Kevin and Lily In Transit: Goodbye Vietnam, Hello China

Hanoi, the country’s capital, was our last stop in Vietnam. Who knew that both getting in and getting out of this place would end up being a nightmare. We were supposed to catch the last plane to Hanoi at around 10PM. We showed up at the airport well before boarding time, and were told that the plane was delayed half an hour. After waiting in the boarding lounge for a while, the status became delayed until further notice. Finally, there was another announcement that the plane was cancelled. All the remaining passengers waiting for this flight (there were about 40 of us) shuffled back to the ticket counter to see what the situation was all about. We were told that due to inclement weather, the plane was cancelled until the next morning. Huh, that’s funny…there was a plane that just left about 30 minutes ago. OK, fine, whatever. It’s an annoyance but we’ll get compensated somehow right? WRONG! Apparently, because it’s due to the weather, there was nothing Vietnamese Airlines could do. Not only would we have to go back to the city centre, we’d have to pay for a night’s stay, and pay for the taxi ride in the next day. Not to mention that many of the passengers, us included, had already paid for a hotel in Hanoi. After much arguing on our part, and apathetic responses on their part, there was nothing we could do but go back to the city centre. I’m not one to conspire, but something tells me that the “bad weather” was actually a plane with not enough passengers so they just decided to cancel our flight and stick us with the people on the next flight to save money.

The city of Hanoi was pleasant. We stayed in the Old Quarter of town and it was like being transported back in time. The old French-influenced buildings, the ladies in traditional conical hats selling fruits in baskets on the street, and the smell of everything imaginable, made me feel like we were walking through a movie set. We decided to get a little cultured with their arts scene and went to watch a traditional water puppet show that night. Apparently, it’s an ancient art form that has been around for thousands of years, but was only discovered in the ‘60s. The puppets are manoeuvered by puppeteers behind a curtain, who make the puppets seem like they are dancing on the water.

The next morning, we headed to the bus station to leave Vietnam and finally enter China. We were told to wait in the waiting area by two separate people. Our bus was for 9:30AM, and after not hearing any announcements at 9:32, we went to ask someone. The girl manning the counter looked at us and apologetically said that the bus had left already. WHAT?? How could the bus have left already when there was no announcement, no person, no nothing telling us that the bus was leaving? She called her boss down, who was this woman who came charging at us and yelling at us to get on a taxi immediately and get to some other destination to catch the bus. She was yelling at us saying that 9:30 was when the bus leaves the station and that we should have been waiting to board the bus before that. But how were we supposed to know which bus to board and when we should board if people had told us to wait where we were waiting? So, surely the bus company would pay for our ride to the other bus stop. In our dreams. After much arguing in raised voices, arms flailing, and finger pointing, we had no choice but to get our butts to the other bus station, and footing the questionable taxi fee in the end.

We never thought we’d say this but, when passed through customs and stepped on to Chinese soil, it felt as if we were given a Get Out of Jail Free card. The facilities were nicer, the roads were smoother, and there was actually more control than chaos. We’re in the province of Guanxi, and heading to the city of Guilin. There’s an expression in Chinese that Guilin is better than heaven (in terms of scenery) so we’re excited to verify this statement.

Last night, we went to the place to eat in Nanning. It’s a street where every night, you can eat, snack, and sample all sorts of things yummy. We ended our tour with having a feast that we had to pack up because it was too big. Before that though, Kevin wanted to be adventurous. Here's how it played out...