China again

Keiichi Iwasaki

21年前

I was worried about the state of the pavement on the way to the border, but from about 20km before the border it was well paved.

Thanks to the paved road I was able to reach the border town of Boten before dark.

At the end of the road there is a pole that looks like a railway crossing.

I guess it means “don’t go any further”.

The immigration office seemed to be closed for the day, and there was no sign of any staff or travellers.

Not even the villagers of Boten were in sight, giving the town a lonely feeling.

I went to a place I had spotted, which looked like a luggage storage area, and assembled my tent.

It had a big ceiling, no one was coming, it was quiet and it looked comfortable to sleep in.

The next morning, I slept well and woke up refreshed.

I went to the gate and ate the last oudon in Laos, 5000kip (0.5$), at a shop right next to the gate.

　The level crossing that I had been down at yesterday evening was now open, and as I passed it I saw the Lao immigration center just to my left.

I handed my passport to the receptionist and he stamped my departure without any problems.

After that, I walked to the end of the road, which is quite a long way. If you don’t have a bicycle, you can take a motorbike taxi here and go along this road.

　After a kilometre or so, there is a large stone monument on the side of the road, on this side it says something in Lao, and when I pass it and look back, on the Chinese side it says something in Chinese, this is the border.

As we proceeded along the road, I saw a signboard with only Chinese characters, and after about 1km, there was a gate.