Crossing The Border From CHINA To LAOS By High-Speed Train (Kunming To Luang Prabang)
we are now at Kunming South Station on our way to Laos isn't that crazy we're going to be going to Laos by train crazy and it's crazy early too it's what is it 6:55am right now in the morning our train is at 8:08am but we really don't want to miss it so we're here a bit early but are you excited though yeah it's been a fun month in China one month went by just like that I had the toughest last couple days though because after our epic hike in the mountains we ended up going to Shangri-La and maybe because my immunity was already quite low at that time I just couldn't deal with the altitude which is 3500 meters above sea level yeah and right away Flora got altitude sickness I think I had a combination of the flu from the hike altitude sickness and it's just I couldn't get rid of it and after 3 days in Shangri-La trying to adjust trying to use oxygen to help myself adjust I just couldn't and we left without seeing anything other than the train station in Shangri-La but I'm glad to be at this lower sea level now we're still at like 1900 meters but we're heading towards 300 meters so you should feel better after yeah I still need to recover as you can tell okay why don't you rest here get a massage I'll go get something to eat these are massage chairs and also you can charge your phone and your electronics it's at 7.99 Yuan for 12 minutes but I'm too cheap I'm just going to sit here okay you can choose whatever you want for breakfast but no coffee I can't drink coffee yet okay we can probably get food on the train too but just in case they don't have anything good on the train okay I'll be right back okay KFC looks good what else is here noodles congee it's all in Chinese let's see here this one is chicken chop thick egg triple layer coffee 2 pieces is that milk or soy milk thick egg double batter two pieces what's this one okay so that's soy milk um can I have this one um oh scan here I wish Flora was here I have no idea what she's saying so she told me to scan the QR code but the menu is also all Chinese hi babe I sent you the menu could you order it for me oh okay okay just get the egg and chicken muffin with coffee combo and you can choose the one that you like okay that's the only way to order yeah okay I'll try byebye bye 17 17 yes thank you got it that was the most difficult thing ever oh I missed you so much that was so difficult they don't let you order it like normal no they wouldn't let me order it she kept telling me to scan the QR code yeah and I couldn't get through in the beginning cuz they needed a local phone number and I was like okay let me make one up but it didn't work until I suddenly got like a magic number that works I still don't know how I didn't realize how hard it is to communicate cuz most people here don't speak English and I took it for granted because I always have you with me you always help me I remember we walked into a KFC in Guilin and also there was no counter for you to order it was through QR code and I also struggled with it I think it's like there's a point where it's convenient and there's a point where the convenience becomes inconvenient yeah so I think right now it can be when things are so digital especially for tourists who are used to using cash who are used to like ordering food from people yeah you got your tickets ready poor baby only 10 hours to go so when we decided on where we should go after China we were looking at like okay where can we fly from Kunming and it was pretty easy if we wanted to fly back to Chiang Mai but because it's like oh we've done that before we we know Thailand pretty well so when we saw the opportunity to take a train from Kunming to Laos we're like okay that's cool because we haven't done it before and this train is relatively new it's only been available for passengers for the last year for international passengers I think International crossing the border and it's only 90 USD for First Class so we're like okay that's cheaper than flying somewhere and we don't have to go to the airport look at like how big these train stations are I know I was just saying this place is huge so it's quite convenient and cheap and it's going to a place that we haven't been before is this our train the green one yeah we have been on over like 10 trains in China over the past month and we never bought first class I'm so excited even the standard class looks nice oh we're on the first one I see the difference so the seats are bit bigger and it's two and two yeah the standard class is three and two and it's not as busy which is nice but doesn't this look very retro even the train the color of the train looks so retro oh there's even a table here yeah that's not our seat this is our seat oh this is pretty good yeah pretty roomy how's the seat babe honestly it's harder than the second class it's hard you know what I mean yeah lots of leg room with footrest got head pillows here and another pillow here I like the pillow and then you have this one here if it gets too sunny you can put the screen down another coat hanger here is there a table table is here and there's like a plug here too yeah you're right it's a bit hard like we've sat in so many second class trains in the last month oh that's nice you can go pretty far back this is pretty good we'll need it for the next 8 hours It's hard though I think