Guilin headed to Yangshuo

I'm in China (1 USD = 8.10 RMB) now! Yesterday was a long travel day. I left Hanoi at 6 am on a minibus ($6) to the Friendship Border at Dong Dang. It was a three hour ride. From there, I walked across the border and hopped in a taxi (30 RMB) to go to Pingxiang, the closest town in China 10 km away. Being able to speak Mandarin is great here. The southerns don't have a thick accent like the northerns, so it's easier for me to understand them. I was able to get some good and honest information from the taxi driver on the prices for transportation for the rest of the day. The surrounding area between Vietnam and China is filled with limestone karsts that rise out of the land. The landscape is so different from that of plate tectonics back home. I was able to get a bus (50 RMB) to Nanning (pop 1.3 million), the capital of Guangxi, the province here. It was a luxurious air-conditioned ride with ample seating. The area was gorgeous with rice fields and limestone karsts. It's true what they say, China is developping rapidly. They are building massive freeways, and modern apartment buildings are going up everywhere. I got into Nanning at 5 pm and caught a bus going to Guilin (88 RMB) that got me here at 11 pm. A long day. I found the closest hotel to the bus station (about 100 feet away), Guilin Huali Hotel, which was in the Lonely Planet. I was able to get a big hotel room ensuite, a/c, and cable tv for 120 RMB. Not a bad deal. I heard the desk clerk tell the registration lady to give me the "Chinese price". It pays to speak the local language!
Today is China's National Day, their Fourth of July. It's a week-long holiday for them meaning there are a lot of tourists about. The hotels have raised their prices, and the buses are full. I'm headed to Yangshuo in an hour. It's supposed to be a touristy spot to enjoy the scenery. We'll see if I can find a cheap room.

Headed to China

The past four days in Hanoi have been rainy due to a big typhoon that flooded parts of China and Vietnam. I had planned on going to Halong Bay, but trips were cancelled due to the storm. So I am headed to China tomorrow; I picked up my passport with the visa today. October 1st is their National Day which starts off a week-long national holiday. I am expecting prices to be higher and buses and trains to be crowded. I'm headed to Yangshuo, which may take two days to get to.
Vietnam has been surprisingly modern and fun. The food has been great, and there are far more tourists here than I had expected. The war is over! Despite being a Communist country, I've hardly noted anything that resembles it. Oh, besides the hammer & sickle flags adorn on government buildings. There is private ownership, there are beggars in the streets, there are products in stores.
I've had to deal with a few scams here and there, but the perspective is that even if I did get scammed, it was cheaper than the sales tax back home. If the prices were set across the board, it wouldn't be as challenging or fun. When I get a good deal, it does feel great, like I've earned it. It is frustrating sometimes, but it beats working any day.
I am looking forward to China. I have a pretty set mind on how things might be, and I am looking forward to destroying those preconceptions. The only time I have been in China was in 2001. I am sure a lot has changed.

Bia Hoi Corner

Bia Hoi Corner
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

This is supposed to be a big deal in the tourist area. There are three bia hoi places that meet at this intersection, but it's not as good of a deal that I found down south. It's 1500 - 2000 dong for a glass of beer, but I had a Liter for 3000 dong in Saigon. The reason why this is a big deal in the guidebook, I think, is because it's in the tourist center, and the places I went to down south weren't touristy.

Motorcycles dominate in Hanoi

Motorcycles dominate in Hanoi
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Communal building

Communal building
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

There are a lot of different ethnic groups in Vietnam. One of them made communal buildings like this one. I am impressed how similar aboriginial tribes dress all across Southeast Asia. Outside of the museum's main building were examples of the homes that the different "minority cultures" used in Vietnam. All in all, this museum was well-done, but incredibly boring, I mean, informative.

Fishtraps on a bike

Fishtraps on a bike
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I went to visit the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. This was an interesting display of how some people load up their bikes to go to work.

Rooftops in the Old Quarter

Rooftops in the Old Quarter
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Thap Rua or "Tortoise Tower"

Thap Rua or "Tortoise Tower"
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

This is one of the islands in Ho Hoan Kiem or "Lake of the Restored Sword". There is a Vietnamese legend that is similar to King Arthur and Excaliber and the sword emanating from the Lake. Instead of a maid of the lake, it was a tortoise that took the sword back, so hence the name of the lake. Interestingly there have been a couple giant tortoises sightings. A speciman of "Rafetus leloii" was almost 600 lbs and six and a half feet long.

Hanoi streets

Hanoi streets
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The Old Quarter of Hanoi is centered around the north and northwest side of Hoan Kiem Lake. This a road next to the tree-lined lake. The streets are all crooked and the buildings dilapitated. Some of the store fronts are about six feet wide because these buildings were taxed by their widths. My first room in Hanoi was the width of my bed.

