China I - Into China

I finally left Hanoi after what turned out to be a month stay. Hanoi grew on me while I was there and it was nice to have a break from travelling, but I was still glad to be leaving. The contrast between Hanoi and Nanning is vast. Both are sprawling cities but Nanning has such a feeling of space, maybe characterless space but space nevertheless. What I found amazing is that Nanning is not a famous or particulatly big Chinese city and yet it is huge. Not only is it huge but it is getting bigger. Nanning does have something of a Milton Keynes or Canberra feel to it. The streets are big and wide. Everything is spread out and planned. On the face of it there doesn't appear to be any links to Nanning's past. The border crossing was a bit laboured on the Chinese side but I eventually got through, luckily I'm not Sloakian.

The border crossing on the Vietnamese side is quite low key. There is an immigration section to check your passport, the guy said something to me in Vietnamese which I didn't understand but the Vietnamese found funny. The bus doesn't cross the border instead bright yellow golf buggies drive you to the Chinese side. The Chinese immigration building is vast. It is a big impressive statement. The Chinese side of the border seems to be something of a tourist destination. There is a big gate and some old buildings. Once inside you have the health check to go through. This involves filling in a card and saying you don't have any SARS symptoms. The official took the cards and didn't bat an eyelid. Next up is customs who were searching a Chinese (or Vietnamese) guy's bags but waved me through. Out of the 6 of us on the bus only one other was a westerner, another backpacker. He was Slovakian. He wasn't scruffy and from his accent it sounded like he had been educated abroad. For some reason the Chinese immigration official didn't like his passport. The only question I overheard was, "Where are you going?" and I got the impression that the answer wasn't sufficient to quell the official's interest. At this point another official arrived with a very big magnifying glass. An official then appeared next to me and asked to see my passport and arrival card (you fill one of these in). The Slovakian and I were then sent back to customs. My bag was opened by a very nice and very young Chinese official whose English was excellent. He pulled some things out of bag and took an interest in my documents folder where I keep photocopies of passports and visas but he didn't really thoroughly search it. I had my Lonely Planet China guidebook wrapped up inside and he didn't find it. Apparently Chinese customs have been known to confiscate Lonely Planet China guidebooks because the map shows Taiwan as a separate country which is not correct according to China. I was sent back to immigration where the official (again another young guy) thoroughly checked my passport and asked me to remove my glasses to check I matched my photo. He was particularly interested in the emergency contact details of my relatives. These guys were't American customs and immigration officials. They were really quite pleasant. All of the officials asked me where I was going and I told them Nanning. They didn't ask where I was staying or delve any deeper. I'm not really sure why the Slovakian registered such interest. He was still at immigration when the golf cart drove off outside.

The drive from the border to Nanning was uneventful. While uneventful just crossing the border showed a marked changed between China and Vietnam. Not only were the Chinese immigration buildings much more grand. The road was a dual carriageway all the way to Nanning and even 3 lanes at times. I've not been on such a big modern road since Thailand I'm pretty sure they aren't in as good condition. Lining the roads the scenery could have been from Vietnam. Lots of rice paddies with farmers in conical hats working away. There were small towns of square concrete houses. Yet there were also big petrol stations that you see in Western countries and we stopped at a motorway services. The buildings were huge and looked very new but there didn't seem many people around and the buildings seemed to be mainly empty. It was true of the roads aswell. There was very little traffic.

Nanning appeared out of the green countryside like an oasis in a desert. Not that it was a welcome sight rather it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Normally when you approach a city you travel through the suburbs, small houses and shops, and as you get closer to the centre the buildings get bigger. It was only when we turned off of the motorway that Nanning appeared. The outskirts were huge towers and skyscrapers. Not only were there lots of huge towers but there were even more being built. I've not seen so many cranes in one place before. When we arrived at the station the coach station was packed with coaches and buses. I caught a bus (number 6) to the train station, at least I hoped so. I got on and showed the bus driver the symbol in mandarin and he motioned me to get on. The journey across Nanning took some time. There is alot of traffic and Nanning is big. The newest tower seem to be around the bus station but there is building work across the city. Once you get closer to the train station you start to notice some old buildings. Its strange to see them, something common in cities across the world. A glimpse at what Nanning once looked like. They aren't necessarily attractive and it looks like they will be soon wiped away.

