Waiting 5 hours to cross the Lao Cai border into China for tourism.

Tourists crossing the Lao Cai border into Hekou, China, had to wait up to five hours today due to a surge in the number of visitors.

Minh Anh, a resident of Hanoi , was on a group tour from Hanoi to Ha Khau, Binh Bien, Kien Thuy, and Mong Tu. She arrived at the Lao Cai border crossing at 5:00 AM, earlier than usual as requested by the tour operator. However, there was already a long line of people waiting. Despite being "very tired," the female tourist felt fortunate to only have to wait until 9:30 AM to cross the Ha Khau border.

"I knew it would be crowded, but I didn't think I'd have to wait this long. Maybe it's because the tours to China via Hekou are quite cheap, so everyone is rushing to go," she said.

Passengers wait their turn to cross the border at Ha Khau to complete procedures. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Speaking to VnExpress , Ms. Hoang Tuyet, Director of Top One Travel, said that the company organized four tours departing for Ha Khau - Binh Bien - Kien Thuy - Mong Tu on September 2nd, with two tours departing on September 1st, each with 30-40 people. She said that on normal days, tour members would gather at the Lao Cai border gate at 6:15 or 6:30 AM because the Chinese side only starts working at 7:00 AM. However, with six tours departing during the holiday, the company requested that customers arrive before 5:00 AM to ensure the earliest possible crossing of the border.

Ms. Tuyet said that the waiting time at Ha Khau has not been fixed, depending on whether or not members of the group are detained in the waiting room. The waiting room is where border security personnel hold travelers for further checks if there are any suspicious signs. If lucky, tourists are only detained for a few minutes, but the inspection process can also last several hours.

"This time, I've seen a lot of people being held in the waiting room. A group usually has 5-7 people being detained, especially women," said Ms. Tuyet. She added that not long ago, she was also held in the waiting room even though she had only arrived in China two weeks prior.

All four company delegations arrived at the same time, having crossed the border relatively far apart. The earliest delegation crossed at 8:10 AM and the last one at 10:30 AM.

According to many travel agencies, the Hekou - Pingbian - Jianshui - Mengzi tour is currently very popular with Vietnamese tourists, even though previously it was mostly chosen by elderly people. This tour is currently inexpensive (around 2.8 million VND per person for a 3-day, 2-night trip), offers many scenic spots to explore, and includes an international travel element. Furthermore, tourists only need a travel permit (provided by the travel company), no visa or passport is required. Although travel is by road, 95% of the journey is on highways, minimizing fatigue.

Currently, tourists wishing to travel this route must go through a travel company, accompanied by a tour guide. Independent travelers can only spend a day in Hekou.

Tu Nguyen

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/cho-5-tieng-de-qua-cua-khau-lao-cai-sang-trung-quoc-du-lich-4648928.html