14. Vietnam and China Itinerary - Final Draft

Back in post 4, I wrote my itinerary for both China and Vietnam which at the time was the final one, but after some advice from a couple of people living in China, have now revised the Shanghai/Suzhou/Hangzhou section. After checking flight times Shanghai>Hong Kong, I've decided to fly to Hong Kong a day early. This gives me a little extra time, particularly if I arrive latish in the afternoon. Bearing in mind the 23rd is the Dragonboat Festival, I'd prefer to be there the day before to give me time to sort of find out about buses and transport to go to Stanley which is on Hong Kong Island and where the festival is held.

My final itinerary for this trip is as follows:

Thu 17 - Arrive Kuala Lumpur
Fri 18 - Saigon arrive 10.10am
Sat 19 - Saigon
Sun 20 - Mekong Delta
Mon 21 - Mekong Delta - o/n Saigon

Tue 22 - Saigon to Dalat
Wed 23 - Dalat

Thu 24 - Dalat to Nha Trang
Fri 25 - Nha Trang - o/n train. Depart 22.12 Train SH2. Arrive Danang 8.59. Get bus.

Sat 26 - Hoi An
Sun 27 - Hoi An

Mon 28 - Hoi An to Hue. Depart 8.00 arrive 4.30 with Easyrider.
Tue 29 - Hue
Wed 30 - Hue - o/n train. Depart 17.11 Train SE4

Thu 31 - Hanoi
Fri 01 - Hanoi - o/n train. Train SP1 depart 21.10pm

Sat 02 - Sapa - Arrive Lao Cai 5.25am then bus.
Sun 03 - Sapa & Bac Ha - o/n train. Train SP2 depart 20.05pm

Mon 04 - Hanoi arrive 4.35am. Breakfast then 7.30 pickup for Halong Bay
Tue 05 - Halong Bay to Hanoi arrive 17.00pm

Wed 06 - Hanoi to Xi'an (fly) depart 11.45 arrive 19.05
Thu 07 - Xi'an ~ Terracotta Army
Fri 08 - Xi'an ~ Wild panda base? Tang Dynasty Music & Dancing Show?
Sat 09 - Xi'an - o/n train. Train 2672: Depart Xian 22.48, arrive Pingyao 7.08

Sun 10 - Pingyao
Mon 11 - Pingyao
Tue 12 - Pingyao - o/n train. K604: Depart Pingyao 18.47, arrive Beijing West 6.28

Wed 13 - Beijing
Thu 14 - Beijing ~ Great Wall Mutianyu
Fri 15 - Beijing ~ Day tour Forbidden Palace etc.
Sat 16 - Beijing - o/n train. T109: Depart Beijing 19.28, arrive Suzhou 9.17 or D311: Depart Beijing 20.52, arrive Suzhou 7.49 (costs $30 more)

Sun 17 - Suzhou
Mon 18 - Suzhou ~ Morning, taxi/bus to Tongli, early afternoon return to Suzhou. Bus to Hangzhou (from South long-distance bus station (qiche nanzhan; cnr Yingchun Lu & Nanhuan Donglu)
Tue 19 - Hangzhou

Wed 20 - Hangzhou to Shanghai
Thu 21 - Shanghai

Fri 22 - Shanghai to Hong Kong
Sat 23 - Hong Kong ~ Dragonboat Festival
Sun 24 - Hong Kong
Mon 25 - Hong Kong ~ Day trip to Macau?

Tue 26 - Hong Kong - afternoon flight to KL
Wed 27 - Kl to Melb

13. Travel Between Suzhou, Hangzhou & Shanghai

Suzhou to Hangzhou
From the South long-distance bus station (qiche nanzhan; cnr Yingchun Lu & Nanhuan Donglu) buses to Hangzhou run every 20 minutes, cost 70 RMB and take 2 hours.

Suzhou to Tongli
The bus station is to the south of the train station in Suzhou. Costs 8 RMB, takes 45 minutes. There are also buses from the north bus station, south bus station and the Wuzhong bus station to Tongli. Same price.

Hangzhou to Wuzhen
Buse from the east bus station hourly, cost 25 RMB, takes one hour. From Wuzhen to Hangzhou, minibuses for Y14.

Hangzhou to Shanghai
Five express trains daily, cost 40 RMB, take 2 hours
From Hángzhōu’s main train station.?

