Mirage Hotel Nanning

... steps forward! While Obama, had essentially been a follower of brave president Hu! (some Obama knockers I know might agree with the Chinese version of events!).<br><br>Moving on now, after a few days in Kunming we made a 19 hour train journey (one of many long loooooong train journeys we've had!) to Chengdu. However not everything went to plan once again, we were on a night sleeper train, but didn't realize until early in the morning that our train had ...

... showed us the bus stop of Nr 2 to Big Bus station of Nanning.<br><br>Nanning........strange city, yes it took us more than an hour to get to the big bus station, but Nanning is a huge city. The bus drove over boulevards so wide as highways in the States. All surrounded by huge tall buildings. Than as darkness set in, all the buildings were lit up as if you were driving down the Strip in Las Vegas.!! Crazy, and weird to see. But okay..as long as we get too that Big Big Bus ...

This is my very first trip abroad with my best-friends, and i couldn't be more happier than spending 3-4 days with Irma &amp; Lisa...<br>It's the perfect getaway for our independence day weekend..<br><br>Booked ourselves travel package which include everything at reasonable price (i haven't been on "group tour" for such a long time, lately ...

... A small, compact and clean place called Lotusland, it only opened 8months ago and can only have 20 guests staying here at a time; because of this, Izzy and I have found ourselves almost virtually the only guests, giving us unlimited access to free internet and watching dvd back to back without interruption (our first dvds we have seen in 3months - Izzy also read a 'Hemingway').<br><br>Waiting for this visa malarky ain't half bad!!!! We leave for Hanoi tomorrow. <br>

... it was "delicious food" (I've picked up that the Chinese say "delicious food" instead of just" food")! I'll definitely cook this from time to time when I get back to England. We had quite a slow day before Sarah left after lunch, and I left at 7pm for the sleeper train, leaving Steve for another night in Nanning. The train was a bit of a culture shock. There was a lot of loud personal music, loud taking. slurping of food and drinks ...

... dark - the woman did radio to put some lights on - we were going down and under the tracks and up to the platform where our shortened train was. Back on and we all go to bed. We are then woken up just about midnight by a knock at the door, we unlock it and the man turns on the lights and says passports. Next man gives us exit forms to fill out. Then this short very round faced, very serious man in the green military uniform comes in and takes our passports one by one ...

Monday dawned sunny, but hazy. It was difficult for me to guess why. Was it because of pollution which the West, at least when China is concerned, talks much about? Or was it a natural climatic phenomenon? I couldn´t know, but sky this morning in Nánníng was no sky from a postcard. Well, it was as it was. If there is something you can´t influence, then it´s weather. Yan Hua and I decided to go to the railway station after breakfast. Our plan for tomorrow held the trip to Guìlín in ...

Backpacker savant Tom Carter offers his top five "real" China destinations: Shandong Where Chinese civilization as we know it began, Shandong is a wealth of history and tradition. From the birthplaces of Sun Tzu and Confucius to sacred Tai Shan, this is Han culture at its most unadulterated. Ningxia The smallest and least ...

... ate and chatted mostly about me and my reading or writing. They had been fascinated with my postcards and therefore where I had been. They were amazed that I kept myself so busy. More food was produced for me too. They were all back in bed by 19:45. Although one guy left at 01:00. I read, wrote postcards and did sudoku until 23:00, not tired at all. Friday the 22nd of September 2006. Sorting out Vietnam in Nanning. We were woken at 05:50 to have our tickets swapped for the ...

... later that night. I even had time to sort and extra visa for China (as entering Hong Kong or Macau is technically leaving the PRC, meaning re-entry would require a new visa). So I needen't have worried about being late - China is amazing and fast to travel in these days, even in remote areas and from smaller cities like Nanning. Apart from language difficulties, I reckon this will be a great place to ...