China - Laos railway

[Bamboo Grove]

I'm thinking of flying to Jinghong (Chiang Rung in Thai) is Xishuangbanna (Sipsongphanna in Thai) in December and then taking the train from there to Luang Prabang in Laos. Has anyone done this? It all seems fairly easy to organize but would love to hear any real-life experiences, no links to any websites, thanks.
From Luang Prabang the plan is to fly to Kuala Lumpur and then take a bus from there to Malacca. This also seems to be fairly easy and convenient but I'd love to hear if someone has actually done it.

[Bamboo Grove]

I also saw a good news about the Lao visa, well, good for me anyway. 15 day visa-free stay for 8 nationalities.

https://www.exotravel.com/blog/en/laos- ... tion-2024/

[Big Boy]

Yes, I mentioned it on my Laos thread, but no good for Brits

[Bamboo Grove]

Just got my one year multiple entry visa to China, which mesns all visas should be covered now. I can start making more detailed plans.

[Bamboo Grove]

Got my train ticket today. I'm flying to Jing Hong (Chiang Rung) on 20th December and then I will take the train from there on 23rd. to Luang Prabang.

[caller]

Got my train ticket today. I'm flying to Jing Hong (Chiang Rung) on 20th December and then I will take the train from there on 23rd. to Luang Prabang.

The train is brilliant, with friends, 4 of us travelled from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in September. Not terribly high speed, with a max of about 160kmph, but then you have to factor in the terrain it travels through, and there were a lot of tunnels from LP to V, and it was only when the land levelled out as you neared the latter that you had unbroken views of less remarkable land. We travelled 1st class, which was cheap and the seats were very comfortable & spacious with plenty of legroom, storage, a hook, folding tables et al. Nearly all passengers were Chinese.

Booking was interesting, as you can only reserve seats something like 3 days ahead, which makes little sense. We tried using 12Go to reserve seats, but didn't find that easy. In the end, the hotel in LP did it all in a nanosecond. My other half was so impressed, that we're now planning a trip to Yunnan by train, stopping off at various spots en route.

[pharvey]

All sounds very interesting. Enjoy BG - looking forward to the report!

[dtaai-maai]

We travelled 1st class, which was cheap and the seats were very comfortable & spacious with plenty of legroom, storage, a hook, folding tables et al.

A hook??? Wow, that's amazing!

[caller]

We travelled 1st class, which was cheap and the seats were very comfortable & spacious with plenty of legroom, storage, a hook, folding tables et al.

A hook??? Wow, that's amazing!

I know, caught me by surprise as well. But very handle handy all the same. Here's a pic for your delectation!



Lots of legroom as well!



But I am still trying to work out why I wasn't allowed to board with a deodrant spray?

[Lost]

Good luck on your travels BG, looking forward to the report.