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Published: March 26th 2010
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The over-night train from Nanning to Hanoi, capital of Nam set us back 150 rmb (about 15 quid); not too bad eh? At around midnight we all had to get out to go through the Chinese boarder, then again at around 2 or 3am for the Vietnamese boarder crossing; which severely diminished the sleeping opportunities. We arrived around 5 or 6 am Vietnamese-time, the sky was still dark and we both felt very sleepy indeed.
Some differences between China and Vietnam are quite apparent, and though certain cultural and aesthetic commonalities reside throughout these parts of Asia (just as in parts of Europe) Hanoi definitely didn't look of feel like a Chinese city. We based ourselves in the old part of town, with it's bustling narrow streets, lined with chaotically-bundled telephone wires and fruit vendors. In Hanoi the motor-scooter reigns supreme. Cars, peddle-bicycles and other modes of transport are almost non-existent... as are pavements, pedestrians share the road with the motor-scooters. The presence of the state is far less apparent in Vietnam. I saw perhaps two police during the whole trip- quite a contrast to Beijing, where a significant chunk of the population seem to be employed as some kind
of police or security guard.
Vietnam is the first country I've been to where the majority of the other travelling folk seem to be french couples in their later years... checking up on the ol' colony perhaps. The french influence is not inconspicuous in Vietnam today. Most notably from the travellers perspective, it can be seen, in the roman-writing system (Vietnam used to use a Chinese character-based system pre french colony era), and the cafe-culture and patisserie-outlets which are found throughout Hanoi. Architecture is another realm in which the french influence persists. There are some old french colonial buildings in Hanoi; the most notable example I saw is now property of the Hilton empire. More recent builds have something of a french colonial hangover about them. The balconies, balustrades and other details are strikingly continental in appearance. The houses are generally tall (3 or 4 floors) and very narrow in plan. The fronts are usually painted while the sides remain bare-exposed concrete with few or no windows... as if waiting for another house of similar design to be stacked next to it. These features aren't confined to just a few examples, but from what I can tell seem to
form the basic blueprint formula for nearly all of the new houses which are being built. (Much I suppose as the Barratt Homes style red-brick boxes do in the UK...)
We opted to take a 2-day tour of Ha Long Bay, one of the main tourist destinations in Vietnam. This is a large area of kaast mountains in the sea, a beautiful spectacle. The bus ride to and from the port-city was good... it was interesting to drive past miles and miles of rice-paddies all dutifully planted and tended by hand. Quite often you'd pass farmers ploughing their fields with an Ox. We travelled into the bay and stayed the night on a boat with around 20 other tourists from Oz, UK, Belgium etc. Seven was most pleased with the opportunity to try-out his English on people from different places with different accents. The bay is a very stunning sight, and on the evening of the first day there was a nice sunset. There is a lot of boat traffic... but the place is big enough that the tour boats can avoid each other for most of the time. The trip included an hour or so to kayak around
some of the islands/mountains.
On our second-to-last day in Nam we took a trip to the old capital 'Ninh Binh'. The scenery is similar to Guilin and Ha Long: Kaast limestone mountains. There are a couple of temples and we took a really nice boat-trip, definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The boat trip took us through three caves, formed where the river had bored through the base of a limestone mountain.
Back in Hanoi we found time to visit a war museum. This hosted a sizable collection of caputured US military equipment. The museum serves as a reminder that american imperial power is no match for a population defending their homes and right to self-determination.
Overall, Vietnam was an extremely interesting, enjoyable and short experience. Travelling there during the Tet holiday is problematic as much of the public transport is booked-up, so it's difficult to travel around. I hope in the future I might have the chance spend some more time in Vietnam and the southern parts also.
I arrived back in China just before the Lantern Festival. All trains were solidly booked-up as everyone who hadn't already left home to go
back to whichever big city they work in, was busy doing so; while others were taking a trip over the Lantern festival weekend. From Nanning I decided to take a Bus to Guilin, a picturesque area I've visited before. From there I reasoned, if I could not get a train straight away, I could at least go and see something interesting for a few days while waiting to get a train back to Beijing. When I arrived, I was able to book a ticket leaving on Sunday (Lantern festival) evening, leaving me two-and-a-half days. I decided to use this time to visit the 'Dragon's Backbone rice terraces' ('Long Ji') a place I'd been keen to see two years ago on my last visit to China but never had time to get to.
Long Ji is a mountainous area that's been converted into terraces for crop cultivation with a few scattered villages, and it's really quite a sight; and a real feat of agricultural engineering. The terraced fields were mostly built during the Ming Dynasty about 500 years ago, and help to make best use of steep land and water resources for crop growing. The thought that this place was
made by hand through hard manual labour, in the days before JCBs, is a difficult thing to fathom.
I stayed in Ping'an village, nestled in the terraces. The villages in this area are home to Zhuang minority, who have their own styles, customs and language; the Zhuang women are particularly proud of their long hair which they wear tied up, and are always offering to let down for you to take photos of (for a small fee). Ping'an seems to consist almost entirely of hostels, hotels and restaurants. It seems that the tourist dollar has triggered something of a construction boom in the area and there were quite a few new project underway when I went there; all in the classic Zhuang wooden-build style. Thankfully no high-rise concrete developments here. Ping'an was very quiet during my stay, and I didn't meet too many other travellers. Long Ji is a very peaceful and spectacular place. Well worth the visit.
On the way back to the train station in Guilin, i narrowly avoided having my camera pinched. A young lad was walking directly behind me on the busy street and inconspicuously attempting to open the zip of my rucksack.
Unluckily for him I noticed, and he scrammed. That's the first time someone's directly tried to rob stuff off-of me in China.
I'd been unable to get a seated or sleeper ticket for the 30 hour train ride back to Beijing, owing to the popularity of public transport during this season. This meant I would have to stand for the journey. The conditions on the train were comparable to taking the Beijing metro... bearable for 20 minutes or so on a good day. I went to the restaurant car where I could buy a seat for the price of a dinner I didn't really feel like eating. Another guy from Pakistan had had a similar plan and came to join me at the table at which I was sat, and we enjoyed a discussion about the joys of travelling 'standing class' on Chinese trains and shared stories about life in the east. The train staff were less-than keen for us to spend the night in the restaurant car, and as you might imagine, we were less than keen to go back to our carriages and stand in over-crowded conditions for the entire night and next day! All the Chinese
had already been turfed-out of the restaurant. After a few discussions, arguments and selective deafness on our part we ended up staying put for the night, which was quite a relief. Thank goodness for the bourgeois privileges afforded to one by virtue of being foreign in this vast and populous land!
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Chris Bennett
non-member comment
The sun never sets....
You can take the boy out of England but you'll never take England out of the boy. Loved your comment about bourgeois privileges. I had very similar experiences in India but beware ugly crowds, it works both ways. Get that linen suit on and tell those Boxers how it's going to be. You certainly seem to be getting around, see you sometime. Chris