because we're moving towards Southeast Asia now everything in Southeast Asia is harder the bed is harder the seats are harder how come those seats have a table I think that when you book you can specifically book that spot I'm not 100% sure as well because the way that we booked our tickets was through my friend my roommate so she booked it for us using the 12306 Chinese app which is the Railway app and because you need a phone number right to book it yeah I don't have a local phone number so I couldn't book the ticket myself but if you need to book your ticket you can try the railway app to see if it works for you if not there's also like a website called China ticket Online and then you can um give them your like passport information and then you can make a booking through there and then I think someone physically goes and like buys a ticket or something like that so then you basically pay I think you pay some sort of administration fee for that also I got my confirmation on my phone for the booking but I physically have to go to the Kunming South Railway Station give them our passport and show the booking number and then they give us a physical ticket because this type of train you cannot just board with your identification you need to actually have a ticket so either do that before we did it the day before so we're not in a hurry cuz the train is at 8am so if you needed to come here and get a ticket in the morning I don't know how early they open bye China not quite yet maybe maybe in like 5 or 4 hours 5 hours okay we'll say bye again yeah we'll say bye Kunming let's see what we got Chinese KFC muffin yeah panini so mine is pork sausage and egg and cheese oh that looks so sad it does it's squished let's see yours what's this chicken and egg oh oh mine looks so much better yours looks so nice oh wow that's good it kind of tastes like Italian herb panini the bread has like a nice flavor and chewy too this is much better than McMuffin this is delicious so it's about 11:45am and they just came around I can see my reflection they just came around and uh ask if anyone want lunch boxes you can pre-order what you like ahead of time but they also come around with some already heated up rice so if you want one you can order one with them it's 40 Yuan each so I got the Kung Pao Chicken and two side dishes yeah you have two vegetable dishes um you have the chicken in the middle and a box of rice oh that's a lot of rice we can share this is good for two people I would say because in about 45 minutes we should get to the China immigration so we would exit there and I think that whole process would take between like an hour to an hour and a half depending on how fast everyone is and we have to take all belongings with us yeah you have to take everything just in case if there's any problems I don't think they want to wait for you to come back and get your bag so I think they want everyone to take their stuff with them but you do come back to the same seat on the same train like this train will stay cuz there's only one train so don't worry yeah don't worry and don't miss this train um you'll come back to the same seat on this train let me show you what the toilet looks like a sink area that's nice and western toilet I think the squatter is on the other side but I prefer this one simple and clean we are now at the second stop in China it's funny because as soon as we stop all the smokers rush out to have a quick smoke it's crazy the amount of people who smoke here in China First Class cabin is a lot more relaxing I'm glad we booked first class second class is so chaotic coming in here is like a bliss it's so quiet and relaxing I would think we were used to second class already cuz we've done it so many times oh we're almost at the Mohan station so if you want to eat you should eat a little bit first oh wow it's hot significant change in weather here yeah I think it's at 26° or 27° or feels hotter hang in there babe we're halfway there more than halfway it's already 12:30pm we should be able to get to Luang Prabang at 4:30pm four more hours to go you're doing a good job you're doing a better job you're carrying like 50 kilos on you where have you been in China we started from Shanghai Shanghai yeah I'm from Shanghai oh yeah to Yunnan we came from Shanghai to Yunnan to here okay what's this one temperature monitoring we go through here here I think you're already better cuz you passed the temperature check no my fever's gone for sure okay so we um I saw a sign that said you could do a landing visa which I don't know the details about but if you really really mess up and you don't have a visa I guess you can get one here but we have everything so we'll cross quickly crossed the health scan now we're going to do customs and then I think immigration we'll see you on the flip side that was pretty easy yeah it was 15 minutes maybe 20 minutes and we're all done the China side this is the waiting lounge and then I think we get back on the train up here so it takes 90 minutes because we have to wait for other people yeah does that mean we should get a massage yes it will be 20 Yuan for 20 minutes that's not bad but we'll get a proper massage in Laos that would be nice oh this chair is nice this chair is pretty comfortable back on our train it's like nothing happened number nine back to where we started look we are here now so close to the border so in an hour