Lìjiāng (丽江)
Sunday, April 20, 2014 25kms (15 miles) North of Dàlǐ is the old town of Xizhōu with its Bai architecture. We pulled off the highway to check it out, only to find they wanted ¥60 (USD $10) per person to visit. We…
Dàlǐ (大理)
Saturday, April 19, 2014 Today we headed to Dàlǐ, which was 280kms (174 miles) north. Although the road continued to wind through mountains valleys but was remarkable fast. There are bridges over the valleys and long tunnels through the mountain.…
Líncāng (临沧)
Friday, April 18, 2014 Up very early, well very early for us (6:15am). We scoffed down breakfast, checked out and were ready to join the others by 7:30am. Still quite early actually, for us. It was 418km (260m) of lovely…
Jǐnghóng (景洪)
Thursday, April 17, 2014 We both slept like logs. The last two days had been extremely exhausting and draining. And just as well, as we had a huge day. Our hotel was located about 2kms from the customs checkpoint. At…
Arrived in China
Yes we made it successfully. We are having a few issues updating the blog (due to the great fire-wall of China) and getting connected. Just wanted to let everyone know we made it. More details on Sterlin to follow.
Leg 3: South-East Asia
October 2013 – Aril 2014 Indonesia: Although just for a while it looked like we were going to get Sterlin into the country, it all became a paper (and possibly bribe) quagmire, so Sterlin got shipped around to KL. We…
Laos: Border Crossing and Documentation
This post is about the government documentation we needed and obtained to bring our car and ourselves into Laos. Laos In General There is basically nothing on the Laos customs website on the process to temporarily import a vehicle. But…
Exciting times in Luang Prabang
Thursday, April 10, 2014 The road from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang was mostly ok, although there where a few sections with some very impressive potholes. It took us about 3.5 hours to cover the 140kms. Contrary to our normal…
Nong Kiau
Tuesday, April 8, 2014 Long drive through the mountains. The journey time was 7:30am until 4:00pm, or 8.5 hours to complete 309 kms. That is a average of 36 kph, or, not fast at all. The road was in very…
Xam Neua
Sunday, April 6, 2014 We had a lovely long drive through the mountains from Phonsavan to Xam Neua. Only 240 kms in distance, but average speed was around 40 kph, so it took 6 hours to do the drive and…
Phonsavan
Friday, April 4, 2014 The road north along National Highway 13 and then east along National Highway 7 to Phonsavan was just stunning. The road weaved itself through the forested mountains and Laos villages. Lots of potholes but we were…
Vang Vieng
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 The road north to Vang Vieng was good with only the occasional car destroying pothole. We didn’t hit any. And it was nice to be driving through mountains again. Sterlin was running extremely well after the…
Vientiane
Thursday, March 27, 2014 A long drive today, but rewarded with Vientiane (the Capital of Laos). Found a delightful hotel on the edge of town. In the early evening we went exploring for a) the Land Rover dealer and b)…
Kong Lor Cave
Wednesday, March 26, 2014 We drove north along Mekong and after 100 kms or so turned right at Road No. 8 and started to wind through the mountains. This was such a pretty drive and we both enjoyed the mountain…
Thakhek
Monday, March 24, 2014 The roads in Laos are getting better and faster as we head North. Less potholes, less cattle wandering around aimlessly and less villages on the main highway. This is a good thing, as today was a…