[SIM Fleece Maho and Hong Kong-Singapore Longitudinal Bus Trip 1] Explode China at midnight with a sleeper bus !!

I'm Nakayama, a travel idiot writer. When I was devoted to traveling idiots, one of the serialization jobs was finished and I was a little free. That means ... you can go on a trip! I am the one who jumps out of Japan without any sexual discipline.

However, I'm lonely because I've run out of work ... If so, I came up with the idea of ​​going from Hong Kong to China → Vietnam → Cambodia → Thailand → Malaysia → Singapore by bus. The trip.

Southeast Asia has abundant bus routes, and there are not only domestic routes but also bus routes that cross national borders, so as far as I can see, it seems that you can move without problems with just a bus. However, to be honest, I'm not very good at buses as a means of transportation. Moreover, when it comes to buses in Southeast Asia, there is an image of being narrow and squeaky, and although it is a bit sloppy, recent buses have quite high-class seats such as first-class seats and VIP class seats. The aim of this time is to be able to overcome the dislike of traveling by bus while traveling.

[November 14-16: Hong Kong / China]

■ Low-cost carrier LCC to Hong Kong

If so, arrange a flight to Hong Kong immediately. Since the purpose of this trip is to travel without spending money, I will use LCC (low-cost carrier) for the plane. The LCC called Hong Kong Express has been in service from Haneda to Hong Kong since November, and I was able to purchase it for $ 131.2 (about 13,100 yen) one way, including the luggage charge of 15 kg. By the way, I plan to use LCC to return home, but I don't know how long it will take to travel to Singapore, so I haven't bought a return ticket.

It was on board the Hong Kong Express, which I was curious about, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. The big difference between LCCs and general full-service carriers (legacy carriers) is

● Drinks and meals on board are charged ● No personal monitor ● Blankets and pillows may be charged

Such a place. I'm curious about the seats, but recently, even with full-service carriers, short-distance aircraft tend to have narrower seat pitches, but Hong Kong Express has a slightly wider seat pitch than other LCCs. Thanks to that, I didn't have the impression that the seat was narrow. Also, it was okay to bring in drinks, and it was good to buy a bottle of tea before boarding and drink it on board. There is no personal monitor in the seat, and since we left Haneda at 1:30 at midnight, the cabin was pitch black when we entered stable flight. Airplanes may be perfect for people who spend their time sleeping. In fact, when I entered stable flight, I started to get out of control and hardly noticed that I was providing in-flight service. By the way, when purchasing food and drinks on board, only credit cards or Japanese yen can be used.

Arrived at Hong Kong International Airport after a 5-hour flight. Immigration is sparse because it is early in the morning at 5:30 local time. You can pick up your luggage and enter Hong Kong smoothly. I'm heading to the carrier shop in the airport to secure a local communication line ... but it's too early in the morning to open. According to Dr. Yamane, who lives in Hong Kong, it will be open from 7 o'clock. (By the way, Hong Kong has a high accommodation fee, so I was allowed to stay at the home of Dr. Yamane (@hkyamane). Thank you!)

Free WiFi service is available at Hong Kong International Airport, so you won't have to worry if you wait a little over an hour. I opened my PC on the bench, checked my email and browsed the web to kill time, and at the same time as the carrier shop opened, I jumped in and got a SIM safely.

I brought three SIM fleece smartphones for this trip: "iPhone5s", "Xperia Z1 overseas version", and "Xperia Z Ultra". All models obtained in Europe. In Hutchison, if you give the iPhone 5s to the clerk, APN etc. will be set as responsive even though it is displayed in Japanese. As expected, Hong Kong is a SIM-free mobile phone paradise. If you set it yourself, the items such as APN are as follows.

APN: imobile.three.com.hk User ID: Blank Password: Blank

Data traffic is up to HK $ 28 (about 360 yen) a day. As much as you use it will be deducted from the charge, so if you do not use it for calls etc., it can be used for about 7 days. In addition, 3 (3) SIM can use overseas flat-rate roaming service for HK $ 168 (about 2160 yen) a day, which is cheaper than the roaming fee of 2980 yen / day for Japanese carriers. We plan to use it as a "connecting SIM" until we cross the border by land and obtain a SIM for the next country, so we will charge an additional HK $ 300 (about 3860 yen) at the shop. Eventually, a bonus of HK $ 100 was added, making a total of HK $ 598 available.

