So.....we were in the Xishuanbanna region of Southern China for approx. 5 days hoping that the rain would stop. Hoping to enjoy the tropical weather it usually boasts, considering it was one of our reasons for heading there in the first place....., but to no avail. :(
Not all was to be lost though, :) when we discovered that it's actually possible to take an express boat from Jinghong (main city of Xishuanbanna) to Chiang Saen (Northern Thailand) down the Mekong River for about 80 euros. Sounded good to us!
We did our (meterology) research online. Seeing as we had more than enough time on our hands with the rain anyway, and between our choices of Vietnam, Burma, Laos and Thailand, we chose Thailand.
The visas costs and processing times forVietnam were too high and too long (plus i've been there before - highly recommended), Laos is mainly inland and lacking in the beach department, not sure about visa times/costs and had poor weather as well, Burma has it's obvious problems in terms of visas... plus lacks in the crystal clear watered beaches to lie on department and Thailand.... well Thailand was easy to get to, no visa costs (for under 30day stays) and actually, by this stage in our journey we were more than ready to lie on a beach and relax for a bit from so many overnight bus/train trips in China!
So basically what i'm trying to say is... Thailand was a relatively easy choice for us... our next big decision was where to in Thailand. (see next blog entry ;) for more details)
The pictures are taken from our express boat (though it looked and acted like a plane on water) trip down the Mekong River. The boat had overhead lockers for your hand luggage and we were even fed a meal. As per usual, the travel time took longer than advertised (10 instead of 7 hours) but i kid you not... as soon as we were past the border of China with Burma, the grey sky and clouds all disappeared and we were blessed what seemed instantly, with blue skies. Right from the very moment we were in other territory it seemed that China's pollution lifted.
Out our window.
Our meal. Tofu with steamed rice and spicy spicy salad
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