China to Laos Border: Smooth or Nightmare? S8 EP 84 | Pakistan to Japan Motorcycle Tour
I have to hide my drone now. I was told that I have to hide my drone. If they find it, they will either break it or take it. The motorcycle number Assalam-o-Alekum Everyone and welcome back to the channel from Jinhawk, a small city near the border of Laos and Vietnam in South China. Today is my 29th day in China. The last day in China before I enter Laos.
The border is about 180 km from here. It will take about 2.5 to reach there through highway. I hope my journey will be comfortable. It's raining cats and dogs since morning.
But the adventure in China will continue. In the last 28 days, I have crossed China through the middle route. It was a good and interesting journey.
I enjoyed China. I hope that you liked my content. A lot of hard work has been done on every video.
Personally, I prefer solo travel without any restriction. I would have enjoyed it more because I could have decided everything on my own. Anyway, every country has its own rules. I have to follow them. I tried my best to show you China while following the rules. I just stepped outside in the rain to have coffee and breakfast.
After that, I will leave from here. I will try to reach the border on time. So that I can cross the border safely. (prayer for journey) May I have a blessed and safe day ahead. May it be a great border crossing.
Although it is pouring but the temperature is rising. With this jacket on, I can't breathe. For the next three days, it is predicted to rain. It will be difficult to leave the city where I will stay. After the border crossing.
Anyway, my first step is to cross the border. I will see the rest later. It's not a rainy season but it can rain anytime. I had to go to the border today and it started raining. It won't be an issue if the road isn't really slippery. This is the entrance of highway.
I need fuel at some point. Let's see where I can get it. There is a checkpoint before the border.
Hopefully, they won't stop me. They are smiling at me. Ni hao. Let's go There is the petrol station. Let's refill the tank from there.
So, I have finally reached the border. I can't see any difference between the city and the border here. According to navigation, I have to go another 700 meters . The whole market is located here. Maybe, I have to stop at the gate. Normally, you just go without stopping.
But it's different in every country. In Russia, they used to stop at the gate. People were used to leave one by one. I think China was similar to Mongolia.
As you can see, the mud on the road has turned red. It was the same in Africa. This is a proper town. I might be able to swap some currency for Laos's native currency. So that I don't face any problem there.
There is hustle-bustle on the border. I think it's gonna take time to get out of here. I have to hide my drone as well. I was told that I have to hide my drone.
If they find it, they will either break it or take it. I have two drones with me. I have already given one of them. Let's hand over the other one as well. Our entire group has reached here.
He is our tour guide. He is collecting everyone's data. Regarding the driving license and number plate.
They told us that we can keep it. Maybe, they will take it from us later. Let's keep it for now. This is the border. This is the immigration office of China. We are going to get our passports stamped here.
I have cleared immigration in China. Now I am coming to the customs. They will inspect the motorcycle. The motorcycle number? My motorcycle has been inspected.
They have only checked the chassis number. Nothing else. Let's wait here for the others.
They are coming from Laos. It's very crowded. The border along the Mongolia was crowded too, like this. It's more crowded here. Because a lot of Chinese people work there. And maybe they had gone there for holidays too.
I think it's time to say bye to China. One of my favorite countries. I am surprised to be impressed by China. But it's an amazing country. And whenever I get a chance, I will definitely come here. And I have to come.
I have to go to Tibet, Xinjiang province and then to Pakistan and Nepal. And there are a lot of other areas that I have to visit. So I will be back soon.
The next country Laos is waiting for us. So this is the border of Laos. There is a guy with us. I think these bikers will pass by. There is Edwin ahead.
He has already crossed the border. He is well informed about the border. You can see that the gate of the border is made in a very historical style. It's like a Buddhist pagoda. So I have to go inside. I am not sure about the customs.
But immigration will be here. Finally, our immigration, customs and other work has been completed here. When we reached the Chinese side, it was 1 o'clock. And it's 5:30 here.
So it took us 4.5 hours to get all this process done on both the sides. The tour guide on the Chinese side got all the work done. All the documents needed were here. As soon as we entered the Laos side, I had to get a visa here. I got a 60-day visa on German passport. It costs $40.