■ LTE compatible SIM and bus ticket purchase

After securing the communication line, I will put my luggage at Dr. Yamane's home and go to the city to buy a long-distance bus ticket. Before that, I will buy two more types of SIM at Sansui Po (Sham Shui Po) where the stalls selling SIMs are gathered. For more information on Sansui Po, please refer to Dr. Yamane's report (related article).

One of the SIMs I bought is an LTE compatible SIM for use in Hong Kong. All three SIM fleece smartphones I brought this time are LTE compatible, so I wanted to give it a try.

This SIM is charged HK $ 80 from the beginning, and communication is available at a flat rate of HK $ 28 / day. It is a calculation that can be used for 2 days without charging. This is enough because I only stay in Hong Kong for one night. Settings such as APN are as follows.

APN: peoples.net or cmhk User ID: Blank Password: Blank

The LTE communication I was expecting ... Well, the area is small (laughs). Dr. Yamane also said, "The area is the weakest in Hong Kong," but that's true. Even in the city, we often communicate by 3G. I only stayed in Hong Kong for one night, so maybe I didn't have to buy this ...

Another SIM is for communication in China. Since I am only planning to pass by bus without staying, I do not have time to purchase a SIM in China, and SNS such as Facebook and Twitter are regulated in China, so I can only connect with an overseas SIM. Therefore, select and purchase a SIM that can roam cheaply in China.

The SIM itself costs HK $ 66 (about 850 yen). I also charged 100 Hong Kong dollars (about 1290 yen). Communication charges are HK $ 38 (490 yen) per 300MB per day. Settings such as APN are as follows.

APN: 3gwap User ID: Blank Password: Blank

This completes the SIM preparation for the time being. Next is the purchase of a bus ticket. A company called China Travel Agency in Mongkok handles bus tickets, so I'm heading there.

When I went to the counter on the 2nd floor and told the receptionist in English "I want a bus ticket from Hong Kong to Nanning", the answer was "I don't understand English" .... I had no choice but to write it in Chinese characters using the handwriting memo app, and it was transmitted smoothly.

That's why it's so easy to buy. Credit cards cannot be used here, only cash payments are accepted.

This completes the preparations to Nanning. Since the mission in Hong Kong was completed, I stayed at Dr. Yamane's home and spent the rest of the time doing the work left over in Japan.

■ Finally, we will leave Hong Kong by bus!

The bus departs in front of the Chinese travel agency where the ticket was purchased. There is a staff member standing in front of the entrance of the building, so when you show your ticket, they will put a sticker on your clothes. The colors and letters are different for each destination, so this sticker is a landmark when changing buses across national borders.

A little after 17:35 of the meeting time, there was a guide from the staff and I got on the bus. Some people put stickers other than those bound for Nanning, so it seems that they moved in a group to some extent until the middle. It takes about an hour to reach Huanggang Port on the Chinese border.

After passing the immigration in Hong Kong, board the same bus again, cross the bridge and head to the immigration (immigration) on the Chinese side with all your luggage.

Although it took a long time to wait for immigration, it passed without any problems including customs. When I went outside and went to the area where "Bus" was written, the staff instructed me to wait in line for Nanning. …… But I can't find the person with the same sticker that I had marked. After waiting for a while, I was informed that a stranger would follow me. I was a little worried, but when I followed, the bus was waiting for me!

Reserved seats from Huanggang Port to Nanning. When I went to my seat written on the ticket, a Chinese uncle was sitting firmly. Well, that's normal in China (laughs). Appeal that this is your seat and ask them to open your seat. By the way, this bus is a sleeper bus. The seat is like a bed, and you can lie down and head to your destination.

When everyone gets on the bus, the bus departs and heads for Nanning. The scenery is pitch black because it is a highway at midnight. Furthermore, the inside of the car is pitch black, so I have no choice but to sleep. Also, the important point is that the inside of the car is cold! Buses and trains in Southeast Asia need long trousers and long sleeves because the air conditioner works hard.

■ Transfer the bus from Nanning to Vietnam

When the bus departed safely, I inserted the prepared China Unicom SIM into the Xperia Z Ultra. To apply for a flat-rate package, I just enter "* 118 * 441 #" from the call app and send it with the call button, but for some reason I can't send it due to an error even though the radio waves are properly caught! No matter how many times you try it, you can't replace it with the Xperia Z1. I thought that I might be able to send SMS, and when I cried to Dr. Yamane in Hong Kong, "I can't set it due to an error even if I enter the code !!", I replied, "Try fixing it to GSM (2G)." ...... Eh, that's it? I tried to fix it to GSM with half confidence ... I was able to register safely !! As expected, he is just a person called a doctor !! By the way, when I switched the connection to W-CDMA (3G) after that, the speed of 3G properly You can now communicate with.

