Border Crossing from Mohan (China) to Boten (Laos) with a Malaysian Registered Motorcycle

It was time to leave China and enter Laos. For those who wondered how I got into China with a Malaysian registered motorcycle, there is no tricks to it and only one possible way that I know of as of 2024. 

China Tour Agency is required when you bring in a foreign bike or car, and I have used the tour company www.drivechina.com multiple times now and would recommend them always to those that ask.

Anyway, this post is for entering Laos. As the tour group were all first-time entering Laos except me, I took point the moment we exit China. It was a mixed of Camper Trucks, Campervan and motorcycle. Most of them from various part of Europe so I’ll write the whole experience as much as I can.

Exit Port of Mohan - China

Exit from China was handled by the guide and then we were on our own for the Laos side. Immediately before the Laos border post, I parked my bike at the side and walk into the immigration building. 

First booth was an insurance & sim card seller for Laos. The price as per the photo below but motorcycle was cheaper at CNY 50 per month and most of us got the 30 days sim card at CNY 100 for 85 GB. The telco provider was ETL Mobile. Everything was paid using ALIPAY in China currency.

Sim Card & Insurance Seller before Immigration at the Laos Side

Next up was Visa on Arrival. Most of the other campers/bikers from Europe needed Visa on arrival and the price was consistent at USD 40 per person. Passport Photograph was not used although on website it was mentioned that one was needed. They paid in USD and got back change in Lao KIP. Most of them got 60 days Visa on arrival.

Me being a Malaysian of course skipped the Visa on Arrival and just walk straight to the immigration booth getting my stamp in. 30 days Visa free. In fact, the initial stamp was a mistake from the immigration officer as he only stamp me for 10 days but without asking he quickly corrected it.

After immigration there was booth that said Temporary Driving License. I used to get this at the Thai-Lao border but somehow as I passed him my passport and motorcycle papers, the officer said its ok and that I could go. 

The rest of the Europe Bikers/campers was also waved on so maybe the rules changed or we are missing something but anyway with all of us having international driving license it should work out somehow.

Next up was D53 customs declaration form or actually it was a little square sticker. A little booth tucked beside the immigration building with four electronic machines where we had to key in all the vehicle particulars and also passport particulars before it spit out the D53 form. Process was simple and there was an English language selection.

Top - D53 Custom Declaration Sticker for Vehicles
Bottom - Local Insurance for Vehicles 

For me that had entered Laos regularly with Bragge, the information was already recorded and by just keying in the plate number, everything was retrieved so the whole processed took maybe 10 seconds. 

There was no way to select how long you could apply for the Temporary Importation of vehicle. The D53 form would somehow spit out as is and nearly all of us got 30 days with the exception of the two Truck Campers that got only 15 days.

Next was to pay the customs tax at another booth 10 meters away and for bikes it was 60,000kip. Normal pickup was 95,000 kip. We all paid in assortment of cash using Laos Kip, USD, CNY and then it was the last step which was to drive the car to the barrier, get down and pass the D53 form to the officer together with passport and after a few more clicks on his computer, the barrier was lifted and we were now officially in Laos with our own vehicle.

Back into South East Asia - Loas 

The process was relatively simple and very friendly with all the border officers at the Laos side. It was a stark difference from the border crossing I had into Laos in May 2024 through Huay Xai and I am very glad that the situation is improving rapidly in Laos

Traveled on: Nov 2024

China Day 28 – From Mojiang to the Final City of Jinghong

From Mojiang to Jinghong it was about 270km journey. Highway all the way was my theme now. I was really lazy to do any national road for I knew how drastically difference in time and road quality Yunnan province had. 

Even John our National Road Hero hesitated when seeing the same distance in National Road would set him back double the time required estimated in the navigation app.

I was close enough now to the end tip of the China journey that the previous crossing in May 2024 would actually overlap in Jinghong. 

Back to familiar places and roads so it no longer few like the next part of the adventure but rather the ending lull to an adventure coming to an end. I shared the coffee farm location that Nick introduced in May 2024 and all three of us made a beeline for the place via highway.

Coffee Farm in Puer

Coffee Farm in Puer

As usual the routine in the morning went as such.

I pushed off in the morning without breakfast for the Coffee Farm

Tsevtan push off the same time but headed to find the nearest Starbucks for a morning coffee setting him back an hour or so before really pushing off for the Coffee Farm

John still somehow asleep and finally awake 2 hours later finds out we are both missing and push off for the Coffee Farm

I reached the coffee farm and barely 10 minutes later both John & Tsevtan arrived. That just goes to say how slow and chill I actually ride when alone. 

