China via Laos
 

I think I've read through virtually every China thread going back 6 or 7 years, so forgive me this question if I've managed to miss it being answered.

I want to go to China by way of Laos. Permit/guide/plates/expensive etc etc. I know all this stuff.

What I want to know is if anyone has just tried their luck at the border going it alone. Any stories? What do they ask for? What do they say when they kick you out? What did you provide if you went in by yourself and they let you? I read of a biker getting in by Kyrgyzstan many years ago just by luck. Are there similar stories in the ether going through Laos?

I am not riding; I have a car, obviously not registered in China.

Second part of the question: Does anyone know of out-of-the-way border posts in Laos that might be easier to bully through than Mengla?

Thanks!

Adam
overlandtoaustralia.com

Hi Adam
Try looking in ride asia . net few people have posted there.

Z

china overland
 

Hi Adam
1. you need a letter of invitation
2. you need a Chinese number plate
3. you need a chinese driver license
4. you need a guide in the car (when travelling by your own car)

And this is all before you reach the border.

A Visa this you could get at the border if you do not have a chinese embassy in your country. (new)
As for bullying through I suppose if you speak the language perfectly you may have a 25% change.

However the reality is that you are trying to push water uphil?
Get in contact with a agent in China, pay the (extraordinaire) money and enjoy China. Please believe me this is not Africa where a bribe gets you a piece of paper.
This is like the USA NO PAPERWORK NO ENTRY.
I suppose this is also why you did not receve any answers you wanted to hear.
Cheers
Robert

Get the paperwork, join up with fellow travellers and share the costs of a guide, we have a 4WD with 8 bikers, the 4WD is taking the guide, thus saving the cost of a driver and car

That said, you may end up like us, less than a month before we enter and the Chinese gov changed the rules and moved the goal posts. We are now madly trying to cut new paper so we can still do the trip, but it means a big detour via Mongolia

But that said, this is adventure travelling, a nightmare and nerve wracking at times, but that is part of the journey

Cheers
TS

China to Laos
 

Hi TS

We are at present in China.
We are told that the closure of some area's and the restrictions in Tibet all have to do with the upcoming elections.

This does not help you but I am advised the first ones to know are the tour companies.

Mongolia is not a ba part of the world however it is very overated in my book.
As you drive a bike BE AWARE POT HOLES and Corrugations.
Good spot to stay in UB is the Oasis Guest house.

Ehrenhot border is easy, however make sure you get the pink paper(manifest) sgned on the Mongolia side. Without it you can't enter China. Ask for a copy via your tour company.

Enjoy
Robert

Thanks all for the replies, but I'm really looking for anyone who's gone up and had a go without all of the official paperwork. I understand the official requirements; that's what prompted this question in the first place. I would like to hear from people like this guy (taken from another thread):

xt1200z: Have you seen anything specific about this on Ride Asia? I had a good look through but couldn't find anything beyond getting a guide at the Boten border.

But maybe it was possible because the officials mistook him for a local (if he just ´flew under the radar´ and pushed his bike across the border without taking his helmet off or something)... with a car with foreign plates, sure you can give it a go, but I´m afraid you are almost guaranteed to be turned back.

And remember, even if you succeeded, then your vehicle would be illegally in the country, so it is likely to be confiscated, if you´re busted later on.

I sort of did that when I rode up to the China border in Laos, I wasn't really chancing my arm at going through but just went to take a look. When I arrived, there were a few grumpy officials sat outside the post, one of whom asked for my China visa which I didn't have. His hand gesture more or less implied 'well f*** off then' so I took that as a 'no'.

However, if people have solved missing carnet stamps with carved up potatoes etc then who knows, with a genuine visa maybe it would be possible without the guides/plates at a remote border but I don't think you'll get a hard and fast answer for your question. And then as Pecha72 says, what happens once you do get inside or are trying to leave via a more effective border?

Thanks MikeS - that's more what I'm looking for. I'll certainly have a visa to my name, just not the plates and guide. As far as being inside/leaving, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I speak some passable Mandarin, so I'll be relying on that a bit.

Not sure you will get a visa without an LOI and for that you will need a tour company?

I could be wrong, but good luck

What are you going to do if they pull you up(your plates on the car are going to stand out like dogs balls) or you have an accident might not even be your fault.No license,No rego and no insurance.

They can legally lock you up for a couple of weeks and then deport you taking your car.

But I highly doubt they will even let you in.

China seems to be clamping down on foreigners doing illegal things in China over the last few months.

China without a permit
 

We are now 4 weeks in China and have been stopped 6 or 7 times. Nothing major just checking plates insurance and that we stick to the itenary.
Even with all our permits in place yesterday we got told to turn around just before Degen as this was to close to the Tibet border?? even our chinese guide could not convince them?

I look forward to your photos of crossng China without guide-permits for the provinces-numberplate-insurance.

Even when this is all possible ( I am sure it is not) Lets hope you never get involved in a accident regardless if it is your fault or not.

Bye the way all borders in Tibet and Xinjiang is also closed to foreigners included from Kazakhstan. Please note I am in China right now. So this is current

Incorrect, you can enter Xinjiang from anywhere as a foreigner, you cannot enter another China province from here for the next few months. We just entered from Kyrgystan yesterday, it took all day, today we get the drivers licences and new number plates

Cheers from Kashgar
TS

So shure you can enter china without paperwork, but you are om trouble when you have an accident.

On our 4x4 offroad trip in Laos, we enter china without to recognize it. After over 20 miles, we check the GPS, and saw that we are inside of china. doh

Also in Laos, near the chinese border - are much stuff writen in chinese letters - so this was not so clear sign..

Therefore we drove dirttracks we pass the small border area, without to see the boarder buildings, who was a little bit behind the track.

We just wonder, why a guy wants money on a turnpike on a dirttrack. Normally they are only bevor bridges. We paid - and drove...:eek3:

We dont drove in Laos without a clear target, so we check our gps not so often. As we check that, we turn - and hopes that the return path will work...

Xinjiang
 

Hi TravellingStrom,
Thanks for the info
Must have changed again as I received email only week ago from Dirk he was refused entry only 9 days and the travel agent (NAVO) advised him to meet the guide in Ehrenhot. They are now enroute to Mongolia crossing from Ehrenhot into China.
Cheers
Robert
Next week we cross into Laos