As I got on the sleeper bus from Kunming to Luang Prabang (Laos), the old and familiar feeling of starting a trip,
going somewhere hit me--and it occured to me that I never had that feeling in China. Probably because there was so much to do before I literally jumped on the plane; but maybe also because China, despite its many differences from the West, is a very organised (in fact sometimes overly organised) country. The buses run in given patterns, on scheduled times, taxis have signs and metered fares, and prices--althoug you have to haggle--are to a certain extent set.
Crossing the border to Laos this morning was like returning to Africa:
All of a sudden we were delayed three hours for a customs inspection and a food break; the roads got ten times bumpier, the scenerey got subtropical and lush, people got somewhat darker, and the countryside was filled with charming little wooden huts with thached roofs. And
I love it! And, just in case you wondered: Of course you can have a visa on arrival in Laos! Contrary to popular belief among the organised Chinese in China, not everyone has one in advance, and once the border is crossed the Lao-feeling affects the bus so that most problems are solved quite easily; they are perfectly happy to wait the 15 minutes it takes to get a visa on arrival. I navigated this fascinating scene with my newfound friend Ben (US), who added to the African/random feeling by his story of having his wallet stolen in Kunming and now lacking the money to get across the border and to his friend in Bangkok; we sorted this out in the end, though--as far as I know,
I got off the bus after "only" 25 hours, long before Vientiane... In accordance with the cultural change, the Chinese bus let me off not on one of the three bus stations serving Luang Prabang, but in some random, rather big-ish street, claiming I was where I had paid to be taken. I had no idea where I was, and it was dark. However, the sounds around me were friendly, so no reason to despair; and within 10 minutes two local guys had hauled me a tuk-tuk and explained the driver where to take me to find my hostel. The temperature has got a bit higher, the sun has shone on me all day, and everyone seems to speak English--I cannot wait to explore the city tomorrow morning.
As I got on the sleeper bus from Kunming to Luang Prabang (Laos), the old and familiar feeling of starting a trip, going somewhere hit me--and it occured to me that I never had that feeling in China. Probably because there was so much to do before I literally jumped on the plane; but maybe also because China, despite its many differences from the West, is a very organised (in fact sometimes overly organised) country. The buses run in given patterns, on scheduled times, taxis have signs and metered fares, and prices--althoug you have to haggle--are to a certain extent set. Crossing the border to Laos this morning was like returning to Africa: 
All of a sudden we were delayed three hours for a customs inspection and a food break; the roads got ten times bumpier, the scenerey got subtropical and lush, people got somewhat darker, and the countryside was filled with charming little wooden huts with thached roofs. And I love it! And, just in case you wondered: Of course you can have a visa on arrival in Laos! Contrary to popular belief among the organised Chinese in China, not everyone has one in advance, and once the border is crossed the Lao-feeling affects the bus so that most problems are solved quite easily; they are perfectly happy to wait the 15 minutes it takes to get a visa on arrival. I navigated this fascinating scene with my newfound friend Ben (US), who added to the African/random feeling by his story of having his wallet stolen in Kunming and now lacking the money to get across the border and to his friend in Bangkok; we sorted this out in the end, though--as far as I know, I got off the bus after "only" 25 hours, long before Vientiane... In accordance with the cultural change, the Chinese bus let me off not on one of the three bus stations serving Luang Prabang, but in some random, rather big-ish street, claiming I was where I had paid to be taken. I had no idea where I was, and it was dark. However, the sounds around me were friendly, so no reason to despair; and within 10 minutes two local guys had hauled me a tuk-tuk and explained the driver where to take me to find my hostel. The temperature has got a bit higher, the sun has shone on me all day, and everyone seems to speak English--I cannot wait to explore the city tomorrow morning. 
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