GOOD NIGHT VIETNAM!

Well yesterday (27th March) I headed from Hanoi in search of Nanning China. I amped myself up for a rustic crappy bus and was overwhelmed when I boarded a cruiser bus which had soft seats, air con , leg room and good tunes cranking all the way. A 10 hour bus ride felt like 10 minutes. I soaked in the countryside and enjoyed the views until I came to the border. I checked through the border where the passpot control officer gave me suspicious grief for no reason before finally saying "okay" and nothing else.....twat! (He's just jealous because he can't have long hair whilst in the military.....sucker....no ladies for you!). Back on the bus and 5 hours later I arrived in the so-far, so-good city of Nanning. I checked into a hotel opposite the train station which has been recommended by the lonely planet. It is the cheapest place in town. For 6 NZ dollars you get a double bed, TV, a fan, clean sheets, clean pillow, tea and coffee, and lights......SWEET! Last night I as always went for a wander around the streets. I came across people singing Karaoke in the park and people practicing their ballroom dancing moves beside them. Onwards I bought a piece of sugarcane and chewed away happily whilst I strutted with my chest out and zipper down.....DOH!!! After zipping back up and a few hundred metres down the main drag I saw a bar and like a fly headed towards the bright light. It turned out to be a guitar bar. I sat down and started a beer but before I finished the bar manager sat down with me and started playing yahtzee with me. It is a great drinking game I discovered and she was really good at it. We got talking about things and then the night faded into the morning and it was time to call it quits. I wandered outside and quickly realized I was lost.....damn. I took a slash on a power pole down an alley and then proceeded in the "right direction". After a while I knew it was hopeless so I asked a friendly chinese chap using sign language and "CHOO CHOO" noises where the train station was. He then told his girlfriend to get off the back of his scooter and wait. He gestured for me to get on the back and I pointed to his girlfriend with a questioning look that I hope sent the message "what about her?". He said something in mandarin and pulled me on the back........get in that kitchen and cook me some eggs flashed through my mind.We drifted into the night and eventually pulled up beside my hotel. "Shee shee" I said, and he said "no problem". I hope his girlfriend was okay!! What a great fellow though! These people just keep getting better and better!