12. China - Trains

XIAN TO PINGYAO
Saturday 9 June
2670: Depart Xian 20.46, arrive Pingyao 6.01
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 206 RMB ($30.92)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 133 RMB ($19.62)
(Train 2670 is from Baoji to Taiyuan)

K90: Depart Xian South 22.19, arrive Pingyao 7.38
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 232 RMB ($34.23)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 154 RMB ($22.72)
(Train K90 is from Chongqing North to Taiyuan)

2672: Depart Xian 22.48, arrive Pingyao 7.08
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 206 RMB ($30.39)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 133 RMB ($19.62)
(Train 2672 is from Xian to Datong)


PINGYAO TO BEIJING
Tuesday 12 June
K604: Depart Pingyao 18.47, arrive Beijing West 6.28
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 254 RMB ($37.44)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 169 RMB ($24.91)
Train K604 is from Yuncheng to Beijing West

1164: Depart Pingyao 21.48, arrive Beijing West 10.16
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 243 RMB ($35.83)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 158 RMB ($23.30)
Train 1164 is from Hancheng to Beijing West



BEIJING TO SUZHOU
Saturday 16 June
T109: Depart Beijing 19.28, arrive Suzhou 9.17
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper ( Lower ): 472 RMB ($69.62)
Ticket price: Hard Sleeper ( Lower ): 308 RMB ($45.42)
(Train T109 is from Beijing to Shanghai

D311: Depart Beijing 20.52, arrive Suzhou 7.49
Ticket price: Soft Sleeper (Lower):691 RMB ($101.89)
Ticket price: No hard sleeper
Train D311 is from Beijing to Shanghai


Hangzhou to Shanghai
Trains run regularly from Hangzhou station and Hangzhou South station to Shanghai Station and Shanghai Hongqiao. Average time on train is 2 hours and ticket price ranges from $11 and up, depending on train.

11. Shanghai/Hangzhou/Suzhou/Tongli Loop

Initially I had six nights for this part of my trip, but am going to Hong Kong a day earlier which leaves me with five. I'll most likely get the overnight train from Beijing on Saturday 16th arriving in Shanghai Sunday morning, although Spring Airlines show one daily flight for $31.50 ($60 with taxes), but it leaves at the unfortunate time of 6.30am which would mean getting up pretty early. How early I don't know but probably around 4.30am. If I opt for flying, I will need to know how long it takes to get to the airport and how early I need to be there.

Anyway, back to the trip - was thinking of two nights each in Shanghai, Hangzhou and then either Suzhou or Tongli in that order. Now I'm not so sure. I've heard that Shanghai doesn't have much to offer and it's just a city. The two areas I want to see are the bund and French Concession.

Will probably stay in the bund area as I've yet to find budget accommodation in the French area. The Captain Hostel which I had been my earlier choice has now flown out the window as I've read so many bad reports about this hostel that I ask myself is it worth it to stay there just for the view (of the Bund at night?) If not there, I will stay at Mingtown Etour Youth Hostel. No views of the Bund but a nice atmosphere according to what I've read.

Getting back to the original quandry - do I still keep the order of staying or would I be best to put Shanghai last? The one advantage I can see is now that I have a day and night less, by leaving Shanghai last, I'll have a bit of extra time to look around before flying out. Would I be best to have one or two nights in Hangzhou?

If I stick to my original plan, I can still go direct the airport from Suzhou. Doing some research, there are uses from Suzhou to PVG (Pudong Airport). They leave from 115, Ganjiang Xi Lu, Jinchang District and take 3 hours. (I just saw that then). Timetable is 06:20 07:20 07:50 08:20 08:50 09:20 09:50 10:20 10:50 11:30 12:10 12:50 13:30 14:10 14:50 15:30 16:10 and the Fare is CNY84. I found this link which has plenty of info re transport to and from Suzhou.

Hmm decisions, decisions, decisions.

10. Hong Kong Accommodation

Accommodation in Hong Kong isn't cheap and I wanted something "nice" and had decided on the Salisbury which is run by the YMCA. Apart from the rooms, they also have 4 bed dorms and you stand a better chance of getting a bed if you book early.

So, with this in mind, I went to their online reservation page but found the dorms aren't listed, only the rooms. Not sure why that is, so I emailed them asking for three nights and received a reply the next day asking me to confirm.

I checked the airline website to see the time(s) of arrival and decided to stay four night because by the time I arrive, get to the hotel, check-in etc, there won't be that much time. Anyway I emailed them with my confirmation stating four nights and said I'd send them my flight details after booking. The dates on the airline's website are listed until 6th June and I figure it'll be about 18 or 19 days before the 22 June is up. Today I received a confirmation email. The cost is HK$260.00 plus 10% service charge per bed per night, no tax per night which equates to $31.32 (AUD) and with the 10% is $34.45. I don't know why they just don't say the rate is HK286 rather than 260 plus 26 which is 10%. This is more than I can afford for accommodation but at least I can get cheaper accommodation in other places so it sort of balances out. I hope. (That's what happens when you see Air Asia have another sale and you get all excited!)

Great Location
I must say the location is really good - it's on the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Admittedly you won't get harbour views from a dorm but I'll have access to all the same facilities that the well-heeled will. It's only a two minute walk to the Star Ferry, a minute or two to the train station and a minute's walk to the "Golden Mile" - Nathan Road, Hong Kong's most well-known street.

