From Thailand to China: the unlikely overland route through Laos

On December 5, 2017, the time had come for me to start the journey back to Belgium. Departing from northern Thailand, my mission was to arrive back in Antwerp before New Year’s Eve.

The easy part: from Thailand to Laos

It was with teary eyes and a very heavy heart that I stepped into the van that picked me up at the resort in Pai, where I left my boyfriend (the ‘travel’ prefix had been dropped by this time). I wasn’t scheduled to see him again before April. Although I almost felt like quitting my job and keep on travelling with him for an indefinite period of time, I eventually stuck with my original plan of going back home in December.

The van transported me to the place where I took the bus that would bring me all the way to Laos. The long ride was highlighted by a stop in Chiang Rai, where we received just enough time to visit the famous white temple before hopping back onto the bus.

Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple in Chiang Rai

It was evening when we crossed the border. I was taken aside because I had overstayed my Thai visa for 5 days. I paid a small fee, signed a document and was allowed to cross. I had researched this beforehand and knew it was not going to be a big problem.

The final destination for that day was Huay Xai, which was a major mindfuck for me, because this was the exact same place where we had started and ended the Gibbon Experience a month earlier. To be in this place again, eating dinner at the same restaurant, but this time not in the same happy context and not in the same precious company as last time around, it was hard not to get struck by a huge blow of nostalgia.

An important stop for me that night was the bus station, where I inquired about the night bus to Kunming, China. This was almost a mythical bus connection to me. The information about it on the internet was very scarce and buying online tickets was impossible. Yet, the following leg of my journey, which was already entirely booked, completely depended on being able to take this bus, which was the only possibillity to cross the border from Laos to China.
The person I spoke to at the bus station confirmed to me that the bus would depart there the following morning and that I would be able to buy tickets there just before departure. He recommended that I be there on time.

The hard part: a crucial bus connection

I had reserved a tuk-tuk to bring me from my guesthouse to the bus station in the morning, making sure that I would show up largely in time in order to catch that mythical bus and to buy the ticket for it as well.

When I arrived, the bus station was almost deserted, except for the staffed ticket window. At first, they weren’t exactly sure which bus I was trying to buy a ticket for, which started to make me slightly nervous. They made some phone calls, after which they informed me that the ticket was to be bought from the driver but that they weren’t entirely certain that the bus would actually show up that day.

That was a rather disturbing announcement.

I tried my best to remain calm and not to panic before the problem would actually arise.

Waiting at the bus station in Huay Xai for a bus that might never come

As I sat on one of the benches, waiting for a bus that might never come, I was suddenly approached by a man who seemed to emerge out of nowhere and asked me if I was going to Kunming. I told him yes and he actually sold me the ticket for the bus to China. I was still very surprised by this sudden appearance when, lo and behold, there was the bus driving into the station. My relief must have been almost palpable.

I was the only westerner on a bus filled with Chinese people. I knew that it had been noticed, but furthermore there was no real interaction between me and my fellow passengers.

Inside the sleeper bus from Huay Xai, Laos to Kunming, China

Crossing through gorgeous landscapes in northern Laos

The Chinese border crossing incident

Checking out of Laos at the overland border

This was one of the most remarkable border crossings of my entire trip. Clearly, the staff at the Chinese border checkpoint had not seen a westerner in ages, if ever any. When my luggage lay on the band, an official took my passport and had to hand it to a colleague because he couldn’t read it. “Country?” the second guy asked in Chinese. “Bi li shi,” I replied, returning to making effective use of my basic Chinese knowledge. This was sufficient for him, but I still had to cross the actual identity control post. My arrival there seemed to provoke some excitement. Somebody had to be called over to deal with my western passport, which was an incomprehensible document for most of them. My presence felt like some sort of event. One of the higher ranked officials showed up at my side and seemed very pleased to chat a little bit in English with me.

When I finally crossed that hurdle and exited at the other side of the building, I suddenly realized that I had spent a very long time in there. I didn’t see any of my fellow bus passengers and although there were many buses there, mine was nowhere to be found. I started panicking and asked a random person standing there with a motorbike. He told me to run because my bus had left. I panicked even more, half wondering how he could even know which bus was mine, and started running without even knowing where to. Images flashed through my mind of being stuck at this random border place, not knowing how to even get out of there and make my way to Kunming with alternative transportation. At least, I had all of my luggage with me.

It was when I came around a bend that I suddenly saw a little group of Chinese who were looking and pointing at me. I recognized them but even more so did they recognize me. Being the only westerner in the bus might have just saved me! They talked to me in Chinese but I did not understand a word of it. Eventually one guy managed to conjure up this sentence: “You! Come!”
“Okay,” I stammered and the others were laughing and cheering in excitement over their companion having managed to communicate in English to me. They had been waiting for me and although I still had no idea of where the bus was, I felt safe at once and decided not to leave their side for a second.

On the other side of the border, waiting for news about where to find our bus

Eventually, we had to walk a bit into town, where we were allowed to eat a meal before hopping back onto the bus that was parked nearby. It was smooth sailing from there and I spent a relatively calm night of sleep before eventually arriving in Kunming. Back in China!

First meal back in China