We got up just after 6, packed and made our way to the bus stop in Koh Kong, this time we were able to pick up the bus at the starting point on street 3 next to the roundabout, it then went onto the bus station to pick up more passengers. The journey back to Phnom Penh was painfully slow and took around 6-7 hours, with the bus driver stopping many times along the way. We were relieved to finally get to the city and only paid $2 for the tuk-tuk to Sweethome, that’s more like it! Plus it was TET so the drivers were happy to have some income.

Our passports and visas for Laos were ready and waiting for us when we got to the guesthouse, we ended up paying $45 each for a 3 day service, knowing that we could have got it cheaper ourselves if we’d gone to the embassy directly but during TET and over the weekends you can’t get in so it meant we could use the time to go somewhere else. On the way back though Helen read that you can now get a visa on arrival at the crossing over to the 4000 Islands area for around $36…damn-it!! Still we had them sorted, but if you’re passing through that border you can now get visas on arrival.

Later on we walked around the city and saw more families, monks and tourists gathering together outside the Royal Palace, we both agreed it was really nice to see everyone coming together, taking time out from their busy working lives and enjoy themselves as a family. We walked round to another guesthouse to meet Emma and Doug who we’d previously met at the New Years bash in Yangshou. We caught up and discussed plans for the Malaysian Grand Prix. A few nights earlier we’d bough our tickets and booked accommodation… Sepang F1 here we come!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We left Lotusland at 7.45am to walk to the International Tourism Distribution Centre only 15 minutes walk away which was perfect for us leaving Nanning. The bus station we came into from Yangshou was at least a 40 minute bus journey from the centre so we were pleased not to be making this journey again. We were joined by a few other backpackers at the bus station and saw the first bus leave packed with passengers at 8am, ours was at 8.30am and was considerably less full.

We had a hostess who handed out a bread snack and water to all passengers and it was quite a smart bus. We traveled through Southern China and saw more agriculture and rice fields along the way, it was still cold and dull. We stopped once for a toilet break and then again for lunch, we were only about 20 minutes from the border at this stage but we were provided with a free meal which consisted of egg and tomato, tofu and rice it wasn’t too bad. There were also quite a few touts waiting to exchange Chinese RMB to Vietnamese Dong. We didn’t have any Dong ready with us so we changed what we had left of the RMB which was around £10′s worth. The exchange rate isn’t great when you do this with touts so we’d probably recommend to change only what you need for taxi’s etc on the other side. One girl changed around £200 worth and we don’t think she did so well on the exchange rate.

The journey from Nanning to the border took around 4 hours and as we got the border the bus pulled into a parking lot, we exited with our bags and were carted off on a little gold-like buggy to the Chinese exit border. It took around 40 minutes to complete exit from China and entry into Vietnam, with 5 or so passport checks. It was pretty relaxed and we were asked a few questions on the Vietnamese side but they were friendly enough and off we went to another golf buggy before being shipped onto another bus. This bus was full and we could only just get a seat.

The journey to Hanoi took 5 hours with one break at a restaurant/service area. The bus was okay and again we had a hostess on board handing out water. We were pleasantly surprised with the journey as we had read about some horror stories on the Vietnamese buses, but all in all it was pretty swift. The traffic coming into Hanoi was very busy so it took a while to get into the city. Once we arrived a lady came on board and asked to speak to the westerners, we had read that this would happen so were a little skeptical as to whether to take her advice or not. Contrary to this though she was quite helpful and as a group of 4 she advised on how to bargain for the taxi and made sure we knew how not to get ripped off!!

We traveled with a Finnish couple we’d met on the bus to The Hanoi Rendezvous and agreed a price with the taxi driver. We knew that we’d be paying around 100,000 dong between us but at first he was quoting $150! Dave kept getting out of the taxi refusing to agree to that price and we eventually managed to get him to agree to our price. The journey was around 15 minutes (the taxi driver had said it would be 50 km!) be prepared for scams!! When we arrived at the Rendezvous he stopped the car a little away from the hotel and said it was much further asking for more money. We knew where the hotel was though and didn’t take any of his shit. We paid the price and that was that. Perhaps getting into Hanoi from your bus or airport is where you’re more likely to get ripped off by the taxi drivers as you’ll be new to the city so just be prepared for this.

