Kunming resident Colin Flahive recently drove from the Spring City to Luang Prabang, Laos. His trip—through Mengla and the Mohan/Boten border crossing—provided culinary surprises on both sides of the border. If you have a story to share with GoKunming readers, please get in touch with us via our contact form.

The drive from Kunming to Luang Prabang takes about 16 to 20 hours under normal circumstances, so it is best divided into two days.

The border crossing, which lies about eight to 10 hours from Kunming, closes to foreigners at 5pm. Therefore, travelers planning on making it into Laos on the first day will need to get an early start.

There is, however, no need to rush across the border. The city of Mengla (勐腊) in Xishuangbanna prefecture, a 25-minute drive north of the border, is a great overnight stopping point.

Mengla's major draw is its Dai minority cuisine. One of the more adventurous culinary experiences can be had at Xiaomaocao (小猫草), a small family-owned, back-alley operation.

Some of Xiaomaocao's signature dishes include raw heirloom eggplant salad (凉拌茄子), banana flower pork soup (芭蕉花红烧肉) and sapie, a local specialty of seasoned ground beef eaten with raw greens (撒撇).

After crossing the border at Mohan (see more information about procedure and visas below) the drive to Luang Prabang is between eight and 10 hours.

After arriving in Luang Prabang and working one's way close to the banks of the Mekong River, the city's UNESCO World Heritage status becomes evident.

Quality accommodation options are plentiful and the city has some of South Asia's best shopping. The night market teems with interesting snacks, art and all sorts of souvenirs.

Luang Prabang has many Western dining options and it's easy to make the mistake of missing out on local delicacies. One of the best spots for eating and drinking is the elevated banks of the river, a beautiful spot to catch the sunset while sipping on cocktails.

Along the river, visitors will also find a row of restaurants with Lao hotpot, a unique hybrid of the Chinese style with open flames to grill seafood and meat. Ask the servers for help as the techniques involved take a bit of practice.

Other highlights in Luang Prabang include sunrise atop Wat Phu Si, a massage at one of the many spas, and hiking the Kouang Si Waterfalls 30 minutes south of town. For Kouang Si, be sure to pack a lunch, bring your swimsuit and be prepared for water fights.

Spending a day or two in Luang Namtha, located one and a half hours southwest of Mohan, is a pleasant stopover on the return trip to China. The road to Luang Namtha is in excellent condition because the Chinese government recently paid to have the route to Thailand repaved. It's a beautiful drive and a place where the benefits of having one's own vehicle are evident.

We parked our car at the Zuela Guesthouse just off of the main road, where the staff can provide visitors with a map of sites in and around Luang Namtha. Motorbikes are also available for rent.

The town of Luang Namtha has built a new town square just across the street from the guesthouse. It bustles at night and offers some of the finest delicacies in Laos.

This is the last chance to fill up on Lao food before the long drive back to Kunming. Along with a sampling of the unique cold dishes sold be street vendors, the whole rotisserie duck is not to be missed.

Travel information:
Roads: The highways in Yunnan are in good condition, but watch out for the speed cameras dotting the median—a 200 yuan fine awaits speeders. The road to Luang Prabang is in poor shape in some sections, but appears to be under repair.

Visa: Travelers from many countries can get a visa at the Mohan border crossing, but those wanting to err on the side of caution can get a visa ahead of time from the Laos consulate in Kunming, which has recently moved from inside the Camellia Hotel to Caiyun Bei Lu.

Border crossing: Travelers driving their own vehicle must register the vehicle on the second floor of the customs building where Chinese vehicle registrations are exchanged for temporary Lao ones. Chinese citizens are required to purchase malaria medication and mosquito repellent at the border.

Kunming resident Colin Flahive (pictured above, right) just finished traveling by motorcycle across northwestern Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan with travel companion Josh Pollock, sending dispatches to GoKunming from the road. In today's final post from their trip, Flahive and Pollock fail to reach their intended destination, making an unexpected discovery in the process.

After the long ride from Lijiang, Lugu Lake was the perfect place to rest up and put back a few beers; but the Litang River beckoned, so it was time to get back on the bikes and set off to tackle Sichuan's high-mountain passes.

