Walking Into China: Visa-Free Land Border Crossing - Our Chinese Overland Journey (PART 1)

We are Andrea & Keith - retired GenX Canadians who are slow-travelling the world WITHOUT flying. Join us on our journey and share in our adventures! 😊 We were in Thailand when we heard the news: China was granting 30-day visa-free access to Canadian citizens! Since we don't fly, we realized we could use China as our overland exit route out of Northern Vietnam before our 90-day tourist visas expired. In this video, we break down the honest reality of crossing the Vietnam-China border on foot from Hanoi to Lao Cai and into Hekou. From navigating the "limbo" on the Friendship Bridge to setting out our fingerprints and separate immigration lines, we’ll show you exactly what to expect. We also share the essential digital tools you MUST download before you cross the border, including how to make mobile payments work with WeChat Pay and Alipay in a completely cashless economy. Plus, our first experience navigating China's high-speed rail network at Hekou train station, dealing with the Great Firewall, and using a VPN! APPS YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD BEFORE GOING TO CHINA: Trip.com - Booking high-speed trains and getting Chinese addresses for taxi drivers Alipay & WeChat Pay - Essential for 99% of all transactions DiDi - China's ride-hailing app — note: not always available in small border cities! AMaps - Incredible 3D route mapping) 💰 OUR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN COSTS (CDN) Hekou to Kunming: 68 Kunming ton Guiyang: 159 Guiyang to Chengdu: 213 Chengdu to Chongqing: 75 Chongqing to Kunming: 265 Kunming to Hekou: 72 Total train costs $852.00 CAD ($600 USD) 🔔 We are starting an entire overland travel series about our 27-day trip through China! In our next video, we’re heading to Guiyang to show you the mind-blowing scenery from the high-speed rail line. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE and hit the notification bell so you don't miss a single episode! Affiliate Links: Our Global Phone & Data Service - FONUS https://www.fonusmobile.com/ref/NoFly... ______________________________________________ #ChinaTravel #OverlandTravel #NoFlyZone #VietnamToChina #SlowTravel #ChinaVisaFree #TravelChina #HighSpeedRail #Alipay #WeChatPay #noflyzonenomads #retirementlife #nomadlife #slowtravel #genx #traintravel #southeastasia #canada #train #retirementtravel #retired