Hong Kong to Yangshuo

I didn't get to stop in Hong Kong, pretty much went straight from the airport to Hung Hom train station and then up to the border crossing at Luo Wu on the KCR. Its a pity because the weather is so nice, Hong Kong in winter is just the perfect temperature (15-20 degrees) and I sort of regretted not staying, but I figured if I was going to spend a day or two in Hong Kong it made more sense to do it AFTER going to into mainland china so that I don't have to rush my way back in to catch a plane and miss it because of something silly like roadworks in China or a train being suspended on the way back.. which I could see happening fairly easily.

My first impression of PRC after 4 years since I last came here was being buffeted by THE SMELL emmanating from the river at the Luo Wu crossing. Welcome to China. :)

Shen Zhen was just the same, chaotic and smelly and people are rude, not very genuine and its full of cheap and nasty things. And this is the city with the best standard of living in all of China apparently.. I went to the Bus station and booked a sleeper ticket for the 12 hour journey to Yangshuo (Y220 which is about 18 pounds). Only to realise that it was 10 am and the next bus wasn't leaving til 8pm. So I had a whole day to do nothing in Shenzhen. Before a grueling 12 hours stuck in a bus on the way up to the middle of nowhere... greaat.... remind me again... why do I do this?