After stocking up at the supermarket we headed out of Langshuo with the intention of working our way west towards Laos. We had intended to go slowly, but the fact that if we did not get to the border on the Friday meant that we would have to pay an extra three days of transit. It was already Tuesday and so this left us a massive 1750 km to do in two and a half days! We decided to give it a go.
There is no doubt that China is expensive to travel through as a single car group. It is not the normal things like diesel that racks up the cost, but the guide costs as charged by the companies that organise the permits and guides. It is possible to do this much much cheaper if you book directly with other smaller companies or the experienced guides themselves. It does take about 3 months to go through all the processes though so you need to plan ahead. Please contact us directly if you are thinking of a trip as we have met up with great contacts who can give you a great trip at a reasonable price …. don’t book until you have talked to us!!
The first part of the day was national roads, more interesting but slower and they require more concentration! There are lots of things to look at but as we need to cover the distance there is little time to stop. One man showed me around his bee hives, but discussion was limited!
Along the road the farmland is changing to flatter areas, but really precisely organised.
We drove until late at night as once we were on the freeway I was OK to drive in the dark. Not something I would do on the national or provincial roads. Even then we saw the odd person walking along in the centre of the fast lane, dark clothes and back to the oncoming traffic, so you have to beware!
We stopped at about 9.00 pm behind some buildings in yet another rapidly growing new city. These pictures were taken in the morning, but it shows the spot. It was just next to a kindergarten, where they take security of the kids seriously as they are often stolen for childless couples and …. who knows what?
Tomorrow would need to be a big day as we need to cover lots of km’s. We had done 456 km today with a start at 2.00 pm so good going.
troopytracks 