The day stared early as the alarm went off at 5am. This was following a night of broken sleep brought about by not only by having to sleep on a train but also anxiety about sleeping through our stop.

As it happens the train was late and so those of us leaving at Nanning had an extra 30 minutes before arriving. Due to the fact the rest of the passengers were going to destinations unknown we had to stumble about in the morning half-light trying not to wake them.

Eventually the train stopped at a platform and those of us upright jumped off. A brave move on our part as we still had no confirmation the station stop was Nanning. This confirmation didn't arrive until we'd walked through the station and out the other side. It being early it took us a while to find the correct bus stop and we hopped onboard the number 6 bus to the hostel.

What a change it was to not only to both have a seat but also to see clear road ahead of the bus. When we disembarked we actually, unknown to us, got off at the wrong stop and walked the opposite direction in oppressive humidity until we reached the long-distance bus station. We knew this was too far so we then walked all the way back and then a similar distance the other way from the bus stop still with our big packs on, sweat pouring down just about everywhere and our frustrations growing. Eventually we found the hostel with great relief! Add to this frustration a poor night's sleep and tempers were somewhat frayed! We're best of friends again now though! I think…..

When we checked in we received some good news - since we'd booked some time ago (over the internet in order we could prove we had accommodation sorted for our visa applications) their prices had reduced and so the amount we had paid entitled us to a free upgrade to a room with an en suite bathroom instead of shared. Result! Our reward for the endurance competition we had to go through to get to the hostel!

First thing we did when we got to the hostel was strip off and……have a hot shower each. One of the best showers of the trip: even pressure, even temperature!

Next we changed into our "summer" wardrobe, asked reception about a trip to the Detian waterfall (sadly rejected because too far for a day trip) and the bus to Hanoi, Vietnam. For this the lady staff member wrote down a message in Mandarin which we were to take to the long-distance bus station (which we had inadvertently visited earlier) to buy our tickets. Cheating maybe but with such an important journey crossing the border, we wanted to make absolutely certain we were getting the correct tickets!

Firstly though we needed some cash and after wandering around looking for ATMs which would let us take money out, finally the third bank we found gave us some. These three banks weren't next to each other and it took some time to find any of them and more by luck than by judgement as we stumbled around. We then hopped on the bus to the long-distance bus station down the road. It was so nice to get an air-conditioned bus.

Once at the bus station we'd realised we hadn't eaten all day and this together with the lack of sleep, heat and humidity meant we weren't feeling great. At times like this you want something known and luckily for us a KFC at the bus station fitted the bill. We then spent a little longer than strictly necessary sitting in KFC trying to delay having to buy our tickets before finally plucking up the courage and joining the queue for tickets. Once at the front we passed our note over, got a nod of understanding, paid the amount and were rewarded with two bus tickets to Vietnam!

Deed done we took a bus to the People's Park the other side of town and spent time walking through here trying to stay in the shade. It was fairly busy, being a Saturday afternoon, but enjoyable nonetheless. There was, however, a distinct lack of foreigners and we did find ourselves once again being stared at. We didn't know if this was wholly down to being Westerners or some of it due to our summer attire which may for all we know have been offensive to the locals. At one point we stumbled on an outside gym which Kirsty couldn't refuse much to the bewilderment of the locals!

Due to the early start we soon tired and decided to head back to the hostel where we ate our supermarket-bought noodles for a quick and easy dinner.

The next day was the first sick day of the trip. I spent the whole day being ill, starting late the previous night when, after supper, I felt like my belly was massive. It dawned on me there was only one way this situation was going to resolve itself. And that would be badly for me. So after a night of vomiting and worse, morning came and I was still in no fit state to do or go anywhere.

I spent the day dozing in bed, trying to keep food and drink down interspersed with frequent trips to the bathroom. With hindsight we were so fortunate to get en suite! It was Kirsty I felt sorry for. Evidently she was bored with me out of action and I was relieved (although a little concerned) when she announced she was popping out to the local mall. I was even happier when she came back safely and did a mini show and tell of the stuff she had bought.

I also had a little time to think about my Dad who was celebrating his 65th birthday back in England. Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you had a better day than I did!

After a good sleep the next day I felt re-energized though still not 100% and was still tentative with any food or drink. We decided to explore the Yong River area combined with Zhongjue Lu, the place to be for food apparently. Having missed out yesterday and with today being our last full day in China, we agreed we would have the restaurant experience this evening. Having picked out a recommended restaurant from our Lonely Planet we thought it best to scope the place out before this evening to make sure it was to our liking. So we caught the bus and headed into town. With the cloud cover it was not as hot or humid as previous days.

After getting off a little later than planned we dawdled through the backstreets curious as to what was around the next corner. Nanning is not a big city so it's certainly fairly safe to wander aimlessly, you're never far from a main thoroughfare.

We found the street our intended restaurant was on only to be disappointed to be looking at a former restaurant rather than a still-active one. China is full of little cafes where strangers share tables and shout their orders through to the kitchen staff. Western style restaurants with waiting staff and a menu (of the paper variety not just on the wall) are few and far between. Restaurants with English and/or pictures for idiots like us who can't speak or read Mandarin even rarer.

We carried on walking finding a modern shopping street with a modern shopping mall where we ventured up to the top floor and entered the brand new food court. With pictures and everything! We picked three different items from three different outlets, clearly not the usual way things are done judging by the laughter we got at the first outlet ("these Westerners are going to go hungry" I could almost translate from their giggles). The food as always was delicious and cheap, even if I still had to be a little careful about eating.

