AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Laos & China 2025
Day 12: Around Kunming
Laos-China 2025 Day 12: 15th December (Monday)
Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Laos & China.
Route recommendations, here are some tips on travelling to and around Laos:
1. Traffic Directions!
China, is left-hand drive, and vehicles drive on the right side of the road. So do bear this in mind when crossing the road OR when sitting at the front passenger seat. I made this mistake several times and boarded the car at the driver's side with the driver giving me a surprised look 😂.
4. Getting around towns and cities in China.
In China, install the Didi ride-hailing app, which is extremely convenient to use, especially in major cities, and English can be selected as the preferred language. Just type in the destinations in English, and a list comes out for selection. There is a need to bind the app to a credit/debit card. Rides are relatively cheap, as most riders use e-vehicles.
For today, we took dd rides to and from KOS and also to the airport.
5. Immigration & Customs Requirements
For China, Malaysians can enter, exit, or transit the country without a visa for up to 30 days per visit, with a maximum cumulative stay of 90 days within any 180 days. Permitted purposes include tourism, business, family visits, exchanges, private affairs, medical treatment, and international transportation (such as airline crew duties). The travel passport must be valid throughout the whole period of stay or 180 days from the day of first entry.
Click here for China visa-free policy for other countries, and here for China Visa application.
Click here for the China China Arrival Card for phones. Do note some scams regarding these online forms. OR one can alternatively fill in paper forms, which are available at the train stations or during the flight.
6. Places & Things of Interests
Enroute were several places of interest, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time (Note: click on GPS coordinates for a directional map to respective places):
7. Food
a. Breakfast
8. Communicating with Each Other
Before we left, we purchased online the Happy China Sim Card and got the 8-Day 8GB and 16GB cards for RM25.29 and RM40.03 respectively. The cards were only inserted when we entered China.
For China domestic flights, international flights from China, and connecting flights with China legs, only China 3C-certified power banks with a capacity of no more than 20,000 mAh are allowed. They must be taken out of the cabin luggage space and placed in the seat pockets. The power banks have to be switched off and cannot be used during the flight. Click here for more power-bank restrictions. Alternatively, it would be a good idea to rent a power bank in China.
9. Communicating with Locals
One can also use
Google Translate or
Papago (delivers higher accuracy and better pronunciation for East Asian content like Korean, Japanese, and Chinese).
10. Weather
The average day and night temperatures in Kunming were 18°C and 6°C.
11. Navigation
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PRELUDE
Today, we continue exploring Kunming; before taking a late evening flight back home. __________________________________________________________________________
DAY 12: AROUND KUNMING
Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Laos & China.
Most of the posts below are linked to my Facebook postings during the trip and are embedded here with some comments. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read more details. If you can't see the posts, please log out of your Facebook first. FB has recently changed its approach, and as such, all relevant links are now inserted in the comments.)
10:00am - Good morning from Panlong District, Kunming. We checked out of our hotel but left our luggage with the reception desk. Now we are ready to set out for the
day to explore more of the city. The weather report said it's 7°C, but it felt warmer. Fearing cold weather, which was forecast, I had overpacked on warm clothing. Half of which wasn't used! 😝
Stopped by this Yunnan Arabica Coffee Shop, promoting coffee instead of tea.Yunnan’s geographic and climatic advantages make it an ideal region for cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee. The beans produced in this region are highly sought after due to their unique flavor, which combines rich sweetness with a fruity and floral aroma.
Crystal of the Mount Shop, selling Yunnan crystals & gemstones.
Not all is hustle and bustle, this shoe-cleaning lady earns a hard day's living by cleaning shoes at 10 yuan a pair.
At the adjacent street, we stopped to shop for jackets and sweaters at the Poloo Noble Jacket & Sweater Shop (GPS: 25.03719, 102.70991). Bought a brown jacket for future holidays to temperate lands.
Back near our hotel, we saw this truck full of premium muddy Lotus roots. These muddy roots fetch a high price back home! These are the highly prized 7-Hole Lotus Root, which is usually shorter, thicker, and has a brown exterior. It is softer, more starchy, and becomes very tender when cooked, making it best suited for soups, stews, and creating lotus root powder.
Our hotel receptionist and an earlier Didi driver advised that it would
take two hours to reach Kunming International Airport due to traffic jams, hence the early dinner.
But the Kunming Airport Expressway (S92), leading to the airport, was
clear, traffic was smooth, and it only took us 30 minutes, arriving much, much earlier than required!
At Kunming Changshui International Airport, ready to check in for China Eastern Airlines Flight MU859 from Kunming to KLIA Terminal 1. Looking forward
to getting home after twelve interesting days in Laos and Southwestern China (Xinan).
The airport has two runways (versus the single runway at the former Wujiaba Airport), and handled over 47,000,000 passengers in 2024, making it the 47th busiest airport in the world and 4th busiest airport in China by passenger traffic.
With time to spare, we wandered around the terminal building visiting several shops, including this Yunnan Characteristic Product Collection Store Premium, which sells the renowned Yunnan Air-cured Ham. Could this be the Xuanwei Ham, which we had several days ago, or the Noudeng Ham? Most probably, the whole leg one is Heqing Round-leg Ham.
These are different from Larou (腊肉), the Yunnan smoke-cured pork belly.
Tucked in one corner were these alien-looking contraptions. These are sleeping pods from Naphubs, clean, hygienic pods for the weary traveller who needs a private and secure nap while waiting for their flight. I wonder whether passengers with early morning flights can check in the evening before and have a good night's sleep in them, and save on a night at the hotel.
Twenty minutes after taking off, having my coffee with Coffee Mate creamer - first time I see an airline serving this creamer for my
coffee instead of milk. I guess they know that many Asians suffer from lactose intolerance.
Haiz..... My happiness was short-lived; they don't serve food on this flight, even though it's a four-hour flight! They
don't even sell any food!!!!!
2:00am, 16th December - Selamat Pulang ke Tanah Air. Welcome Home.
Hungry 😂 but glad to be home in
Malaysia.
IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME!
(For more photos of Day 12, Click Here)
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