Another travel day - ho hum. A minibus back down the mountain then two local busses to Yangshuo where we walked to our hotel. We were rewarded though with happy hour drinks, awesome pizza, free pool & internet at Snow's place, Bar 98. Had a few too many & stayed later than planned, but that's what life is all about isn't it - spontaneity.... read more

The guesthose owner took us back to the Cheng Young bus station where we began our 3 1/2 hour ride from hell. It took that long to travel 60km because the whole road was dusty & full of pot holes - it was like four wheel driving, just without the comfy suspension. Snow had prepared us yesterday for the journey so it wasn't unexpected, but I don't understand why it's still in the itinerary. Apparently it would take a few hours more & mean back tracking to the last town to take an alternative route, but my jolted body wouldn't have minded more time on a nice smooth, air conditioned bus compared to what we endured. It was certainly a memorabe experience, but with the road being in that condition for months & likely to remain ... read more

Driving out from Liuzhou on the bus it looked like the city had more potential than we had realised. The downtown area had many shops & there was a cable car ride up to a pagoda & restaurant that we could have checked out too. After an initially short bus journey, we transferred in Sanjiang on what became a very memorable part of the trip. Upon entering the waiting lounge at the bus station, I noticed a small spill in front of a chair & not thinking much of it, avoided the area & found a seat further along. A few minutes later I heard what sounded like a cross between a humming & whooshing sound. I looked down the aisle to see a woman seated with a baby between her legs & it was having ... read more

After a crazy police chase like taxi ride/dash to the Chinese border, we went through immigration on foot. Luckily it was quite early in the morning, there were no crowds & we pretty much breezed though both the Vietnamese & Chinese border checks. We were met on the Chinese side by a local operator, who's bus took us to our 'resort style' accommodation in Guangxi. Upon checkin the place was deserted, with not another soul in sight apart from staff. That was until the hoards arrived on a tour bus & a quiet rest turned into a stampede of Chinese tourists up & down the wooden hotel stairs. Fortunately Snow had arranged a boat trip up the river to view some cliff paintings, which apparently date back about 1500 years. Not even close to Australia's Aboriginal ... read more

This morning we roared around Cat Ba Island (as passengers) on little 250cc Honda motorbikes. We visited a cave which had been converted into a field hospital by the Viet Kong during the war & our guide was a former soldier who still dresses in uniform & proudly shows the tourists around. Another relaxing afternoon & then a Vietnamese dinner at the Bamboo restaurant on the Esplanade. Not finished with the evening, we headed back to the Koala Bar for a beverage & a few games of pool.... read more