From Dali there were two possible routes back to the Laos border. The first was to go back the way we came by heading back to Kunming and down to the broder via the expressway. The second and more direct route was through Shuang Jing and Jing Hing which according to the map was shaving 300kms off the journey. Easy decision....?!
For the first 100kms or so from Dali, the roads were fine but once we hit the mountainous region, they began to narrow, climb and deteriorate to mere dirt roads. On lowlands, the dirt roads became mud tracks that really tested the Hummer’s suspension. Our bodies were getting thrown around in the car like rag dolls as the Hummer tore through uneven mounds of dirt, 2 foot deep potholes and long flooded sections. Luckily we have a car like this! There was no chance any normal saloon or hatchback could’ve done it!
We evenutally reached a decent tarmac road only to meet a road block with a gapjust tosmall for the car to fit through. We were apprached by a man in military uniform and told we could pass through as long as the car fitted. Although the space seemed to tight, we tried to pass it in the knowledge that failuer meant a 2 hour backtrack to find a different route oneven worse roads.
None of us fancied the backtrack so when the Hummer didnt pass, we asked the army man and his dodgy entourage through Jason if there was a way to cut a piece off the massive conctere block in order to fit through. To our surprise he agreed for a fee of 200 Yuan (20 euro). Once the dal was agreed, out of nowhere some of his mates appeared with large iron crowbars and in a seemingly routine manner, moved the block with without having to cut it. We realised instantly we had been scammed and a bit of a commontion ensuded until we eventually got our money back through Jason! Check the video below for highlights of China's horrible roads...
We arrived late into a town called Shuang Jiang which is very close to Myanmar border. Instantly we realised this place was an absolute hellhole and Jason informed us that it was a major hub for opium and people smuggling between Myanmar and China. We found the least dodgy 'guesthouse' we could and the bed early.
We hit the road as soon as possible the next morning and didnt look back. Luckily for us we stayed there rather than pushing on to the next town as we were met by the aftermath of a massive landslide which happened at 2am that morning. Luckily the truckers had already cleared a small path through by the time we got there so we pushed on for an 8 hour drive to Jing Hong on what must be some of the worst roads on Earth!
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