The easiest way to get to China from Vietnam via land is to take a bus from the Luong Yen bus station in Hanoi. The tickets cost 40-45 USD per person and they say that the journey takes 6-7 h. In reality, it takes 4 hours to reach the boarder of China where you have to grab all your belongings with you and head to the Vietnamese boarder control. Followed by the Chinese control and immigration. As the only foreigners around we got stuck at the customs with our six bags where they spent a good half an hour digging through absolutely everything. After all of that there is still about a four hour ride to Nanning. The bus terminal in Nanning has a tourist help desk (they can translate your hotel name into Chinese and write some instructions for the taxi driver).
Our hotel staff didn't speak any English, but kept on babbling to us in Chinese (common feature around Asia), and there were no other travelers in sight. Two days of hand signalling and blindly pointing at menus gave me a curious feeling of a de ja vu. However, we managed to make some friends and try some yummy (beans and garlic fried with chili) and not so yummy (black tofu with pork) local foods.
Next, we headed to Nanning train station to catch a train to Guilin. The station is weird; just walk through all security to get the tickets. Booking tickets online is easier if you can figure it our or get some help from a local. You have to get seats though, they sell standing tickets but that's absolute madness. The trains are new, fast and clean, definitely the best way to travel around China.
We had the most amazing hotel in Guilin (Guilin central hostel) right by one of the lakes and the old town. Three days were well spend mesmerising our new surroundings. Places to visit;
Forbidden City
Reed Flute Cave
Elephant Trunk Hill
Yao Mountain
We also visited a local silk factory. It was really hard not to buy a full set of heavenly soft sheets with us. Lucky us, they did cost a fortune which aided us out of the factory. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately (I hate zoos), the Seven Star Park no longer has any pandas. The city is very lovely for relaxing strolls, and it is very beautiful to walk around.
From Guilin we continued our journey via public ferry on the Li River down to Yangshuo. We stayed at a peaceful retreat just outside the busy town, enjoying the lovely serenity and silence. We visited the Silver Cave and the Moon Hill but mostly spent our time relaxing and eating some of the most delicious food. We did a day tour on bicycle to the Yulong River, where we spent the afternoon bamboo rafting on the river. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Final stop before Hong Kong was Guangzhou, third or fourth largest city in China with it's population of 13 million. Not too much to see, but we did visit the 450 m high Canton Tower and the local university.
And off to Hong Kong for my final five days in Asia.
Greetings from the East !
Mira
