Thanks for that info. Looks like my original choice of driving a Lao car across the border will be cheaper and more convenient.

It would seem that if the sleeper bus to Mohan is 320 Yuan so 640 return and the distance is around 725km according to googlemaps, 550 is the distance only to Jinghong, which is well away from the border, and Kunming is only around 410km from the Vietnamese border, then even if you apply for a Vietnamese visa, which costs 350 Yuan for single entry, then you will find that it costs virtually the same compared to going to Laos when you add the cost of the bus to Hekou (145 one way, 290 return).

The main difference is the time it takes: it should take 8 hours to Hekou, whereas Mohan is something like 12 hours away, so you'll definately save time by going to Vietnam, but unless you are Scandinavian, from Sth Korea or Japan, or from an ASEAN country, you will need a Vietnamese visa in advance as the border guards won't let you through otherwise.

There's also a Vietnamese/Chinese border crossing at Mong Cai, north-east of Halong Bay, but that's only convenient for travel to/from Hainan, Guangzhou and the east coast..it's too far away from Kunming to be worthwhile.

Hi, I am planning a trip to Sipsongpanna (西双版纳 in Chinese) and have received some quotes for travel by car from Laos to Jinghong and back. Lao registered vehicles can only travel as far north as Jinghong without special permission, so if someone could tell me how much I could expect to pay per day, for a car with driver from the Chinese-Lao border town of Mohanzhen up to Jinghong, and possibly as far north as Simao, I'd be very appreciative. I need to visit a number of sites along the way (I'm going on business) therefore a bus would be very inconvenient and tiring...and not an option for me. I am looking to stay in that region for about 3 days and 2 nights.

Requirements for Chinese citizens are stricter than for other foreigners when applying for a Thai visa in Kunming. Multiple renewals of tourist visas in neighboring countries has also come under the spotlight and you will see a notice to this effect at the Thai consulate in Kunming. Therefore, I would investigate another type of visa that your girlfriend may be eligible for, after a couple of tourist visa applications otherwise she may be refused. On the other hand, Thai officials are likely to note the amount of time she spent outside of Thailand, so if she spends say 3-4 months per year in Thailand, using either two back-to-back tourist visas or one tourist visa plus a 30 day extension, she should be OK.

Also agree with the other posters that if your girlfriend doesn't work, should try a travel agent and not the consulate. Does your girlfriend still have a job to go back to after returning to China or not? This will of course affect her visa application if she continually makes new applications for tourist visas.