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Published: July 26th 2009
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China - Nanning - Modern and Busy
The city reminds me of Hawaii very much. It has that Honolulu look, without the paper on the streets. After my brief day trip to Beihai on the Gulf of Tonkin, I bussed back to Nanning and grabbed a taxi into the city. The drivers at the bus depot are not so picky and greedy as those at the airport and it was easy to find one that didn't mind the casual drive into the ' old city ' on the metered rate. As we drove through the new section, I remembered my drive in the previous night and my mind went back to Chongqing and the lights on the buildings. It was such a wonderful sight to see the buildings of Nanning lit up in a similar way and with the cleaner air, there was not that ghostly aspect to the glimmer of the buildings. I videoed happily as it was still a novelty to me to see the edges of buildings and even trees lit up in different colours that in the West, was reserved for the Christmas season. I welcomed getting into my hotel room as I find bus travel exhausting..cleaned myself up and wandered to find food. Being lazy and not so hungry, I ended up buying some packaged foods and noodles and VERY inexpensive beers
China - Nanning - Wide Boulevards
Nanning is modernizing and it will suffer for it if they don't modernize the buses and other traffic that belches black smoke into the air. at a corner store run by a friendly family. ( Literally...the whole family was eating at the cash register including a very young child who said things to me that I wish I had translated somehow ). I went back to my room and watched TV and stayed up late. Big mistake...the next morning workers in the building next door took to hammering on the wall starting at 7 am. I got up, had my complimentary breakfast then struck out with my camera to see the city. Like all the cities I struck out in to see, within a short space of time, I folded up my map and resigned myself to being lost. The twists and turns resembled nothing on the map and occasionally I would unfold it to see if I could find my bearings. The city itself is not so photogenic in the daytime and I kept my camera in my bag as I concentrated on staying in the shade as much as possible. I found a rather large street and this began my path to my hotel but am saddened to say that I stopped at a McDonald's to have a bite but only because I
China - Nanning - the ' Old City ' Retains Character
The older section of town still has that local feel where neighbours chat over bowls of noodles and people still smile at you as you wander aimlessly. knew it was air-conditioned. It turned out to be a stroke of luck as soon, I was joined by an American named Don. He had been living in Nanning and Beihai for the past five years and he shared many stories and filled me with tips on the area and for my trip into SouthEast Asia. His knowledge has helped me to maintain my cool in tough situations and to take caution in situations that at home would not even warrant mild concern. He also took my map and showed my the exact way to my hotel. After saying my good byes, I left again into the heat, for the hotel. After ten minutes, I was asking strangers once again where my street was and as luck would have it, a woman whose English was near perfect heard me and set me on my final path. I rested again and that night treated myself to a fine seafood meal...I don't usually name places but I will in this instance. The seafood restaurant at the Wanxing Hotel was crowded and the menu brimming with fine looking meals. I ordered two halves of small lobsters ( or big shrimp...depending how you look
China - Nanning - Not Much to Clap About
The big Men of China celebrate years of progress. The people are the soul of a rather ' characterless ' city. at it ) and a large beer. While waiting for my second dish, it struck me that this was more of a place to see and be seen. The food was okay by any standard but not great and at the end of my meal, the bill I was presented with was outrageously inflated. I think I was the victim of the old ' one price for locals, another for tourists ' thing. I would not recommend the seafood restaurant at the Wanxing to anyone passing through the city. I would have been better served and my palate more satisfied at the noodle place next to my hotel. I was disappointed with the experience. The hext morning, I finished packing and took a taxi to Langdon, the long-distance bus terminal and headed south for Vietnam and Hanoi. To this day, I feel cheated by my meal there. It has left me with a bad impression of Nanning. I hope not to return there for any length of time again and would only use it as a transit point for the South or Hainan or Yunnan. The people of Nanning, however, proved to be as friendly and helpful as any in China. My spirit was not broken by the city because of the good nature of it's people. I will approach Nanning in a different way if I ever return.
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