Korean Job Discussion Forums

[slideaway77]

I want to tour Vietnam then go to Shanghai so I can see it before flying back to Korea from this city.
Is it possible to do all of this in one month? Has anyone done this before? Where you pushed for time?

[chris_J2]

I've done HCMC (Ho Chi minh City) to Hong Kong, and HK to Shanghai, as 2 separate trips, each lasting about a month. Are you flying part of the way? You could get a domestic flight from Quanzhou to Ningbo, to skip the long, boring part of the road trip, by bus.

From Hanoi, get off the train at Guilin, & take a bus to Yangshuo, from there, you could go to Wuzhou to see the snake market. Then HK (skip HK, if a double entry visa, is too much hassle, Shenzhen will suffice), Shantou, Xiamen, Quanzhou/Chongwu, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Putuoshan (Island) then Hangzhou & Shanghai. I liked Suzhou, too. You'll be moving, but it's not impossible.

[moosehead]

Vietnam can be seductive - there's a lot to see and do there - Shanghai, not so much. depends on how you want to travel.

It's very popular to go from Shanghai down to s.e. asia - that's what I did so you'd just be doing the reverse. from Hanoi, take a train north to Lao Cai, which is the border of China and Vietnam - very intense area, that's the Sapa region of Vietnam and a lot of trekkers come thru, really interesting, plan on staying a few days.

you'll walk across the border to China, then you can take a bus to Yunnan which is very hairy - coming down from Yunnan it was a 10 hour ride, we crossed 3 mtn ranges and stopped on the 4th - that's where the border is. sometimes the roads were so narrow we had to pull over and wait for someone else to go first,not a lot of traffic tho, dirt roads sometimes, sheer overhangs and straight drops down - but some of the most beautiful country anywhere - they do the traditional steppe terrace farming there - absolutely breathtaking - literally - guy in front of me puked in his bag and mine too but the buses are very modern, air conditioned, they'll stop somewhere for a lunch which is included, no smoking on the bus, is a good trip.

Yunnan is an awesome city in Southern China - way more interesting than Shanghai - many ethnic groups converge here and the pleasant climate makes it a popular destination for the Chinese - from there you can either fly to Shanghai or take a sleeper train - I say go for it and take the train - very interesting, you'll meet people on there, really, and won't forget it ever. I went in 2005 and it was about $55 from Yunnan to Shanghai.

just pick up a map somewhere of China before you go and a mandarain (LP) phrase book if you take this route - you'll need it.

happy travels

[chris_J2]