we have to do it all again but now we know it's quick hopefully the Laos side is as efficient as the Chinese side yeah we can say bye to China now bye China hello Laos we have to get off now we have to do it all over again that was like 15 minutes oh my goodness I just had a deja vu it's slightly hotter even here oh my God why does it seem more busy here it's the same amount of people what is this I think we all merge into the middle babe oh it's more chaotic than the Chinese side and smaller oh this lane's closed all right once again we'll see you on the flip side but this time it might take a lot longer yeah cuz only two lanes out of six are like fully functioning and open and what's with these lights I thought people were taking photos of us keeps flashing hey babe you smell what I smell but you know how adults try to not say it out loud because it's it's rude but the little kid was like Mom it smells so bad someone farted the little kid beside you yeah and then everyone was looking at the kid like we know kid we know so stinky and it's like humid and it's hot and you can't go anywhere you're stuck and we are officially in Laos yay one more stop and we're in Luang Prabang maybe an hour no no two hours two more hours yeah two hours we have to figure out the money thing I think they accept Thai baht oh really that'll be good yeah cuz we have some Thai baht the currency here is called Kip so 1,000 Kip is two Baht oh my goodness we're going to have a lot of bills aren't we we're going to be a millionaires again thank you welcome to Luang Prabang it's hot and smoky so smokey look at that can't even see the sky I wonder if it's a burning season just like Northern Thailand that means they burn quite long mhm yeah or is it just all the cigarettes from the platform you know what I'm excited about what is that after a month of me translating and talking to people finally it's your turn to translate for me and communicate with the local people I'm going to show you Laos babe I'm excited for that okay now where do we go is there an ATM nearby doesn't look like there's anything nearby maybe that way everyone is going down so maybe there are shuttles down there is that an ATM yeah the far end you want to go there yes okay why don't you wait here look after the bags can we go in there instead okay they're broken both of them are broken so hot okay well I guess we got to walk down then everyone walked down mm I just checked the temperature it's 38° I already had to take off my socks it's just too hot so we just took the elevator down um there seems to be a lot of shuttle buses here Just the two of you yes Would you like a private car or share with other people how much is it to join others 40,000 Kip per person or 300,000 Kip for a private car not expensive 300,000 Kip not expensive only 500 Thai Baht If we join how many people in a van 12 people how many people do you have now right now we have about 7 to 8 people oh okay we'll join them we have many people waiting and we have many cars you can buy the ticket here 40,000 Kip per person we're going to Mekong Charm Guesthouse how many people two people can I pay in Thai Baht yes 80 Baht per person okay okay perfect you can use Thai Baht you have 80 Baht 80 Baht per person not bad oh we can go right away yeah where are you going brother Mekong Charm Riverside you can drop me off first if you'd like are we going to the same area yes all to the town center is it smoky from dust or from burning crops from burning crops burning season isn't over yet not yet it's over next month yes majority of people in laos can understand Thai right yes they can understand me right yes that's because we hear it everyday from watching TV watching Thai TV programs is it here Mekong Charm yes yes yes thank you so much yay we've arrived Uncle thank you so much how do you say thank you again it's so nice I got a lot of good restaurant recommendations from him we're checking in yes uh seven nights seven nights okay are you sure it's heavy first impressions I already liking this city the town's so cute I know yeah you don't have to carry anything I'll take care of you thank you so much have fun here good luck good luck to you as well I forgot how to say it again say what's your name Kit oh okay I heard a lot about you yeah you're all over the comments the review section everyone said you're the nicest guy here is that true nice the triple room have only one this side okay that side is only double room perfect it's quiet this side thank you so much nice room we made it let's see oh look the shower and the shower has a door we got two beds yeah this was the only room left when I was booking so a triple room I'm not complaining yeah we have this bed yeah so uh I'll sleep here and you can sleep here you always say that but it's not true this bed is going to be for sleeping and this is for putting all of our clothes yeah laundry and the balcony facing other side so we're not facing the road which is good so it might be quieter here this is very nice I'm looking forward to explore Luang Prabang let's just get comfortable clean up and relax that was a long journey but it was an experience it's crazy we were in China just half a day ago now we're in Laos and we've never been here so this is quite exciting thanks again for joining us on this epic journey have a wonderful day and we'll see you in the next one bye bye-bye
2024-06-04 22:02