Breakfast pho

Breakfast pho
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Pho -- rice noodles. Bo -- beef.
This is a bowl of "pho bo".

Alley market

Alley market
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

My first hotel was in this alley, a dodgey establishment named "Camellia Star Hotel". "Camellia Hotel" is a well-established guesthouse chain in Hanoi, but this isn't one of their branches. Hanoi is full of copycat-named establishments. Once a place develops a good reputation and gets named in the Lonely Planet guidebook, other places open up with similar names so that taxi and cyclos can reroute tourists from their intended destinations to these copycat places. It is impressive how many "Sinh Cafe" travel shops there are around here. One place even took the names of three different travel agencies and told me that all three places joined together (yeah, right, just check the actual street address in the LP guidebook and you'll know). The prices at these dodgey places are really suspect. I have been trying to get a China visa and most reputable places (after checking seven different places) were charging about $55 - $60, but others were charging $35. All day yesterday, I went around checking prices. My guesthouse kept hounding me to get the visa through them, saying that they would price-match any other place. The problem is getting accurate up-to-date information on visas, and I was finally told that the Chinese embassy in Hanoi was only giving 30-day visas to Americans for the regular price PLUS $20 more. I decided to go with Kim's Cafe, and when I told my hotel that I wanted my passport (Vietnam hotels keep your passport at their front desks), they refused to give it to me. At first they said it was in the safe which was locked, and they wouldn't be able to open it until tomorrow morning (too late for me to get my visa by then), but then I said I wanted them to open the safe now. The clerk refused because I wasn't getting my visa through him. He said he would match whatever price I wanted (doesn't that sound dodgey?). I said I wasn't interested because he didn't have accurate information. Finally he said he was kicking me out of the hotel for not buying a tour through him (at 7pm), and I would have to pay for the night too. No way! I had to pull a "Crazy Ivan" on him. I went to a hotel around the corner (a place listed in the Lonely Planet guidebook and where I initially tried to get a room) and asked for help. Besides, I held them partially responsible for referring me to this crap hotel, and I wanted them to know what was going on. They were pleasantly helpful and came over to help me get my passport. By that time, the clerk's older brother/boss showed up and started bitching him out for pulling the scam. He was further embarrassed by having the other hotelier bear witness to the whole mess. He agreed to let me have my passport, but asked for me to consider applying for my visa through him so he could earn a commission.
Later on, I agreed to get my visa through him, but I think he was too embarrassed or ashamed and said I didn't have to. Today I checked out of that place with no further problems (besides the addition of a 10% VAT). Awesome! I love dodging scams!

Middle level on a hard sleeper

Middle level on a hard sleeper
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Not bad digs on the express train (E2) to Hanoi from Hue. It was about $21 for a middle level "hard sleeper" bunk (six to a cabin, but there were only four of us in there). The bunk actually had a sleeping mat and pad a couple inches thick, which was perfect. They provided linen, water, and a meal. The meal, as expected, wasn't great: some rice, soup, vegetables, and nasty fish. The toilets were metal squatters which was fine if you can imagine the messing aim on a train. They had soap at the sinks too. The train left (late) at 1810 and arrived at 0540 to a muggy early morning Hanoi. The attendent woke me up when I arrived.

Waiting for my train

Waiting for my train
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The train was 45 minutes late, so I was able to get something to eat at one of the restaurants next to the station. The food on the train had a reputation for being nasty, so this was a good idea.

Second day at the beach

Second day at the beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Playing "tea-time" Vietnamese style

Playing "tea-time" Vietnamese style
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I saw these kids "playing tea" on the road side. They were mixing some water mixed with chopped up grass and pouring them into used empty yogurt containers.

Another great sunset

Another great sunset
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Fishermen tend their nets in the setting sun. Minutes later the sky lit up like it was on fire.

A tent at the Thuan An beach

A tent at the Thuan An beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I went to the beach a couple days in Hue. The beaches in Vietnam are better than the ones in Thailand because they have better waves and the sand is softer. There was only one other tent occupied both days I was there. This tent cost about $1.30. I had some drinks and they provided a cooler with icey water to keep them cool. The waves were great for body surfing, and the water temperature was about 80 degrees.

Peeling a pomelo

Peeling a pomelo
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The pomelo is a grapefruit-like fruit but less tart and with firmer pulp. I bought this for the beach for about fifty cents.

Bananas

Bananas
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Stalks of green bananas at the market.

Day market near my hotel

Locals enjoying breakfast noodles in Hue. All across Vietnam, the traditional morning meal is a bowl of noodles. Here they were 2000 dong a bowl, or about 13 cents.