Head south, from Hong Kong into Vietnam

Heading to Vietnam from Hong Kong is usually a breeze but the efforts increase slightly when you limit your transport options to be only land based. First leg of the journey involves taking a China train heading in the direction of Guangzhou. You can either take to Guangzhou East station and take a cab to another station in the city for the train heading to Nanning. Instead of crashing into another mega Chinese city, I bought a ticket to Foshan, (佛山, home to the legendary gongfu master, Wong Fei Hung 黃飛鴻) instead and transfer to the next train heading to Nanning in the same station after a 3 hour wait. Do take note that you will need to re-enter China at Foshan and standard visa requirements will apply for relevant folks. Another cheapest ticket meant that I was again allocated the top bed in the 6 bed berth layout, only this time, the compartments are all open plan. Most of the locals brought their own food whereas some simply bought the meals from the push trolleys that come by every 10 minutes or so. I did the same and it was pleasantly quite edible, and at a very affordable price of 15Y (~£1.50). It was quite interesting to see the varied food brought on board, ranging from traditional dumplings to spiced chicken drumsticks conveniently vacuum wrapped in ready-sale packs.

Arrived in Nanning at six the next morning and got my next train ticket to Pingxiang for 30Y, leaving at 8am to the Chinese/Vietnam border town in 3 hours. Managed to grab some porridge with you tiao (kind of fried dough fritter) for breakfast before the clouds opened and started to pour. As the train snake through the hills and valley completely covered with lush greenery, the train attendants started to come around the cars selling strange things from toothbrushes to UV mini torchlights (they argued that it was very useful to spot fake notes) to 3-for-10Y "top range" socks. One do need to be always wary of everything that is going around you, especially keeping an eye on your belongings as the train was completely packed to the brim. At Pingxiang, bargain hard with the rows of mini vans and tuk tuks lined up outside the rail station. It is worthwhile to exchange some Vietnamese Dong from the ones carrying stacks of millions in their hands as I did not see any ATM machines at the border. Paid 5Y sharing a mini van of 5 to the "Friendship Pass", named to signify the warm relationship between the countries. Locals are not entirely surprised to see backpackers crossing into Vietnam from here but it is still quite unusual, which is good as it meant that prices are kept to the local standard. The Chinese immigration was a breeze but over at the Vietnamese end, one will need to hand over your passport together with the immigration forms to the counter and wait for your name to be called out after it has been verified and stamped. After which you will have to pay another 3Y for a "doctor" to certify you OK before you put your bags through the scanner. Outside the border, look out for buses that head directly into Hanoi, another 4 hour slow journey due to the country's speed restrictions, costing roughly 80,000 Dong for the trip. With the cheap price comes the need to share with fellow "travelers" as the mini van will attempt to pick up as many people heading into the direction of the capital as possible along the way. At one point, it was so crowded that people literally had to "stand" in the van! I was hastily dropped off along a road in Hanoi to take a xe om, or motorbike to the Hanoi Backpackers' hostel as the van was not willing to drive through the Old Quarter. Been a frugal traveler, I ended up taking a 20min stroll through the hustle and bustle of the city landscape, lined with narrow streets filled up with roadside hawkers selling tasty snacks and fruits, crossing the roads like an old pro with millions of motorbikes screaming past, always making sure that the motorists can see me, and avoid me...