This blog is more about practical information for people who wants to do the journey. There is a night train from Hanoi to Beijing that stop in Guilin, but there are only soft sleeper for 80$. So, I took a bus from Hanoi to Nanning for a price of 20 to 27$ (dependig on travel agency and day of travel). The bus left at 7:30 (Vietnamese time, GMT+7). At the border, I had to cross the border on foot and change bus. The Chinese bus arrived in Nanning at 16:00 (Chinese time, GMT+8). Both the vietnamese and the chinese buses where comfortable and far from full. Problably, the price is a bit higher than by local transport but the journey is hassle free. The crossing of the border was easy and smooth. I read some report ... read more

Some Pictures... read more

Pictures only... read more

Only pictures... read more

Friday January, 18th 2008 I'm on my way to Sam Neua in the North-East of Laos. The sawngthaew for Vieng Kham leaves only at 11 a.m. It's strange and annoying. Usually, public transports leave early in the morning. I hope to get a connection to reach Vieng Thong to day. Five other tourists are also heading to Sam Neua : 2 Englishwoman, 1 EnglishMan and 2 Dutchwoman. It's nice to travel with a group. We can chat on the way. There are also some Lao people as you can see on the picture. We're told that some will get of after 15 minutes Lao time (i.e. one hour western time). Arriving in Vieng Kham, the situation is pretty bleak. There is no sawngthaew available. The driver ask us 10$ per person to go to Vieng ... read more