Expert: Nilesh Korgaokar - 5/2/2005

Question
Dear Nilesh,

I am a Polish student and I am planning a budget trip from Bangkok to Hong Kong.
I already have some information regarding getting to Hanoi
but I really do not know how to get from Hanoi to Hong Kong.
I would prefer not to go by plane but by train, boat or bus.

My question is: do you know if there are any regular ferries from Haiphong
in Vietnam to Hong Kong?
If not, do you know how I could find info regarding rail transport from
Ping Xiang (or bus transport from Dongxing) to Hong Kong? I have visited
the chinese railways website but every info is in Chinese :)

Thank you very much for any information you can offer.

Kind regards,


Answer
Hello Adam,

I am not sure there are ferries from Haiphong in Vietnam to Hong Kong. Looking at the distances involved I would think not. The nearest Chinese island to Vietnam appears to be Hainan and its possible that there may be ferries from north Vietnam to Hainan and from there you could take a ferry to mainland China and take a train to Guangzhou or Shenzhen and cross over to Hong Kong.

If you could not find this information on the Internet, I would advise you to purchase a good travel guide book on Vietnam and China - LONELY PLANET, FODDORS, ROUGH GUIDE or LETS GO are some publications that you could try. I am quite sure that these books will have the latest information on GETTING TO/FROM Vietnam and China.

Hope my advice helps. Take care and safe travelling.
Nilesh.