At the Rendezvous we checked into our spacious 6 bed dorm room, practically each bed was a mini double with good spacing in between and a shared en-suite. We were paying $7 each for this which was considerably more than in China but it had great reviews and included a good breakfast. We inquired at reception about a few options for getting around Vietnam and as we had no guide book yet we went off to a bookshop called The Bookworm to get ourselves a Lonely Planet.

It was around a half hour or so walk through the busy city streets to Bookworm heading north of the city centre to the second lake. We picked up a photocopy version for 150,000 dong checking the quality first as often the maps are very pale so it’s good to go through the pages. We asked for their recommendation on a good place to eat nearby and were instructed to go to Food Shop (45). We enjoyed some excellent vegetarian Indian food and the ventured through the streets back to the Hotel. When we got there we saw Maayke (from Yangshou) and her friend who were also in the same dorm, we had previously arranged to meet them here so it wasn’t so much of a coincidence. We discussed trip options and then chatted in the cafe area for a while before hitting the sack.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We went out for a bike ride with one of the Chinese girls’ Sylvia who was staying in the dorm with us, she was friends with another of the girls working at the hostel. It was good to have her with us as she could help us to find our way by asking the locals which way to such and such a place. She wanted to go to a specific village called Xixhou which is about 20km away from Dali old town. We wanted to cycle through some of the villages closer to the lake so we could explore the farmland, the most direct way would be to cycle along the high way for the entire ride but that’s no fun, so we compromised and spent some time cycling to the villages and some time catching up and taking the highway to the furthest place.

The farmland in Dali is very lush and extremely beautiful to photography. During our stay in Dali the sky was a perfect blue and it was a very comfortable temperature indeed, only being cold in the shade. By night it dropped significantly but we had electric blankets to cope with this!

So we took in the scenery around us, some farmland, some lake and some road. It was stunning. We got to Xixhou at around 3pm and ambled through the village market before stopping for some very good value soup rice noodles. For 3 of us to eat it cost around £2.80, and the food tasted really good. The only bad thing was a local guy pestering us for left over food and drink, he wouldn’t leave us alone and eventually got what he wanted. Still the setting took us away from this. We continued out of the village and took the road to some older parts of the area. Once more fantastic views, terraces and buildings surrounded us.

We decided to make our way back at around 4pm and set off for Dali. We were going quicker than Sylvia on her lady-like bike so we waited for her every so often, plus the drivers on the road aren’t the most reliable often overtaking two cars in one go so we wanted to make sure we were all with us. When we got back Sylvia joked about how fit we were compared to her and she said she’d only ever ridden a bike once before in her life. Considering this fact she did very well indeed.

When we got back we ate at an Indian restaurant down the road from our hostel and enjoyed more chai. Back at the hostel there were a few more travelers, Helen got chatting to Jane who she’d seen at various other places around China. It’s very easy to bump into people when you use Hostelworld for recommendations on where to stay. Many people also choose to travel through South China from Vietnam as it’s a good route and the weather is pretty good in Yunnan.

So it was our last night in Dali and we really loved the town and the hostel had a nice vibe too. We decided to nip back to Bakery 88 the next morning to get some take-away sandwiches with very good cheese and meat! Yum!! We also sneaked in a few more granola slices.

The bus back took the scenic route as part of the highway was closed but this wasn’t a bad thing as it meant we got to drive through some more beautiful countryside and villages. It was quite a luxury bus with only a few of us on board, and we got back to Cloudland at around 7pm. We had some food, chatted away and got ready for our flight to Guangzhou the following day.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)