Yangshou to Hanoi
Christie is the name of the lovely chinese girl who I was travelling with to Nanning. We checked out and walked (through the rain) to the Yangshuo bus station where we caught a bus just leaving for Guilin.
I watched the countryside wash past the window during the hour and a half journey. Bamboo taller than a house, white washed villages, lush green farmland with water buffalo grazing and the karst hills in the background to frame it all.
More informations of Yangshuo-Guilin local bus transfers…
It was lunchtime when we arrived at Guilin bus station and Christie quickly organised the bus onwards to Nanning. We had time for something to eat so we went to a small local restaurant and had Guilin rice noodles, served in a stock with diced vegetables and chilli…..and dumplings too. Christie paid without me seeing and told me it was on her.
When we boarded the bus (which we paid 80 yuan each for) it became apparent, but no surprise, that everybody on the bus had paid a different price. The man opposite paid 70, the man in front paid 50 and the only other Westerners on the bus paid 100 each. We should have bargained more!
It was a four and a half hour drive to Nanning and I tried to get some sleep but to no avail. I think the wheels had square tyres on them the ride was so bumpy despite it being a main highway and a pretty nice coach too. Christie kindly volunteered to phone her friend in Nanning and confirm bus details for me for Vietnam. She also insisted in getting off at the bus station (which was nowhere near her stop), take me to the ticket office and make sure I got a ticket. She even found me a hotel near by, took me to reception (carrying one of my bags) and organised a room. By this time money was low and they didn’t accept Visa so she organised a taxi (by that I mean a motorbike with a seating area for 8 on the back held together by luck and good wishes) to an ATM for us where i got extra funds. She even insisted on paying for the taxi.
I really can’t tell you what lovely company she was and how kind she was. She never asked me for anything except my company and gave me so much help in return I felt guilty and blessed at the same time. I wish I could have given her something in return but I had nothing to give and she was meeting a friend for dinner, so I gave her a hug and my thanks. I hope we stay in touch.
The bus trip and border crossing went very smoothly the next day. (I heard there was also Nanning to Hanoi train, maybe it was also an alternative choice)…I was looked after from begining till end, lunch was provided, an electric car to take me and the luggage to and from the border offices and a comfy coach with masses of leg room the whole way. Hassle free.
The roads changed from long wide highways in China to single track roads winding round the hills in Vietnam, passing paddy fields flattened by the wet weather, water buffalo on leads grazing on the banks and near Hanoi, miles of flat wetlands. Unfortunatley the coach deposited us all at some random hotel so any chance of my hotel pickup was well and truely scuppered. I had been warned many times about the taxi driver scams (taking people to the wrong hotel for commission or using fast meters) but I had no choice, and all turned out fine. Despite the taxi going slower than a canal boat(due to the number of scooters choking the roads) I was dropped at the right front door.
Eager to see the city I dumped my bags and headed out. The city has a quaint feel to it. The buildings have a colonial touch and you’d be hard pressed to find a high rise, the streets are narrow and lined with tiny shops selling everything from art to motorcycle parts. I could stood on the pavement looking over at Hoan Keim Lake and waited for a gap in the stream of traffic for me to brave a crossing. Suddenly I felt a strong grip on my elbow and I was being pulled into the traffic. I looked down and saw an old Vietnamese lady helping ME across the road, waving the traffic away with her other hand.
Had dinner in a french restaurant and made plans for the next few days.
This article has been eddited by billybear.
