Up early for our last time in Yangshou we were picked up by taxi from Trippers to be dropped off at the coach station for our journey to Nanning. It took around five hours or so to reach Nanning and we jumped on a bus to make our way to the Lotusland hostel. We found it relatively easily and checked into our double room which was small but functional and clean. We headed to the booking office to book our bus journey into Vietnam which cost £15 each. Looking for some food we followed the map provided by the hostel and decided to go to a restaurant with an English menu. The food was pricey and not very good, with Dave having a difficult time eating his food with all the bones in his chicken curry! On the plus side the steamed and fried dumplings with a custard style sauce were the highlight of a disappointing meal.

The following day we ate our own breakfast in the hostel, as they do not provide food, but a microwave and bowls and then washed clothes and hung them out to dry on the roof of the hostel. We walked into town to see what Nanning was like during the day. It’s a typical Chinese city full to the brim of shops and little food places.

There is a free museum called The Guangxi Provincial Museum not far away from the center of town, it took around half an hour to walk there from the hostel. They were showcasing the Nanning Institute of Art and Design degree shows, which were quite impressive with fashion and product design, architecture, 3D and visualisation. It was great to see what the students are completing for their degree levels in China. There are also some permanent exhibitions in the museum featuring ancient drums, jewelery and other artifacts. Afterwards we were feeling hungry and found a Japanese restaurant in a shopping mall which helped quench the hunger pains.

We met up with Jane, who we had met in Dali, at the hostel and decided to go for food. Walking around we found a fast food style Chinese restaurant and had some pretty good food. The food was served in a wooden basket which was interesting, but tasty.

Neon lights and people dancing in the parks were our entertainment for the walk back to the hostel and then an early night as we had a change of Country tomorrow and we were excited to see a new landscape and culture of Vietnam.

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

Having had a great experience with the Chinese Cultural Center last week on the Great Wall of China hike we booked up another tour for the Silver Mountain and Pagoda Forest which are about 1.5 hours out of Beijing at a cost of 250 RMB each. We arrived early as usual due to not knowing how bad the traffic would be and relaxed with a coffee and green tea. Our comrades for the day arrived and we began introducing ourselves and making friends before heading off in the bus. Upon finally arriving at the village (a driver even in China without a sat-nav is useless) we headed for the hills with enthusiasm ready to stretch the legs and get some fresh rural air in our lungs.

The CCC guide Michael was the friendly coordinator from last weeks trip so he lead from the front and we followed, not knowing he had only done this walk once before last year in the summer-time following someone else. Soon we were shoulder deep in thorny brittle branches climbing into the rocky hills. Our faith was intact and spirits high as we ambled onwards towards the blue sky, the scenery was very good and the Leica and Pen were working hard. Before long it became apparent that we were not on the right “path” and could well be on the wrong side of a very large steep hillside with no sign of the Pagoda Forrest destination. Mobile phones from the CCC guides began ringing and a few of the hikers were getting nervous, it had only taken an hour to get up to where we were and wouldn’t take long to get down. Midday had only just passed when we decided to head down and get the bus to the Pagoda Forrest where the CCC would pay for our entrance fees. Whilst waiting for the bus we got to know the locals and their donkeys, ate local produce and drank coffee. These trips are a great way to meet fellow travelers and we got chatting to Dave and Chris from the UK and Jen from California, lovely people!

The Pagoda Forest loomed from the bus window and we proceeded to have a look around the site. The guide gave us 30 minutes to have a walk around, but this was clearly not long enough and feeling like naughty school children cheated by our previous adventure we headed into the hills to get to the top vantage point. It was worth all the steps to get there as the views were great. The eight renegades made it to the bus 30 minutes late but all was fine and we had a group photograph with everyone on the trip. The CCC offered us 100RMB each refund for the trip so that eased the pain of a tour that failed to match the Great Wall visit.

Helen’s friend Lizzie in the UK has a sister working in Beijing; Jess, who we organised to meet with later that evening, so after a quick freshen up we headed over to meet her at The Bookwork followed by a lovely meal at a nearby Yunnan food restaurant. It was lovely catching up and chatting away.

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