We started by ascending a long, winding valley to the north, passing through the Mongolian settlement of Wujiao (屋脚), a remnant of the 13th Century Mongol invasion, until we came to the foot of the first of many challenging passes in our quest to Litang (理塘).

The dirt road wound up the mountainside through fragrant pine forests laced with enormous rhododendron flowers—some exceeding the size of soccer balls. Halfway up we stopped for lunch where some Yi shepherds emerged from the forest to check us out. We shared some walnut bread and aged gouda cheese, which they seemed to enjoy. The mountain perch provided stunning views of the surrounding snow-covered, craggy peaks as the four of us munched away happily.

We descended the pass to join the Litang River and stopped over at the Wuerzhen Tibetan Monestary (午尔真大寺)—ancient seat of the Muli Kingdom. Only ten monks currently reside there, and they were kind enough to take a break from routine to show us around and treat us to some fresh yak butter tea (酥油茶).

From there, we broke from the main road to follow a broken and muddy trail down along the river bank. We'd only gone about 30 kilometers when the looming clouds above unleashed their fury. Luckily, we were within reach of a little family shelter whose owners shared their home and hearth while a few centimeters of hail blanketed the valley. As the road was no longer optimal for riding, the family considerately offered us a space on their dirt roof to pitch our tent for the night.

While they cooked us home-grown veggies and dried pork, they told us that they were preparing to vacate their home in three days as demolition crews made their way up the valley to construct a series of 10 hydroelectric dams. He pointed up the steep slope to his other property high above and told us that if we came back in three years, it would be well under water.

It was disappointing for us to think that one of southwest China's last unmolested rivers would be torn up so soon and swiftly, but over a bowl freshly-ground roasted barley flour called tsampa (藏巴) and yak butter tea, the kind man shook off our pity and said that the government had compensated him adequately. Moreover, he said, Sichuan really needs the electricity. With that, he packed us a large bag of tsampa for the trip, accepted no money and sent us on our way.

Our original plans to follow the Litang River for nearly 250 kilometers to the town of Litang were thwarted as the road we assumed existed simply didn't. So after about 45 kilometers, we cut back west and climbed the most difficult pass of the trip. The road was exhausting, stressful, cold, scary, muddy and technical with obstacles around every bend, but I can honestly say it was the most fun I have ever had on a bike. And the day just got better as we entered the town of Donglang (东朗).

I've traveled to a number of places off the beaten path in China, but none took my breath away like this place did. Donglang is set along a forested valley drained by a striking crystalline river. Scattered along the hillsides are Tibetan homes constructed of carved stone that give the appearance of giant castles more than modest homesteads.

As we cruised through the town of Donglang, stopping from time to time to chat with the locals and to watch a local fisherman net a beautiful river trout, we were forced to push each other onward as the desire to stay longer could have captured us indefinitely.

A fierce storm nipped at our heels as we descended another high pass down to Daocheng (稻城) from where we were back on tarmac and able to ride at full-throttle to Xiangcheng (乡城), Deirong (得荣), and on to Benzilan (奔子栏) back along the Jinsha River.

For the last 80 kilometers of our journey, we cruised from Benzilan through the winding Jinsha River Valley down to Zhongdian (中甸), renamed Shangri-La (香格里拉) by the Yunnan State Council in 2001 (see top photo). For us, however, Shangri-La will always be wherever our bikes take us next.

Images: Josh Pollock

GoKunming thanks Colin Flahive and Josh Pollock for their contributions - if you have a story you'd like to share with GoKunming readers, please contact us via our contact form.

Kunming resident Colin Flahive (pictured above, right) is on his motorcycle traveling across northwestern Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan, sending occasional dispatches to GoKunming from the road. In today's post, Flahive searches for a road less traveled between Lijiang and Lugu Lake on the Yunnan-Sichuan border.

The number of road projects that the Yunnan government has successfully undertaken over the past ten years is enough to make any motorcycle enthusiast want to bungee a tent to the back of their bike, saddle up, shift out of neutral and throttle straight out of town.

These days, one can buy a road map in just about any decent book store, pick out the smallest roads in any part of the country that piques one's interest, and chances are they're primed for riding.

For our current journey, we wanted to find an alternate route from Lijiang to Lugu Lake as far from the buses and trucks as possible. From there we hoped to pass along the Litang River in western Sichuan to Litang (理塘), the highest town in China at 4,014 meters - 400 meters higher than Lhasa.

