NON-EVENT NANNING: 14th-18th September

I finished my China 'experience' back in the Guangxi Province.

My intention was to see another part pf China whilst I waited for my Vietnam Visa. In hindsight I shouldn't have bothered to catch the overnight sleeper from Kunming as it just cost me a weekend waiting around.

I'd met an Irish guy on the train so at least had company for one night before he moved on. He gave me a little history lesson (see travelling really does broaden the mind) regarding Oliver Cromwell (apparently he wasnt such a good guy after all) and was a little offended when I referred to him as English but apart from that we got on fine.

Despite my success in HK, my orientation skills reached an all new low (I blame this on too much time with Caro!) and I got lost for THREE hours!! During this time I didn't dehydrate past anything particularly worth reporting - apart from the DOG RESTAURANT district. (Funnily enough I could be found dining at Pizza Hut that evening).

The worst thing was the staring...Everyone stared at me, EVERYONE. Moreso than anywhere else i'd been. One shop assistant jumped up and down in excitement and ran into the stock room embarrassed which was a bit weird. Most people just shout Hello! and considering my grasp of Mandarin that was pretty much as far as it went. Although "Beow sheair sheair" (NO THANK-YOU) was a popular phrase and turned out to be my safety net. A few locals were friendly and helpful but towards the end it grew really tiresome, o what it is to be famous!

In fairness I didn't feel too intimated, just slightly uncomfortbale at times. It was mainly the language barrier that became exhausting. Needless to say I was on the first train out...

On a positive note the 'spitting ritual' was noticeably less frequent than in the Yunnan Province.

Took the morning train to Piangxiang with the cutiest old chinese lady.. We had an on/off cherades-type conversation, at one point offering me her breakfast (beow sheair sheair). The train was a chiropractor's heaven (hard seats at 90 degree angle) and reminded me of a WW2 film flashback.

I then took an army-style truck to the 'Friendship Pass' border. Followed by a 4 hour bus ride to the capital of Vietnam...

Nb. Ignore the associated blog picures, I have to pick one in order to post a blog and they dont relate. This will be resolved as soon as I grasp how to upload photos onto a foreign PC.