Sunshine is warmest, Chairman Mao is kindest

So after Huang Shan I got the bus back to Tunxi where I was approached by this woman who had a B&B at 160 RMB a night, so i took a look and surprisingly it was very nice, up to western standerds. I stayed there for a couple of nights, during which I did a days sightseeing at some old villages and homes from the ming dynasty and catching up on a bit of sleep.

When you stay in smaller places, places that deal with westerners, the people who run them always seem very nice at first,but you soon realize that they're after only your money. Mr Hu for example, I had lunch at his restaruant, twice, but he constantly tried to get me to go on his waterfall day tour, then tried to convince me that Tangkou was a better place to spend than Tunxi. The B&B in Tunxi, yes 16o RMB isnt exspensive but just take a look at there web site and see how much they actually charge, of course you don't know this when you've just stepped of the bus. People have said to me that I shouldn't worry to much about paying a little extra, yes as a gwai lo I expext to pay a little more but in China thay charge you 3,4,5 times what you should be paying.

But this is the price you pay for being at the budget end of things?, No not in China, four years ago I did a three day boat trip down the Yangzi river to see the 3 Gorges, paid the going rate and what happended, we only got to see one as the boat passed through the other two at night.
From Changsha to Nanning I took a bus, a 10 hour trip arriving at 11:00pm at the north bus station in Nanning, No, in reallity a 14 hour journey that drops you off at the toll gate on the express way!. I have many more examples but for now i'll leave it there, but its a common theme here in China and you either have to like it or lump it.

From Tunxi I took the 5:45am train to Jingdezhen the place to buy porcelain in China, I took a look at the market, plus the museum of ceramic history, just after lunch I then took a 4 hour bus trip to Nanchang, a big city, where I spent the night.

My mate Mao, Jingdezhen.

The follwing day I went south from Nangchang to another big city called Changsha, from there I went to Shaoshan the town in which Mao Zedong was born ( 3 hour bus trip). There I visited the house where he was born and grew up in ( free admission!), then the Mao Zedong Exhibition Hall and just as my guide book confirmed it had no mention of the cultural revolution. So it was another 3hr trip back to Changhsha where I booked the 10 hour bus ticket! to Nanning in Guanxi province. Nanning in south of the tropic of cancer and although its about 120 km south you do notice the change in humidity.

Sleeper bus to Nanning

The bus was a sleeper bus and it had 15 bunk beds, 3 rows of 5 and for a small person like me there was just enough room to move. It was until 10:30pm that I knew things weren't right, we had entered a city, the city of Guilin, I had been to Guilin a few times before and I know it takes about 3 hours to Nanning. In Guilin the coach pulled up and got two of its back tyres changed, which took about 40 minutes. The bus finally arrived at the Nanning toll gate on the express way at 3am where Tom( chinese friend) was waiting for me with a taxi.

Sound a light show, Nanning

The majority of gwai lo who goto Nanning are either heading to or from Vietnam or teaching english and its a greener city than most other cities I have been to in China. On friday evening we visited a park where every weekend they do a light and music show with fountains, which was quiet impressive, but apart form that I have not been up to much, oh and catching up on the blog. Yesterday I booked a flight for tuesday to Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, one of my favourite cities in China, the flight was half price, so only cost 650RMB, pretty good bearing in mind that there are no low cost airlines here.

Just read the shocking news that Arsenal have lost their second game of the season, plus my i pod has all gone pete tong!, what the hells going on?.