We started out from Lijiang by skirting the foothills of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain towards the eastern passage of Tiger Leaping Gorge. We then worked our way eastward with hopes of finding a bridge that could take us across the Jinsha River (金沙江), better known as the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Stopping often to ask locals about the roads and the bridge, our inquiries were always met with "That road doesn't exist" or "There's no bridge there, you have to go back to Lijiang."

With road construction moving at such a swift pace in Yunnan, locals can be forgiven for not knowing their own neighborhoods. And truth be told, the advantage of riding an off-road motorcycle is that even when there is no road, you can make your own.

For a few hours, we were blessed with beautiful tarmac surfaces, but as the road began to break up into gravel and dirt, our hopes for a bridge and getting to Lugu began to dim. Then, a massive construction site appeared over the top of the next pass.

Under the haze of dust and heavy machinery was the Jinsha River; though hardly reminiscent of the magnificent Jinsha I'd seen on trips past. It was bruised, bulldozed and the color of pea soup. Dam construction was well under way along this stretch of the Jinsha. It was hardly a pleasant sight, but the construction zone had provided a temporary bridge that we were able to cross and continue our journey.

With that behind us, we were free to cruise along the stunning high-mountain roads through golden rice terraces and smiling Yi minority villages. These are the kind of places and people that remind you why you fell in love with China in the first place.

We eventually climbed up a high mountain pass that descended upon Lugu Lake. The full moon rising over its rippling waters accentuated the natural beauty of the place. The Old Tree Cafe on the western shore of the lake – run by a friendly young woman from Lanzhou – welcomed us and fed us pasta and drinks as we pondered the next leg of our journey into western Sichuan.

GoKunming thanks Colin Flahive for his contribution - if you have a story you'd like to share with GoKunming readers, please contact us via our contact form.

The Kunming Public Security Bureau held a press conference Saturday afternoon to address the recent bombing of Salvador's Coffee House, which has been connected to the public bus bombings in Kunming in late July of this year.

During the press conference, the identity of the bomber was revealed for the first time. 30-year-old male Li Yan (李彦), a resident of the northeast Yunnan city of Xuanwei who had only received education up until middle school, was identified as the bomber.

Li had been sent to prison for 9 years in 2001 for his involvement in robbery and assault. He served five years in a prison in Yiliang county, where he spent much of his time involved in electrical repairs, an experience which is believed to have aided his bombmaking.

Members of the special task force created in response to the Salvador's bombing went to Li's residence in Xuanwei, where they reportedly discovered ammonium nitrate and bomb casing materials that matched the samples taken from the Salvador's bomb, which apparently detonated prematurely, blowing the lower half of Li's body off. Li died two hours later at Honghui Hospital.

The bombmaking materials found in Li's residence in Xuanwei also matched samples taken from the bombs used on two buses on Renmin Xi Lu that had been bombed in July, killing two and injuring 14. In addition to 1.1 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, police also found homemade gun with 21 rounds of ammunition at the man's home.

Li's motive in bombing Salvador's and the buses is still unclear. Police reportedly obtained a deathbed confession from the man moments before he died, but details of what he said – other than confessing to the bus bombings – have not been released. It is also unclear whether other individuals were involved in either the bombing of Salvador's or the bus bombings.

Many early Chinese media reports about the explosion at Salvador's were highly inaccurate, making claims that a gas canister had exploded in the kitchen, that Li was a Salvador's employee, that a man had been cooking food with gas in front of the restaurant, etc.

Salvador's owner Colin Flahive was just outside of the restaurant when the bomb detonated on Christmas Eve. Flahive has summarized what he and co-owner Kris Ariel (Salvador's other two owners were out of the country when the explosion occurred) experienced on December 24. GoKunming has been given permission to publish their account, reprinted below:

Thanks to Colin Flahive for providing us with video from the May 18 benefit for victims of the Wenchuan earthquake. The evening of music by Kunming-based performers raised 10,987 yuan, which was donated to the Chinese Red Cross.

The above video features that evening's performance by Co Op Sol (邪作社) – video footage of performances by Synthatron, Kris Ariel and Cat and Colin are also available for viewing on YouTube.