How to Travel From Hong Kong to Hanoi Overland Fast

2018 Update: We've been told via the comments that the bus we used may no longer be in operation or on limited days. Please keep this in mind when planning.

Direct travel from Hong Kong to Hanoi has been described as a headache for many travelers who have attempted the route without flying.  Why is this a headache you might ask?

Well, according to train travel site Seat61, the shortest possible itinerary that includes train travel takes just over two days, a few connecting cities (there is no Hong Kong to Hanoi train directly), and nearly $100 USD of funds consumed in the process just for transportation alone.

However, in my planning I found another method that could quite possibly be the worlds shortest duration in traveling between Hong Kong and Hanoi, requiring just 23 hours from door to door and a grand total of roughly $60 USD.

Train travel on this particular route siphons you through multiple different cities, typically being Hong Kong/Shenzhen to Guangzhuo, onward to Nanning, and then finally to the border and down to Hanoi.

The problem with this is that one or more of the routes is often done by night train and produces an extra day of travel and an increased cost.  However, there is one often overlooked option: a night bus.

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Osaka to Shanghai – Making the Trip on the Su Zhou Hao Ferry

I can't say that I am much of one for slow travel. I get impatient and anxious if I am in a city for more than just few days. This is partly because I would rather pack more in my travel allotment, accounting for time and money, then spending more time at one particular spot.

In fact, I have not visited any international city for longer than 5 nights on any trip. Sometimes, however, the financial aspect catches up to you a bit and slow travel becomes one of your only options. I found myself in that very same situation while planning my recent trip from Osaka to Shanghai.

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Unusual Temples and Other Incredible Things to Do in Kyoto

Kyoto is an amazing city, quite possibly my favorite in Japan.  It is one of those places you can picture yourself living if you had to move abroad. There is little else that can be said to generalize the place better than that. 

Although Kyoto has well over a million residents, it is hard to tell except for the southern end of town near JR's Kyoto terminal which has a constant exchange of both locals and tourists alike. 

Unlike smaller towns in Japan, such as Nagano and Nagoya, the city of Kyoto has the benefit of having large town attractions as well, making it rather unique in the tightly packed country of Japan.  However, like all big cities, some of the tourist attractions fall short, especially when compared to other, more unique options that are available. 

The following is my take on some of my favorite things to do in Kyoto that I have visited in the previous 48 hours.

I must stress that this is my views after two weeks of travel in the country.  If Kyoto was the first stop on a trip, the sites may have been perceived differently.

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15 Photos to Enjoy a Virtual Trip to Sri Lanka

Not being able to travel is rough. We get it. There is nothing fun about being stuck at home with no plans for the future.

To help things out, we're publishing a virtual trip series where we share 15 of our favorite photos from a previous trip and share some of the backstories behind the images.

For our seventh entry, we're traveling to Sri Lanka- a country I explored for about five days in 2014!

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