via Bangkok on THAI or Hong Kong on Dragonair. Better service, more flights and better food on board.