Thorn Tree travel forum

1

1 the nanning is modernist city in guangxi ,the government invest huge money to build a new city recently years . it is worth going around the city if you stay overnight

2.the bus to Hanoi will spend 7-8hours. Form nanning to pinxiang border will spend 2hours 30mins ,the road is express highway ,and landscape along road is great ,try take left seat with driver side .
When you get into Vietnam change other bus cleaning and modern ,but there is speed limit 60km/hour ,so will spend 5 hours, it is slow like sightseeing bus . there is TV on bus ,you can ask the driver play the MTV video which have English ,Vietnam, Chinese language to kill the time.

2

I really can't see any bus getting from Nanning to Hanoi in 5 hrs. Even if you do not have to change buses, I've done it a couple of times and have never got through the border checks in less than an hour, the whole trip takes closer to 8 hrs. And zqbuddy is right about the speed limit in VN and the road is nowhere near as good as the one in China. I never did manage to score a 'clean, modern bus' maybe they have changed in the last 2yrs!

People with the powers of observation are often called cynics by those that don't have them. G.B.S

3

You should have taken the nice comfortable soft seat bus to Nanning for Y90- modern express bus takes about 5 hours.
Then bought a ticket at Nanning for Hanoi for about 135 RMB-modern express bus leaves at about 7.30am and gets to Hanoi about 3.30pm from memory.
Good accomodation is available at Nanning for Y50 in the large hotel right across from the railway station and 300 metres from where the Hanoi bus leaves from
Total cost should have been Y275. Sorry to say they ripped you off
The train ticket is sure to be a hard seat from Guilin. I bet I know where you got this ticket (the agency below the Guilin Youth Hostel).

If someone doesn't meet you just go to the hotel above as mentioned and stay the night there. The ticket office for the Hanoi bus is just a few hundred metre down the street from the hotel.
It is always risky depending on the sort of arrangements you have made with this agency. Hope it works out for you.