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Welcome to The Treehouse

Your interest seems to be travelling
through Yunnan Province to Tibet.

You can catch a train from Hanoi,
north Vietnam to Sapa near the
Chinese border. Then express bus
to Kunming, capital of Yunnan.

Thank you for that!

We will be wandering around in China before heading to Tibet, so now we have a better idea of where to go once we have been around China to get to Tibet

From Kunming, you can go south
to Xishuangbanna as a side-trip.

North by train from Kunming is
Dali, bus up to Lijiang, then onto
Shangri La (Zhongdian) in the
Tibetan Prefecture of northern
Yunnan.

wtanaka can give advice from
Zhongdian to Lhasa, Tibet.

Greetings and welcome to the Treehouse Cityguide. Do post here and tell us your travels in China.

Thank you wilson888

When we finally get to China (2007) we will add here, in the meantime we are using this valuble site to learn about places and to find out how to do things.

Once again, a big thank you to those who have made this site and to all of you who have put up information

How many of you plan to travel
together, & for how long in 2007?

Initially there will be three of us, starting in Singapore and wandering through Malaysia and Thailand. After that (about 6 weeks) my nephew will have to return to NZ as his wife is only letting him go for 6 weeks, but he will meet us again when we get to Central / South America!

The two of us will continue through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and into China. I have always wanted to go to China - when I travelled years ago it was closed. Then later when travel to China was allowed, my mum, who was 70 at the time went and I could not go with her

In China we want to see all of the things named in the Hillman top 100 (and 1000) wonders of the world list as well as into Kashgar and then go through Tibet, into Nepal and carry on into India and where ever else our fancy takes us. June 2008 we will aim to be in Europe and June 2009 in North America, but who knows! All we have planned at the moment is as far as India

At the moment we have allowed about 2 - 3 months in China, but we can increase or decrease this if we need to or if we have trouble getting visas for 3 months. We have allowed about 1 month for Tibet but again we are flexible!

Any inside knowledge about places not really on the tourist routes would be most welcome, as well as suggestions for anything!

We are really interested in culture and are already amazed at the similarities between some of our Maori customs and beliefs and the customs and beliefs of the people in China and other countries around that area. The guide books often have suggestions for how to behave so as not to offend the locals, and when we first read it, it was like reading our rules! Which means that it makes it easier for us as we already do quite a few of the things listed automatically

I have just read in another post called Monstrously Excited
Quote:

The other aternative to consider is a freight boat/barge up the Mekong River in Laos to southern Yunnan Province (Xishuangbanna).
Written by Wocca

Now that sounds interesting!

Any idea of costs?

Thank you all for your time

Remember to include Hong Kong as a gateway to China. It is a place where the East meet West and next to Hong Kong is Shenzhen, the first Special Economic Zone set up by Deng Xiaoping. It grew from a tiny village to now a major city in China.

You will experience the economic growth of the Pearl River Delta and how it is now transforming China into an industrial giant.

Furthermore, you will find it is very easy to obtain travel information to China and you will get a good price too.

Hope the above helpful in your planning.

tangatawhenua wrote:

Initially there will be three of us, starting in Singapore and wandering through Malaysia and Thailand. After that (about 6 weeks)

The last time I flew into Singapore from Australia, I then travelled by a couple of overnight buses up through KL, Malaysia & onto Bangkok. That cost about $US50.

I've travelled quite extensively through Asia, however the focus of this forum of course is on China. It is easy enough to get travel information on other sites about countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia & Thailand.

tangatawhenua wrote:

The two of us will continue through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and into China.

You could go by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand, then by road over to the Thai / Laos border. Down the Mekong River by slow boat to Luang Prabang (Laos), road to Veng Vieng & Vientiane. Cross back into Thailand, before entering Cambodia at Aranya Prathet / Poipet. I assume you will head to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat).

Rambo boat from Siem Reap to Pnom Penh. Avoid the Cambodian roads as much as you can. PP - Saigon by road or tour down the Mekong Delta.

From Saigon to Hanoi, there is a tour coach you can get on & off multiple times for about $US30. (I personally liked Hue on the way).

Side trips from Hanoi include Halong Bay & Sapa in the north west. From the Sapa area you can cross into Yunnan Province, China.

tangatawhenua wrote:

In China we want to see all of the things named in the Hillman top 100 (and 1000) wonders of the world list

That should keep you busy

tangatawhenua wrote:

as well as into Kashgar and then go through Tibet, into Nepal and carry on into India

You could consider travelling by train from Xi'an to
Urumqi, (bus if train not available) to Kashgar.

Not sure about Kashgar to Lhasa.
Perhaps the Silk Road

I have travelled overland from Kathmandu, Nepal
to Lhasa, Tibet. It is possible to do the other way.

Visa for India can be arranged in Kathmandu.

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tangatawhenua wrote:

I have just read in another post called Monstrously Excited
Quote:

The other aternative to consider is a freight boat/barge up the Mekong River in Laos to southern Yunnan Province (Xishuangbanna).
Written by Wocca

Any idea of costs?

I saw it advertised in Xishuangbanna, but did not
record how much.

YOU are better to go down the Mekong from northern
Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos SO you can continue
through Cambodia & Vietnam.

thank you all!

This has given us some options to explore before we head off in a year's time.

No doubt I will be posting other questions here and when I get to China I can then contribute info as well

Good luck

This other site could
might interest you ..