Changes

*Coming from [[Laos]], [[Mengla]] will probably be the first city you enter. It's likely that ATMs don't work for youunless you use the VISA cash advance feature, so make sure you have some cash. If you don't have Yuan, US dollars, there Hong Kong dollars, Euro, and Japanese yen can be converted only at certain banks far from the centre, and not in the middle of the day. There are guesthouses for 40 -60 Yuanbut most have no English sign so look for the character "馆". Buying a map of '''Yunnan''' (10 Yuan, in Chinese only) and a dictionary (18 Yuan) will prove to be very useful later on. [[Kunming]] is still 866 kilometers away.Heading to [[Dali]], [[Lijinag ]] and norhter north to [[Sichuan]], Hitching hitching directly towards Dali on the more westren western route is not easy and not recommended for first-timers. as in As with all "side roads" in China (and this include includes 90% of the non-toll-way roads) there are a lot less fewer cars, a lot more people who ask for payment (sometimes at the end of the drive) and a lot less fewer people who stop for a hand gesture. the The view is amazing though.That's why coming from Laos it is more common to hitchhike on the main road to Kunming and from there travel the extra 300 KM towards the west. unless you are in to an advanture into adventure (like walking for hours with no cars and sleeping in a kids ' pottery school), stick to the insturction instructions above.

*When you're going to [[Laos]] you can get a 30 day [[Laos]] Visa visa on arrival in [[Boten]]. You will need a blank page in your passport.

* There is a new highway between Laos and Mengla-Jinghong which will cut down travel time by half, or even more - take this into accout account when reading up on travel stories from the 00s ;)early 2000s.