21 July 2018, Saturday
After a well-rested night, I woke up at about 10am and continued lazing on my comfy round bed before heading out to take a short walk around my hotel. It was another hot day at 36 degrees Celsius but I felt much lighter and cooler with my fresh haircut.
After buying a couple of T-shirts from Baleno, I checked out of my hotel at 11:50am and took the Metro from Huangxing Square to South Railway Station. The train ride cost only CNY 4 (S$0.83).
Changsha South Railway Station is a major transport hub in South-Central China and it has connections to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and even Hong Kong. It is a massive railway station with a lot of people. I had a meal at McDonald’s before boarding my G1545 high-speed train. My second-class ticket cost CNY 306.50.
As usual, the train was clean and comfortable, and very fast. According to Google Maps, the distance from Changsha to Nanning (南宁) is 874km and the train covered the distance in just under six hours. I departed Changsha at 1:26pm and arrived at Nanning East Railway Station (南宁东火车站) at 7:22pm.
Along the way, the train passed by Guilin (桂林市), a city that is famous for its beautiful limestone karst hill landscapes. After Guilin, the stretch from Liuzhou (柳州市) to Laibin (来宾市) was particularly scenic, with many hills, rice fields and rural villages. It looked a little like Vietnam’s Halong Bay on land.
After disembarking from the train at Nanning East Railway Station, I struggled a little as I hadn’t done my research beforehand on the best way to go to the city centre. The lady who sat beside me on the train earlier saw me looking lost. She came up to me and asked me where I was going. She then offered to lead me to the bus station since she was going the same way.
When the local BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) bus service B01 arrived, she hopped on with me and even helped me pay for my fare (a standard flat fee of CNY 2/S$0.42 per ride) because I did not have a WeChat Pay account. The bus only accepted only WeChat payment. I wanted to pay her back in cash but she steadfastly refused to accept my money.
I felt bad that I didn’t even talk to her during the hours-long train ride earlier. Even though it was only a small sum of CNY 2, it was a big gesture and I appreciated it a lot. There are good people in the world, and no kind act is too small to go unnoticed!
The bus B01 departed Nanning East Railway Station at 7:36pm and made its way towards Nanning Railway Station (南宁火车站). From what the lady told me, I was to alight at the second-last stop at Chaoyang Square (朝阳广场), the station nearest to my hotel.
I always feel a little less secure taking a bus compared to taking the Metro, because there is a chance that I may miss my stop. This is especially so at night, when it is dark outside and I cannot recognise the surroundings easily. However, there was an LCD panel on the bus showing the progress of the journey so I could keep track of how many stops there were to go. I believe most of our buses in Singapore do not even have this simple technology. It is such a simple thing but it will greatly enhance the rider’s experience, especially for tourists.
I alighted at Chaoyang Square at 8:11pm and walked towards my hotel, a short distance away. I later realised that the final stop at Nanning Railway Station was even nearer, but no matter, it was close enough.
The hotel I booked was called Phoenix Hotel Nanning, located at No. 63 Chaoyang Road. I chose it because it was close to the Nanning Railway Station, where I would be catching my train to Hanoi tomorrow. I paid CNY 168 (S$35.03) for a Twin Room, inclusive of breakfast. It was a very old-fashioned hotel, from the décor to the layout to the smell. The room was very big but there was no window. It was good enough for a short, one night stay so I didn’t mind it much.
Nanning is the capital city of Guangxi and it is the political, economic and cultural centre of the region. It borders Vietnam and is close to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. Nanning is not a place that tourists commonly visit, and the only reason why I am here is because it is along the way from Changsha to Hanoi, Vietnam.
After dropping my bags, I quickly freshened up and headed out again at 8:40pm. I walked back towards Chaoyang Square where the main commercial area was. Along Chaoyang Road, I saw a few department stores like Parkson and Nanning Department Store, but most of them were quite old.
It was a Saturday night and the streets were filled with locals out for some shopping, a meal or to catch the latest movie at the IMAX cinema. There were also a lot of motorbikes on the road, which reminded me of Vietnam already.
My heart leapt when I saw a BreadTalk outlet and I went to buy my favourite pork floss bun. I also bought a cup of my favourite Oolong milk tea from Gong Cha. Just some small indulgences to feel like I’m at home.
As it was late and dark, I didn’t stay out for long. I walked back to my hotel and had a good shower and rest. This was one of those long travelling days where nothing really exciting happened, but it was nonetheless, part of the grand adventure.