Nanning is alot less chaotic than Hanoi. The streets are very wide. In the middle are 3 or two lanes for traffic going in either direction. On either side are bicycle and motorbike lanes. All the traffic obeys the traffic lights and no one touts their horns. It was quite a hazy day when I arrived and the towers in Nanning appeared out of the haze. I'm not sure if this is pollution or just the weather, but the haze did seem to get worse further into the city. The second day was much clearer but there was still a bit of a haze. To appreciate the size of Nanning I went up to the City Top viewing gallery in Royal Plaza (Royal Plaza has large statues of Elephants which you can't miss on the number 6 bus route). From up high you can see how big Nanning is and how much bigger it is getting.

I stayed at Ying Bin Hotel opposite the train station. I got a double room with ensuite hot shower, air-conditioning, TV, and a computer with internet for 120Y. Ying Bin Hotel is huge and has the feel of a hospital. There are two receptions, I went to the one on the corner with Cahoyang LU and there always seemed to be someone who spoke English. In the corridors there was a great sign which had a picture of lips and a finger over them with some mandarin chracters underneath was written "lightly". After I had checked in I wandered down Chaoyang Lu to look for somewhere to eat. The streets were pretty busy. During the day the streets are not busy but there is still lots going on. In the shade of the trees men sit around playing Chinese chess and what appears to be poker. There is also line dancing, which in the evening takes on a techno theme while alongside people are ballroom dancing. I went down a side street and came across a noodle shop. I wandered in and tried to order something to eat. The staff didn't speak English and I couldn't work out what was actually in the noodles. In the end I pointed at the picture on the wall and ordered a drink which came to less than a dollar. The noodles arrived in a very spicy broth with peanuts some greens and some wontons. It was very nice though very spicy. The staff took a keen interest in me. They were all teenagers apart from the cook. I tried to get them to teach me some Chinese. One of them was not impressed by my chopstick technique. I'm pretty good with chopsticks, I was picking peanuts out of the soup and can eat rice with them. He considered my technique all wrong and kept moving the chopsticks in my hand to his satisfaction. The next night I ate at Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is quite a flash affair. Not only have they mastered the western pizza but they have also mastered Western serving standards. They seemingly forgot about my pizza and it wasn't until I reminded them that my pizza suddenly after everyone else had left the restaurant. The meal cost me $14, quite a difference to the bowl of noodles and not quite so satisfying. On the way back from Pizza Hut I was walking along Chaoyang Lu when I noticed groups of women hanging around suspiciously. I say suspiciously because while there were lots of people out on the streets these women were in groups but not talking to one just watching the crowd. When they noticed a man or a group of men walk passed they would walk along side them and chat to them. It seems that prostitution is really blatant in China. In my hotel room I had a telephone and throughout the evening it would ring. I'm not sure what they wanted but in the guidebook it says prostitutes will ring rooms directly. I took the phone off of the hook.

I got a bus from Hanoi to Nanning with Honggai Tourist for 300,000VND. I bought the ticket at Hong Ha Hotel (204 Tran Quang Khai). The bus company have a new office next to the front entrance to the hotel, but if no one is in there go to the hotel. The bus leaves from opposite the hotel, it is a green bus. There were only 6 people on the bus when I got it but it still departed at 9.30am on the dot. There are two buses one at 7.30am and 9.30am. Once you cross the border you are transferred to another bus to take you to Nanning. I arrived in Nanning at 5.30pm (China is 1 hour ahead of Vietnam). I changed the bus ticket 6 times because of the troubles with getting visas arranged and they never gave me a problem changing the ticket (or charged me a fee).