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JOURNEY
C
rossing
the Laos side
of the border into China
was relatively smooth,
just some papers to fill
in and a few stamps
n e e d e d . C r o s s i n g
into China was more
complicated and preparations started
two months before arriving at the border.
I needed special permission to drive my
own vehicle through China. This not only
takes time but costs a lot of money. As part
of the rules of bringing a foreign vehicle
into the country, a guide had to stay with
me while driving, but I would be free to
do as I wished once we had arrived at our
destination.
Complicated Crossing,
but an Amazing Journey
Despiteminorhiccupsatabordercheckpoint,UNICEF’s
AndrewParker
isabletosuccessfully
drive into and inspect earthquake ravaged areas inChina’s Sichuan Province.
My guide met me at the immigration
counter and helped me through the
temporary import process for the truck.
It took two hours to make sure all the
paperwork was in order and eventually
we were on our way.
We reached the town of Mengla
around lunchtime. The truck had to go
through a safety check was issued with
a temporary number plate and driving
licence. We continued driving through
the mountainous countryside filled with
various rubber and oil palm plantations. I
was amazed at the well engineered roads
running through the mountains and the
billions it must have cost to build them.
These roads are perfect.
We reached the city of Puer just after
dusk. Down the road, I was wondering
why steamwas pouring out of the radiator
– like a steam engine. I realised that I
must have forgotten to put the cap on.
I pulled over and my guess was correct.
Feeling highly annoyed, I limped the
truck 10kms down the road to the nearest
town as it was overheating badly. We
found a mechanic and we searched for
a radiator cap. I thought I might as well
fix the radiator while there also. When
the radiator was lifted, the cap fell out,
which was quite a relief as it was not
going to be easy finding a new one. The
boss of the garage invited us for lunch
while the radiator was fixed. We gratefully
Balloon inflated in
Chaping Village,
Sichuan Province