Week 3 - Lao to China

Crossing the Lao/ China border into Yunnan at Botan was something of a deliverance from shadow into light. The dusty primitive hill tribes, rough winding roads and mountains scared by slash and burn gave way to a lush vista of organized agriculture in a startling transition. A transition that somehow had the feel of a home coming. Sprawling plantations of banana, rubber and tea; neat rows of vegetables connected by excellent roads and managed from sturdy and pretty brick built villages sparked the mumbled comment of; "back to civilization...." Having dropped the Lao folks off at Botan, the mood of the Chinese on the minibus visibly relaxed. After a long slow bumpy and silent journey from Udomxay, the speed trebled on the smooth roads of Yunnan, laud Chinese music came over the sound system and the bus filled with cheerful banter.

Lao was a very relaxing place but as we progressed north, the grinding poverty, poor sanitation and hygiene and resultant sickness and diarrhea picked up by the kids slowed us down, leaving us in a bit of a catch 22. An urgency to get out of the dust and the grime whilst at the same time becoming trapped by it, wary of eight hours of bus contained foulness. Paranoid of everywhere we ate, constantly washing our hands and looking for places with the least flies became something of a family obsession, tainting the tranquility of Udomxay. So it was with some reliefs that we finally crossed the border with no more drama than the occasional scheduled pee break.

After a big bowl of famous Yunnan 'over the bridge' noodle soup - settling everyones bruised stomachs - and a night at one of Mengla's most modest of guest houses, we were up well before dawn and back on the bus. This time heading northwest to Menghai into the 'sacred' tea plantations and factories of Pu-er to buy tea at it's source. We are relying of Michelle to get us a great price!

- Posted by Dave using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Menghai, Yunnan