Above: Salisbury Hotel
They have two pools - a "proper" one with six lanes and a leisure and children's pool. I'll go in that one, can't swim to save my life but I'll enjoy sitting in a pool. They have a coupled of dining areas - I just know I'll never be able to afford to eat in the dining room or the Mall Cafe if it comes to that, and probably not even in the Podium Garden but it will certainly be very nice sitting in the garden one with a cuppa tea or coffee. Unfortunately, I doubt that they have a self catering kitchen (which is what you find in hostels) and I'm considering buying one of those little travel kettles so I can boil up some water and make my own tea and coffee. It's easy enough to have tea-bags and coffee, but the milk might be a problem. And I do detest black tea even worse that black coffee.
Ah well, I'll just have to wait and see.

Above: Location map

Good Service
I might have had a bit of a whinge about paying thirty odd bucks a night but there are a lot of good benefits from staying at this place and the Door to Door coach service from the airport is one of them. This Airport to Hotel service costs HK$130 - $15.65. They told me to Please contact the kiosk counter B1 opposite to Exit B, a sign says "Hotel Shuttle" after passing through the customs check in arrival hall at the airport. (The last coach from the airport to hotel is at midnight).
I think I will avail myself of this - sooo much easier getting picked up and taken straight to the hotel. When I was in Siem Reap a couple of years ago, the guesthouse I stayed at had their own tuk-tuk drivers who meet you at the airport. It was the first time I'd been "met". I felt like one of the rich - you know, them folks who when they get off the plane just look for a sign with their name on it and it's all taken care of! Ah bliss.

9. Across the Border Vietnam to China

Well, my itinerary has changed yet again. While checking out the cost of flights with Spring Airlines, Shanghai to Hong Kong, June's dates (apart from the first three days) hadn't yet been loaded onto the website. The "special" priced fares were $31 and $47 (give or take a number of cents) so I will be checking them every few days and as soon as the date (22 or 23 June) is up, I plan on booking my flight there and then.

Out of curiosity, I also checked the cost of flights Nanning to Xi'an. Spring Airlines don't fly this route, but China Southern do and the cost was prohibitive expensive... well at least in my book anyway. Didn't matter which dates I entered, whether it be in a week's time, a month's time or three or four months hence ~ the cost was still the same.

Hmmm..let's check Hanoi
So ... I then thought I'd see if they flew from Hanoi and what that would cost.
 Surprise, surprise - it is cheaper to fly from Hanoi to Xi'an than it is to fly from Nanning to Xi'an! I couldn't believe my eyes, or should I say my luck!

A flight from Nanning was $315 (that's US dollars) compared to $270 from Hanoi. Not only would I save $45, I'd also be saving the bus fare. And a lot of time too. So ... instead of getting the bus Hanoi to Nanning on the 6th June with an overnight in Nanning and a flight the next day; I'll be flying on the 6th to Xi'an. I won't arrive at the airport until just after 7.00pm (providing the flights aren't delayed) but that doesn't matter. It cuts out a lot of messing about. And, and this is most important, I will be able to show entry into China when I apply for my Chinese visa. (From what I've heard and read, they've tightened up pretty strongly since last December.

Anyway, the flight is not direct - change planes at Guangzhou. First flight departs Hanoi at 11:45 and arrives Guangzhou 14.20. Second flight departs (Guangzhou) 16.50 and arrives in Xi'an at 19.05. I'll have a 2.30 hour wait at the airport which I don't mind - I'll be able to buy something to eat, have a coffee, and a look around. Although just how much time I'll actually have I'm not sure as I'll have to go through immigration, show visa etc.

The Fly in the Ointment
There's only one problem - I haven't received my E-ticket. According to China Southern's website, below is a sample of an E-ticket.

Above: Sample of E-ticket

I did get a "Confirmation for reservation" email which was identical to what was on screen when I had finished booking and paying. Plus I also received not one, but two, emails which had "Electronic ticket passenger itinerary receipt" which has the information about the flight - date, flight number etc. , what to show at check-in etc. But no E-ticket. It just looks like somebody has typed words and numbers in an email and then sent it.

So ... I have contacted the airline by email and will wait and see.

8. Bus from Hanoi to Nanning

Hanoi to Nanning

Initially I had planed on getting the overnight train from Hanoi to Nanning, but having heard people say that there's 2 hour wait at the border - changing trains etc., I thought it might be more feasible to get the bus which leaves Hanoi in the morning and arrives at Nanning in the late afternoon. This would necessitate a night in Nanning, unless there was a late flight.

From my research, all I have been able to find is a few lines from a travel forum. In the hope that it will help others who may read this blog, I write it here for you -

From the LP website (dated August 2007):
Kim Lien Hotel
7 Dao Duy Anh Street, Hanoi
Tel: 0084-4-5770434 (if you are in Hanoi, call 5770434)
Or: 0084-25-716077 (this tel is in Lang Son or Dong Dang town)

The bus leaves Kim Lien Hotel in Hanoi at 8:30am or 9:20am daily, and arrives in Nanning at 4:00pm or 5:00pm. Change the bus at the border?

Ticket costs VND 270,000 (US$16) one way.

How true this is in 2012, I do not know, but if and when I find further and/or updated information, I will post it here. Failing that, after I have made the journey, I will write about it and provide all the details.