Some nationalities get it for free. For example, 15 days free for Spanish. But it's not free on German passport. After getting the visa, the next step was to go to the immigration. Because they have to process your photos. You give them the motorcycle documents.
They register you there. Then they have machines here for you to get the custom document. It's an automated system. There was no such system here.
Now you go and fill in all the information about your motorcycle, your passport, etc. Let me show you. You get a sticker like this for a month.
It says that you can extend it for another month. You can keep your motorcycle in Laos for a maximum of 2 months. I'm not sure if you can extend it for another month after exiting and re-entering the country.
I also got a local SIM from here. I have an eSIM. I needed a local SIM because I usually upload videos. It's important for me to have a lot of data. I got 85 GB from here for $12 or $13.
I also got insurance. They gave me a page like this. I was charged 50 yuan which is around $7. And I forgot this. He charged around 60,000 local currency for this document.
Someone told me that it's around $200. Overall, I must have spent $50 on custom documents, visa, etc. Of course, the SIM card. I did not pay any money in China.
Let's leave from here. Let's see how our next process goes. We have to show our documents here. I don't think anything is left. It's open.
So, officially, welcome to Laos. We have entered Southeast Asia. I am not sure about the country number of this tour.
I think they are looking for a hotel. The tour guide who used to book everything, is not available anymore. There are not many hotels available online here. Find the room. So, did you find any room? $35 Breakfast included in the price.
If we enter 1 person One instead of two. Same price. This city of Laos is called Botan.
And on the other side was Mohan. So we have crossed Mohan-Botan. There is a lot of construction going on here.
The city is very small. Kids are playing here. The city roads look good. The roads would be in poor condition once we exit the city.
Very high rising buildings are being built here. I think there are a lot of Chinese construction workers here. As it was too crowded. Like in Pakistan, there is a CPEC belt. There is a name for it here as well. They had separate passport counters.
You can call it a night market or a food street. Which hotel is this? The navigation has brought us here. Hello. Is it a hotel? What is this? Hello, do you speak English? Is it a hotel? Hello. Yes.
Is it a hotel? Full? Okay. Thank you. Hello. Do you have a room available? We need three rooms.
One bed or two beds? One bed. This is my room in this hotel. This is shower.
It is very clean. I just had a shower. Let's move ahead. There is a beautiful bed in front of me.
It is very spacious. There is a table for us to sit. There is a balcony outside. It is almost dark here.
So I can't show you from the outside. But let me tell you that I have paid 115 yuan for this. This is around $22. I have paid through Alipay. Because most of the border towns have functional Alipay. People here speak Chinese.
Let's go outside. I'm very hungry. I have to eat because I didn't eat much in the morning. There are a lot of restaurants here.
I can see hotels on both sides of the road as soon as I leave the hotel. I found a Halal restaurant here. Pakistan? Pakistan? Assalam-o-Alaikum. Wa-Alaikum-Assalam. Let me show you the restaurant from inside.
It is very crowded at this time. I think their food will be good. So we will also order something by looking at the pictures. I think, I am not sure, but it looks like the restaurant of Xinjiang.
But we have multiple options here. Our food is here. Let me show you. There are some noodles here.
And what else have they added? Two of them claim that it is spicy. But when I eat, I will know. Hopefully, there are not too many spices in it. It looks very good. It's not bad, but a little bit spicy.
A little bit? Yeah, because I haven't mixed the spices. They did. For me, it's on the side. Look at you. We have finally reached Laos.
I will stay in this border town for the next 1-2 days. So that I can make travel plans. Which route will I take? How will I reach Japan? Because our China tour was very unplanned. I didn't have any other way from Mongolia. To reach Japan.
There are different options available from Southeast Asia. Let's see which option I will choose. Which will be the best possible route. Or alternatively, either I will explore this area and go to Japan. Or I will go to Japan first and then explore this area.
I will sit calmly and think about it. I will try to provide you some information in the next vlog. Where I am going and what I am going to do.
Let me rest for now. I hope you liked my vlog. Remember me in your prayers.
Don't forget to like, subscribe and share. Bye.
2025-04-02 23:25
