Four Chinese’s 20-day motorcycling in Laos, Thailand

During the Spring Festival holiday this year, four men from east China’s Jiangsu Province traveled on motorcycles. They set off from Changzhou City, rode westward into Yunnan and entered Laos and Thailand via the border gate in south Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna. They covered more than 7,000 kilometers in 20 plus days.

“Someone suggested traveling to Southeast Asia by motorcycle. We all deemed it a good idea and put it into practice.” Jin explained the reason for their motor-ride in a light-hearted way. At the age of 43, Jin is the oldest and most experienced of the four, and he thus acted as the captain during the journey. Another man surnamed Jing is five years younger than Jin, while the remaining two were both born in 1993.

Since the first part of their holiday schedules are different, the four decided to set off from Changzhou separately and gathered in Xishuangbanna for the exit permits. "I arrived first and waited for them for two days. We crossed the border on the New Year's Eve." According to Mr. Jin, they got their exit permits in the afternoon that day and left China for Laos, beginning their exotic motor-ride at 3:30.

In the ensuing days, they motorcycled through the Lao cities of Vientiane and Vang Vieng, as well as Bangkok and Pattaya and others in Thailand. “Having roamed four days in Laos, we entered Thailand. And we rode in Thailand for another four days and then returned to Laos, where we chose another route for further exploration in the following four days.” Jin said that they had spent more than 20 days on motorbikes, covering more than 7,000 kilometers. "When returning to Kunming, we had to give up the idea of riding back to Jiangsu due to time limit." Jin said with a bit of regret.

In Laos and Thailand, the locals are very friendly. They even invited the Chinese motorcyclists to attend the wedding ceremony. "We came across two weddings along the way!" Jin said, "The scenery is actually secondary, and I am more interested in the real life of the locals." Jin felt that in the countryside of Laos and Thailand, people hold an honest, optimistic attitude towards life, which touched him a lot. In the village of Xishuangbanna, he also had the same feeling. “Some villagers saw me taking photos at the door and invited me in for dinner,” Jin said.

According to Jin, motorcycling is their yearly routine. “We have had rides to most places of interests in China," said Jin, adding each ride makes a brand new experience. "If another chance comes, we would also like to motorcycle in more neighboring countries."

Chinese reporting by Song Tijia with Modern Express;  trans-editing by Wang Shixue