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A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Pingan, China by TravelPod blogger Jef_smi titled “Trip Highlight” Jef_smi’s travel blog entry: “Perfect days rarely involve bus rides. The one today involved three. We hopped on our first bus from Yangshuo to Guilin without any wait. I sat up front beside the driver with a big smile on my face, enjoying the beautiful view. In Guilin, I managed to buy train tickets (to be used a few days later), ask for directions to the bank, and ask how far to the city’s other train station, all in Chinese. This was a great accomplishment for me. We got on another bus (without a wait) to Longsheng and from there found yet another bus to our ultimate destination of Ping An without a problem. Every ride was set in majestic scenery slowly changing from the otherworldly karst peaks of Yangshuo to the geometric harmony of the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces in Ping An. Upon our arrival in the six-hundred-year-old village of Ping An, we were greeted by a sweet old granny offering accomodation in Mandarin. We followed her hunched frame, refusing all smiling offers to carry our packs up the two hundred stairs to her home and found some of the best accommodation that we have had on the trip. The view from our giant windows was breathtaking and dinner downstairs mouthwatering. (Although our hearts can probably only take one or two more meals of pumpkin, rice and pure pig fat.) After dinner we took a (slow) walk around the sleeping Zhuang …
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A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Nanning, China by TravelPod blogger Sarahbooth titled “Heading towards Vietnam” Sarahbooth’s travel blog entry: “Tuesday the 19th of September 2006. We got a taxi to the train station, bought food and drink and then went to the soft sleepers waiting area. Posher more comfortable seats than everyone else gets. We also got a very loud station attendant who was very annoyed that someone had moved her tables. Very posh train. The same set up as the Trans Mongolian had been. We were lucky to all four be in one compartment. We chatted for a while but as I was lying down on my top bunk I was soon asleep. The train left at 23:30, on time. Wednesday the 20th of September 2006. Train tracks across China. Jiayuguan to Nanning 1491 miles, 54.5 hours. I slept really well it was a smooth journey, shame not to see any of it again. There were a lot of long tunnels before we finally arrived at Lanzhou at 09:00. I had managed to see the Yellow River that has carved this deep valley; it’s very muddy and more brown than yellow. The hills around were very dry but the flatter areas of the valley were filled with farm produce. A tall statue had been built on one of the hills nearby I couldn’t see what it was meant to be just that it stood out. On many of the hills were temples, or rather what looked like them The Japanese guy came to the ticket office with us. Nicki wanted to book her train for Saturday but can’t book that far ahead. He asked …
