Bullet Train to Nanning--June 21, 2014

Lots of rain as I left Guilin on the bullet train. I rode in the 2nd class coach and passed some beautiful scenery on the way to Nanning. The train got up to 198 km/hr enroute and made only one stop in the 2 hours 40-minute trip. What a shame that we do not have such a fast, efficient train system like this in the US to connect our major cities at a cheap price---under $20USD for this 241 mile trip with an average speed of 90 mph, including one-stop.

With this quick trip down to Nanning, I was entertained by some beautiful scenery of karsts amid rice fields and other crops. Some were a bit flooded with severe rainy weather.

I am so glad that I got my Vietnam Visa in Seattle rather than getting it here in Nanning since it is a large city undergoing a lot of construction of a subway system.

Along with the other travelers, I exit the train platform using my crowd shuffle walk as I approach the last set of stairs and escalators.

The entire downtown area is torn up with the construction of a subway that will connect the Rail Station with the rest of the city. So much construction is going on here and elsewhere in China that people say that the Chinese National Bird is the construction crane.

I left my backpack at the rail station so I could explore downtown Nanning. I saw that there was a river running through the city about 4-6 blocks away. I thought that I would find some restaurants along the bank of the river. When I got to the river it both looked and smelled like an open sewer and there were no restaurants to be found there. 

I returned to the Rail Station area and had a simple cafeteria lunch of cauliflower with pork, green beans with inedible sausage, and eggplant, all for about 7 RMB--just over $1--and barely worth that.