Flush with a supply of Yuan from the exchange in Luang Namtha, I was finally ready to head for the border. Whilst there are no ATMs for foriegn cards at either side of the border, another option would be to take currency (US, or Lao Kip) to the border and change it at either Boten, or Mohan, I cant remember which but I thought Id play it safe and get plenty of Yuan while I could. The road leading to the border is very new looking, and so is Ban Boten. Its historically been called Ban Boten, (Ban being the word for village in Laotian) but I think it will shortly superseed this title due to the massive Chinese construction effort currently going on. Everywhere you look there is an enormous new building going up. Most were empty looking, unfinished, gawdy yellow or pink monstrosities with ambiguous purpose. There is currently no demand for accomodation of this style, or in this enormous volume down here in Ban Boten, but obviously there are big plans ahead. Much of Northern Lao looks as though it is rapidly coming under strong Chinese control. Both Udomxay and Luang Namtha had a large Chinese presence amongst the hoteliers and shopkeepers I dealt with. In Boten I also discovered the strangest eatery Ive come across, it was so super clean, I was almost tempted to eat there, but on the sign they were advertising Pangolin! - an incredibly endangered, and very cool looking scaly anteater that should not be turning up on the menu! As I discovered in the ensuing weeks there is very little conscience about this sort of thing in China, and things like bear bile are unashamedly advertised in Chinese medicine stores. Ill get onto dealing with the roads in this section in my next post, but following the road from Mohan to Mengla on the Xi Xiao expressway isnt the best idea.
Flush with a supply of Yuan from the exchange in Luang Namtha, I was finally ready to head for the border. Whilst there are no ATMs for foriegn cards at either side of the border, another option would be to take currency (US, or Lao Kip) to the border and change it at either Boten, or Mohan, I cant remember which but I thought Id play it safe and get plenty of Yuan while I could. The road leading to the border is very new looking, and so is Ban Boten. Its historically been called Ban Boten, (Ban being the word for village in Laotian) but I think it will shortly superseed this title due to the massive Chinese construction effort currently going on. Everywhere you look there is an enormous new building going up. Most were empty looking, unfinished, gawdy yellow or pink monstrosities with ambiguous purpose. There is currently no demand for accomodation of this style, or in this enormous volume down here in Ban Boten, but obviously there are big plans ahead. Much of Northern Lao looks as though it is rapidly coming under strong Chinese control. Both Udomxay and Luang Namtha had a large Chinese presence amongst the hoteliers and shopkeepers I dealt with. In Boten I also discovered the strangest eatery Ive come across, it was so super clean, I was almost tempted to eat there, but on the sign they were advertising Pangolin! - an incredibly endangered, and very cool looking scaly anteater that should not be turning up on the menu! As I discovered in the ensuing weeks there is very little conscience about this sort of thing in China, and things like bear bile are unashamedly advertised in Chinese medicine stores. Ill get onto dealing with the roads in this section in my next post, but following the road from Mohan to Mengla on the Xi Xiao expressway isnt the best idea.
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