Travelers Pass Through a Laotian Town and Join the Deputy County Head’s Son’s Wedding
Recently, a very popular post appeared on the Xiaoju Auto Enthusiasts board under the Xianghu Community of Xiaoshan Online. The poster, “Birch Grove,” is both a moderator and a seasoned traveler. On April 1, he gathered six other travelers...
A One-Month Cross-Border Road Trip
The netizen “Birch Grove,” whose real name is Yao Yunxiang, set off from Xiaoshan on the morning of April 1 with six other self-driving enthusiasts from the Xiaoju Auto Enthusiasts board, embarking on a roughly 30-day self-drive journey. Their destination was Laos and Thailand, and they traveled in two SUVs.
Yao Yunxiang is one of the organizers of this trip. He said that their confidence in driving abroad stems from their experience as seasoned travelers — having driven through many cities across China. This time, however, everyone wanted a brand-new challenge: a longer route, facing unknown road conditions and difficulties.
According to their pre-planned itinerary, they would drive all the way south to the China-Laos border in Yunnan Province, exit China at the Mohan Port in Yunnan, enter Laos via the Boten Border Crossing, and then explore famous scenic spots in Laos and Thailand, traveling through cities, rural areas, and remote villages to experience local customs and attractions. The specific route was: Xiaoshan — Hunan — Yunnan — Mohan — Laos (Luang Prabang) — Thailand — Xiaoshan.
Seventy-Year-Old Traveler “Lai Bo” Leads the Way
Lai Jianwei, 76 years old, is the oldest participant in this self-driving trip and is affectionately called “Lai Bo” by everyone.
Although Lai Bo is in his seventies, he is as fit as a young man. He enjoys the feeling of freedom behind the wheel and loves capturing the folk customs along the way with his camera. He has driven to Tibet six times, once setting a record of driving 900 kilometers in a single day, and is said to hold the national record for the oldest person to drive to Tibet.
Yesterday, when contacted by a reporter, Yao Yunxiang said excitedly, “Lai Bo is truly vigorous despite his age. He’s in excellent health and often drives ahead of the group.”
There were seven people and two vehicles, and they took turns driving, switching whenever someone got tired. But Lai Bo was always the one with the most energy and the least willing to rest. Lai Bo said that he had already traveled most domestic routes, and this time, driving his beloved car out of the country to experience the unique charm of foreign lands made him exceptionally happy.
Sharing Along the Way: Travel Logs Exceed 10,000 Words
Before departure, the travelers posted on the forum, promising netizens that while enjoying the trip, they would also share the most beautiful scenery along the way. To that end, each traveler brought a camera and a laptop, documenting their daily experiences with text and photos online. Whenever they had rest time, electricity, and internet access, they made sure to update their posts daily.
From April 1 until yesterday, the post titled “Driving Our Own Car Across the Border, Wandering Through Laos and Thailand... (Serial Travel Diary)” was updated every day, and “Birch Grove’s” diary entries never missed a day. These detailed, photo-rich records attracted many netizens, with over 4,000 views and 16 pages of comments. Netizens have been cheering on the cross-border self-driving team and hoping they stay safe and bring back more fresh, fun, and useful travel guides about foreign cultures.
According to the travel logs, on the first day of departure, the travelers drove all the way to Huaihua, Hunan; the next day, they reached Yuxi, Yunnan; and on the third day, they arrived at the Mohan Border Crossing on the China-Laos border. In the following days, they hired a Laotian guide who spoke Chinese to visit Phu Si Mountain Forest Park and the Mekong River, venturing into scattered local villages. Finally, on April 8, they entered Thai territory.
“The trip is going faster than we originally expected. We plan to leave the car in Thailand and spend a few days in Phuket.” Yesterday at noon, Yao Yunxiang told reporters that they had already bought plane tickets to Phuket, and the group wanted to truly relax after ten days of travel.