Hey Hey and a Big G'Day to you

Up much much too early and shambled around until we arrived at the bus station.

Argh, to travel in style. A Korean super bus! Ya gotta luvem and the changes in Chinas transport! For the next four or so hours we dodged oncoming traffic with a few hairy moments but we made it in one piece.

I should be used to this by now but something tells me I may never get 'that' used to it.

Kylie and I were met by Kitty's brother whom we later named Max and taken back to their place for some refreshments. Their little one, Golden Dragon is his name, could keep anyone amused for hours. Max had organised our accommodation and we were soon taken to our hotel...um....well, I'd like to tell you stories of smells and hairs found in the bed amongst bugs and blood spots but, that's my past..cough cough, we have people whom know people.

Yes, no hostels or cheap hotels for us on the first few legs of our journey.

We are entering a new world of comfort zones called 3 to 5 Star Hotels. Oh to be in the know, and the cost???? I won't even bother to inform you of the rates we got, you would cringe at the mere comparison to what you pay for a guesthouse or hostel room...plus the added bugs and hairs!

I'll admit it, I've never actually travelled this way before, except when the Australian Government sent me on another Client Liaison Course to somewhere like Coogee Beach in Sydney Australia. Well, hey, if ya gotta go, ya gotta go! Anyhow, back to 'thy splendour of it all'. Dunno what the place was called, but it had Seafood in it, or was that the one when we returned to Nanning? Oh to be part of the 'Comfort Zone' travel class. You don't even have to know the name of your hotel and find it from a guide book or do the hotel hop until you find one in your price range.

Eg: Your standing on the street corner looking in both directions cause you actually have no idea which way to hold the book, mainly because you can't read the damn signs. Yes, Yes, for now, that is in my past (it's actually more fun than the Comfort Zone travel class which gets rather boring and very quickly).

OK, Nanning is just beautiful.

It has changed a lot since I was here 5 years ago. I guess it was beginning it's change then. Now it's streets are full of trees and parks and happy relaxed people. It's a different way of doing things in China and I do hope this trend spreads. There just are not enough places to sit and relax in Chinese cities without having to pay to get in or buy something first.

In Nanning, head for the main lake in the middle of town.

It's just awesome to walk around. No you don't see magical mountains in the background, but its part of the new way of thinking in China. There is a walking, riding, or running track, stalls and grass, soooo so much grass to sit on. It's just like being...well, anywhere but in a Chinese city.

Maybe that's just a little too cruel!

Anyhow, after dining with Kitty's family we walked and walked and talked our way around the lake until it was time to..oh despair....to go back to the hotel! Crisp white sheets, fluffy pillows, a little table with gadgets on it. You can even turn the TV off without using the remote control! My my, is it real, is the remote control finally a thing of the past! Do we now not have to look under pillows in search for what can never be found.

Anyhow, no Yiling Cave, no Daming Shan or not even Yangmei was visited this time around. No time and too much comfort! This time I could have a bath....yes, my first bath for 7 months! No, not my first wash! I do have a shower..thing, where I get to wash with last nights dinner scraps as the kitchen sink goes directly onto my bathroom floor..theres nothing wrong with showering amongst Water Spinach or Tofu, it's the damn bones you have to worry about!

Good Night peasants.....Beers N Noodles Toya...shane