My first Crossing Group Photos in May 2024 was up in the Wall of Fame 

The Coffee Farm owner actually recognized me and our group photos in May 2024 was actually printed and frame up forever in his wall of fame. He was so happy to see me that the food we ordered was free. (I had no idea until the point when he refused to take my money)

“The first time you come here, you are a customer but the second time you come here, you are a friend”,

He quoted this to me many times as I tried to pay for the lunch but as my weak-willed limited funds goes, I finally gave in and accepted his generosity and just paid for coffee. I guess it was really rare for a foreigner with his own vehicle to visit the same place twice to him and this time I brought two new customers without any guide tagging along.

The Lunch at the Coffee Farm

Overdosed with coffee and slacking too much just chilling by the farm, we pushed off fairly late at 4pm really rushing again to the next town Jinghong. Tsevtan followed me straight to the bike shop where we proceeded to do an Oil change and then it was the final night in China.

Xishuangbanna – Jinghong was no doubt a great introduction for the group into Southeast Asian culture. The food was already changing, and they had performances from the Thai / Lao / Vietnam region influence though the minority tribe at the border region.

Xishuangbanna Temple

Xishuangbanna Night Market

As I brought Tsevtan & John to visit the unique temple behind the night market of Xishuangbanna, The big loop starting from Laos to Central Asia and then back is somehow completed.

Next adventure yet to be planned but mini adventure through Laos – Thailand – Cambodia would probably just sooth my soul instead of vibrating it.

Travelled on: Nov 2024

China Day 27 – Yunyang to Mojiang

Woke up early in Yuanyang and after a simple single boiled free egg for breakfast, me Tsevtan headed back to the coffee van for some morning booster. 

Somehow managed to chill again for two hours drinking coffee in the morning and just enjoying the view but then it was time to really hit the road else it would take forever to reach Mojiang

I tried a slightly different road out of Yuanyang but nothing spectacularly new for me seeing rice fields terrace so stops were rare. It was also difficult to stop due to the very steep and continuous winding roads down the mountain. I think I averaged around 20km/hr but fortunately the country roads were just a short stretch of 20km approximately.

Yunyang Rice Terrace

Yunyang Rice Terrace 

I then hit the highway aiming for Mojiang and most of the rest stops were empty. No Food and no petrol so after going for a good hour and finally a rest stop that had at least biscuits and water, I decided to just snack for lunch. Checking my phone messages and Tsevtan msg came in just in time for a lunch stop not even 5km away from where I stopped.

Biscuits yet to be opened was chucked quickly into the box and I hit the road leaving the highway to find the lunch spot. 6 Yuan for a simple pork noodle. I think this was the cheapest meal in China I had ever eaten. It was good too. John the National Road hero rocked up as we were eating and he double back to join us for lunch.

Local Noodle shop somewhere somewhere 

John had done a crazy 4 hours of pure national road since this morning while we had coffee breaks and lunch breaks. I always say that he was crazy but then again he was young and his fav catch phrase was that his bike “ It’s an African Twin Honda”

We all split up after lunch with Tsvetan & John going for national road to Mojiang while I opted for the highway. Just pushing off from the lunch place and I notice that my back left bracket had broken yet again. 

This bracket has been breaking all throughout the trip and I have lost count of how many times I had welded it back and trying to reinforce the part that seems to be warping and breaking every time.

A quick cable tie fix and I was off to Mojiang on the highway heading straight to a bike shop to get it welded. Poorly welded job but then they locals would not take my money for the job so I could not grumble at them that much. Pretty sure this bracket will break eventually again but for now it would hold.

A Temporary fix

Locals in Mojiang Welding Back the Bracket

Checked into the hotel of Mojiang which was a KTV room turned Hotel probably due to police shutting down the vice trade. A walk around Mojiang seems like the most mundane town in China that I had ever have a stopover. Others were boring like Hanzhong but they still had their beaten down megacity look. This one was just forgettable.

Traveled on: Nov 2024

China Day 26 – The Mobile Café and Enjoying Yunyang

Today was one of the shortest distances to ride in China. Only 90 km from Jianshui to Yunyang scenic spot which was actually just across the border of Vietnam to see the rice fields terrace plantation in the mountains.

I was not that much excited to see the rice fields to be honest. I have seen many of them before in Laos and also in Vietnam so there was nothing awe awesome to look forward to. The short distance to travel today however was a welcome delight so when we departed at 10am in the morning, I really took my time riding slowly through national road G245 to Yunyang.

From Jianshui to Yunyang

From Jianshui to Yunyang

The roads felt like I was already in Laos to be frank with bad wavy and slippery roads but minus the potholes. It was rugged and raw very similar to either Vietnam of Laos so the transition feeling that we were going to leave China in three days was starting to set in.

Just shy 2km from the hotel, I stopped to take some pictures of the rice fields and then I saw a traveling coffee Van. I had been looking for this type of pit stop all over China and this was the first time I saw it in time to stop and take a break. 

I now understand that most of the traveling Coffee Van is loitering along the Tibet and Xinjiang route and not much can be found in busy cities in China.