Now. The bus ran smoothly on the highway and arrived at the Nanning bus terminal at 8 o'clock the next morning. At the ticket sales counter on the 2nd floor of the terminal, buy a bus ticket to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. This time as well, I wrote "Kawachi" on the handwritten memo app and showed it, and I could buy it easily. The fare is 168 yuan (about 2750 yen).

The departure time of the bus is 10 o'clock. It's about 2 hours before departure, so I had breakfast at the Kentucky Fried Chicken attached to the bus terminal. There is also a waiting area for foreigners, so you can spend your time comfortably. The toilet was Japanese style, but it was a private room. However, there is no toilet paper, so you should bring it with you.

When I was waiting in the waiting room, I was informed at 10 o'clock of the scheduled departure time and got on the bus. At first glance, the bus from Nanning is an ordinary large bus, but the inside is quite rugged. The backrest also falls to Freedom.

The bus you boarded is aimed at Yugikan (Youyi Pass), which is the border with Vietnam. As with the late-night bus, you will run on the highway with a restroom break on the way. The routes in China are all well-maintained highways, so it's comfortable to ride.

After running for about 4 hours, I arrived at a city near the border for the time being. It seems that some locals were on board, and some of them got off here. Instead, the money changers got in. They will exchange Chinese yuan to Vietnamese currency Dong on the bus. However, I passed because the rate was bad and there was a little don left when I traveled before. In addition, the money changer also sold Vietnamese SIMs. It's an era ... However, it seems that you can buy it cheaper in the city, and if you can't use it, you can't exchange it, so I passed this as well as the exchange.

After that, the bus stopped at the parking lot near the immigration. Buses on the Chinese side get off here. The bus is a system that takes passengers from the Vietnamese side and returns to Nanning. In other words, a bus on the Vietnamese side is waiting at the end of the border.

At the border, the departure procedure is first done by imitation on the Chinese side. This is no problem. I got into the cart again and this time I went through immigration procedures on the Vietnamese side. Actually, this was the mountain of this trip. The information I searched online is not only very crowded, but also reports that I handed my passport to the person in charge without forming a line and stuck to the window until it came back. .. If you tighten your mind and come before the immigration ... Oh, the atmosphere is different ...

It happened that a Japanese living in Vietnam was on the same bus, so when I asked him, he said that it was new in the last six months. It was changed to a normal system where people line up properly and judge one-on-one in order. In addition, there was no need to fill out an immigration card. These systems are quite variable, but sometimes you can't tell from just the information on the internet.

So, I passed through immigration and customs without any trouble and arrived safely in Vietnam, the third country. I will board the cart again and head to the parking lot where the bus on the Vietnamese side is stopped.

Since there is a time difference of 1 hour between China and Vietnam, we departed at 14:00 when the clock was rewound by 1 hour. Unlike China, which used to have only highways, the Vietnamese side runs on ordinary roads, so while the chairs have improved, the ride quality is not good because the chairs are pushed up from the road and the speed increases or decreases sharply.

After entering Vietnam, switch to Hutchison's SIM and apply for flat-rate roaming. Enter “* 127 * 31 #” from the calling app to make a call. To stop flat-rate roaming, call "# 127 * 31 #". With this, I will surpass the time to purchase a SIM in Vietnam.

The bus arrived in Hanoi about 4 hours after leaving the border. It's been about 25 hours since I left Hong Kong. The surroundings were completely dark, but the hotel was booked online while running in China, and the location was also checked with a star on Google Maps. You can check the details on my map (related site).

But where is the bus dropped off? How do I get to the hotel from here? ?? I will continue next time!

Travel expenses memo ● Transportation expenses (long distance only) Haneda-Hong Kong flight ticket $ 130 (approx. 13,100 yen) Hong Kong-Hong Kong bus fare 380 Hong Kong dollars (approx. 4900 yen) Nanning-Hanoi bus fare 168 yuan (approx. 2750 yen) Total approx. 10,000 yen ● Total accommodation fee 0 yen (for Dr. Yamane's home and bus night) ● Communication fee Hutchison SIM & Charge 498 HK $ (about 6400 yen) China Mobile Hong Kong LTE compatible SIM 50 HK $ (about 640 yen) China Unicom SIM & Charge 166 Hong Kong dollars (about 2140 yen) Total about 9180 yen