From here we reached the Yong River where we did in fact see some carefree locals engaging in some fishing and some crazier ones swimming widths from one bank to the other. We also wandered down the eating street which rather depressingly was devoid of much activity. I rather optimistically like to think it was because of the time we were there (3.15) and that at lunchtime or teatime it's much more bustling. Kirsty thinks it's always like that as most of the cafes/restaurants appeared shut down!

So the real highlight was our visit to Wal-Mart where we spent time getting some supplies for the bus tomorrow. We also "enjoyed" the act of someone choosing their fresh fish themselves. This was a two part process. Firstly the customer chooses their fish from the various aquaria in front of them, catching it using one of the fishing nets, walks 10 metres to the fishmonger counter with said fish whereby the fishmonger kills it with a hammer, pops it on a weighing scale and lets the customer know the price. There surely can't be a fresher way to buy fish?? Not sure what happens if the customer doesn't like the price, can hardly pop the fish back?

We then hopped back on the bus disembarking at our stop, ran across the busy dual carriageway like true locals and returned to our hostel. We spent the evening indoors looking at what to do with ourselves in Vietnam. We also took the liberty of having a bit more to eat at the hostel. Yes it's true, our last tea in China was a pepperoni pizza!!

Early start tomorrow, destination Vietnam!

[£1 = 32,728 VND (Vietnamese Dong)]

Coach or train? Coach or train? Both are excellent ways of travelling through a country but I think because of the bigger window giving a better view out into the world coupled with the slower pace of travel a coach is my preference. So imagine my delight as the alarm rang at 7 this morning to signal the start of a day which would see us travel to Vietnam by coach.

We checked out in good time and got the local bus the couple of stops to the long-distance bus station. Here it was an anxious wait together with another English couple from our hostel for the coach which did eventually turn up, if a little late.

Bags in and tickets checked and we were off towards the border town of Pingxiang where we arrived three hours later for a spot of lunch at a local restaurant (included in the price of the coach ticket apparently). Lunch was delicious so I was thrilled when Kirsty couldn't finish hers and I had to come to her rescue (serves her right for tricking me into letting her eat my Snickers!) We also changed money here into Vietnamese Dong instantly becoming millionaires before boarding the bus again to the border post 20 minutes down the road.

At the border we left the coach in the knowledge there would be another coach waiting for us in Vietnam to whisk us to Hanoi. We got our bags together and were given a lanyard bearing the details of the coach company. We were initially unsure what the lanyard was for but it became clear when we walked around the coach to see a waiting pair of golf buggies. We popped our luggage in the back and hopped in. The golf buggies were available to anyone wishing to cross the border at a price, but our lanyards apparently entitled us to free transport through no man's land and through all passport and customs formalities.

As we zoomed towards the Chinese passport building we all had to wave our passports at the patrol guard before the barrier was lifted and he let us through. Exit stamp received and bags scanned we were officially out of China before again jumping in a waiting golf cart towards the Vietnam side. Here it was a little more chaotic and the English thing of queuing didn't seem to apply. However one of the officials grabbed a job lot of passports to process which gave us a chance to back away from the desk and wait for their work to be done.

Once through we were in Vietnam in a golf buggy although we did all have to get out one final time to walk to a border guard at his post so he could check our stamps and visas were in order.

The cart dropped us at the coach park where after a little trepidation we found the correct coach for Hanoi. We boarded but had to wait over an hour for our fellow travellers to all make it across the border.

Finally we were off and immediately the difference was plain to see out the coach window. Initially Vietnam was quite mountainous with lots of land given over to rice paddies tended by farmers in conical hats with their oxen and cattle. The towns and cities were less built-up and tended to be dusty collection of huts with one street in and out.

Due to the road conditions the journey to Hanoi took a good four hours not helped by, in my opinion, an unnecessary stop in the mid-afternoon. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing the driver had a break.

A couple of differences in respect of the scooters were also noticeable. Firstly there's a lot more of them and, probably because of this, they wear helmets here!

We weren't sure which of the many bus stations we were being dropped off at and despite asking the staff they were unable to tell us in English. In the end we were dropped off on the side of a busy main road in the Old Quarter having negotiated the crazy scooter-filled roads of the city for a half hour or so. Fortunately, and very kindly, one of the taxi/motorbike touts showed us on our map where we were and we took the decision to walk to our hostel (also in the Old Quarter).

Navigation was a tad easier than in China and despite some very busy narrow streets we found the hostel 20 minutes or so later. I nearly lost Kirsty to an oncoming scooter at one point but she quickly darted out of the way at the last possible moment - the three Snickers she had scoffed during the day not slowing her movement at all!!

At the hostel, they seemed unprepared for our arrival despite our internet booking and follow-up email the previous week. The only person who spoke any English was on the end of a telephone line and the room they had available was apparently more like a cell. Quick-thinking the guy behind the counter had run down the street to another hostel owner who could translate for us. Kirsty was not happy at all with the service we were getting (think Incredible Hulk..) and we ended up dismissing the first hostel looking at a room at the other hostel (which the Incredible Hulk quite rightly wanted to see before committing to) which we snaffled for three nights.

After we'd settled a little we explored the local area to investigate prices for bus or train to Hué (our next destination) and day trips to Halong Bay. Although our hostel gave us some prices there were many tour operators set up in the narrow streets of the Old Quarter and we found one which gave us a better price. Finally we had something to eat and drink (very very sweaty work) before returning to our hostel.