Yunyang Rice Terrace - Off season

Traveling Coffee Van

I ended up just sitting and chatting with the locals while sipping coffee for nearly three hours enjoying the good weather and beautiful landscape view. Tsevtan eventually needed a Coffee and came over to join and then John turned up and a whole bunch of conversation was happening at the same times with the locals in so many kinds of topics.

It’s been a while since any immersion with the locals occurred, so this was really a welcomed experience. We bid them farewell in the evening to go check into our hotel and then it was simple dinner at the restaurant before we all head back to our own private rooms. 

Yep, this time it was cheap enough that I had a private room not needing to share with Tsevtan or John. CNY 70 per night.

Travelled on: Nov 2024

China Day 23 to 25 – From Zhaotong to Xundian and a Free Day in Jianshui

It was the end of short rides day and today we had to go the distance of nearly 260km from Zhaotong to Xundian. I decided to utilize the highways in Yunnan and made my own research to do a lunch stop detour.

Huize Ancient city was the pick, and it was one of the very rare kind of Ancient city that I have seen in China where it has yet to white wash for mass tourism so the buildings were dirty, the shops were a mix matched of new and old trades still working side by side. The authenticity was the real thing, and it was really refreshing to find.

Huize Ancient City

Huize Ancient City

Huize Ancient City

The best part of the day I would say was when we found some locals just doing local practice of their traditional folk songs at park. We could sit there and listen to the songs they were singing and they were not bothered at all with Tsevtan filming everything so I decided to get in a few shots as well.

Huize Ancient City

Locals Practicing Folksongs at Huize Ancient City

From the lunch stop it was another detour through national road G248 to go up higher until nearly 3300m based on Tsevtan altitude meter where we thought we could go through the Dahai Grass Mountain Scenic Area which was around 4000m elevation. 

At the turn off the weather was bad and cloudy so we just continue on with G248 but the roads became bad downhill. Twisty roads up were perfect tarmac but twisty road down was construction roads filled with gravel and potholes. 

The view however was amazing, and I made my way down very slowly not risking anything. The small detour through G248 took so much time that once I was out of the twisty road, I found the nearest entry to the highway and blasted the throttle to reach Xundian.

G248 from Huize to Xundian

G248 from Huize to Xundian

G248 from Huize to Xundian

Xundian became another China city that we just arrived, checked in the hotel and walk out for dinner before crashing into bed and leaving immediately the next day without really exploring the place.

The next day would be the day that I won’t remember in China. It was bound to happen eventually, so I was quite happy that after 24 days in China, this was the first day with bad weather.

We woke up in Xundian with light rain and decided to grab some heavy breakfast hoping that the rain would break but it looked like a full day rain type of day.

Highway was the easy choice with bad weather as national road would just be too slow and worst roads, so it was that kind of day where I don’t really remember much. 

Wet weather day - Highway Stop

Rain and more rain throughout the day making me do so many stops at almost every rest stop the highway provide. All the initial plans of detours out of the highway to find food and lunch was washed down the drain.

I reached Jianshui at around late afternoon and then it was off to dinner with the campers celebrating one of the kids 10th birthdays. It was the first time visiting a China campsite and I was really surprised at the amount of local Chinese campers. I had no idea it was a thing.

City of Jianshui

Campervan Park in China

Our last free day in China. Initially the original plan was to have the free day in Kunming but after meeting up with drivechina.com and gathering feedback from most of the participants, they all decided to tweak the plan a little and changed the free day to be in Jianshui.

The principle was that the free days in large cities can be sometimes overwhelming as there is not enough time to really do the sightseeing proper since it was only a day. Also, the expectation of full exploration and having sufficient time to recuperate was not really there with big cities.

Jianshui

Local Tribe Singing Practice at Jianshui

Playing Cards in Jianshui 

Hence for our last free day it was shifted to Jianshui a semi large Ancient City which was great for a half day relax compact walkabout yet also scenic enough that we could just chill sipping coffee watching the local crowd and time goes by.

In the morning after breakfast, it was a walk to find coffee with Tsevtan and then it was a random walk around the Ancient city and by chance met Yassine as well. The stroll was random but at one point we started hunting for a massage place. 

More walks around and after giving up hope of finding a massage place by chance, I used the maps to search for the concentrated spot for massages.

Blind Massage in Jianshui

A little far walk slightly outside the Ancient City and we found multiple massage parlours that were actually blind massage. The massage was good and one of the best cheap values for money I had ever found in the whole of China.

Lunch was simple and then it was more random walking around. The second largest Confucius Temple was also in Jianshui but upon entering, it felt more like a Zen Temple instead with gardens and pond being the theme.

Confucius Temple in Jianshui 

It was a slow day for once in China and in the evening after a short break back in the Hotel, I headed out with John to get dinner. We found the insect delicacy and John was braved enough to try a centipede and spider. 

A quick post on the group message board immediately pull all the youtubers away from their comfort to join us. Youtuber would do anything for a reel that could hit a few thousand views. Little excitement and just another day in China.

Travelled on: Nov 2024