Are you talking about the bus or the train? I only know about the bus because that's how I did it (plus the bus is faster and runs hourly as opposed to once a day).

In spite of all the hype about Nanning being China's gateway to SE Asia, you wouldn't know it by walking around town; many people here have no clue where Vietnam even is.

In any event, I read somewhere that China is planning on building HSR between Nanning and the VN border (presumably also somewhere in Pingxiang), but the border to Hanoi isn't China's problem.

Food
 

I really don't eat a lot of Chinese food, so this list is a bit Western focused:

1) Ole deli
-in spite of the fact that Ole might be the most expensive grocery store on earth, they make a great ham & cheese sandwich for Y19
2) Marriott
-would be #1 were it for its insane prices (figure $80 pp if you want to get full)
3) Grandma's Home (Mixc)
-lunch only unless you fancy waiting for 1.5 hours for a table in the evening
-great value, and solid Hangzhou cuisine
4) The Korean place at Mixc
-I rarely spend more than y200 there (two people), and their beef is pretty good
5) Happy Link
-it gets panned on TA because it seems like nobody can find it (they have a phone!), but their Indian food is quite decent

Moondog--

From your list, I got a sneaky hunch that a suitcase full of Western food stuffs would be like Xmas! But if you don't cook...

Our earliest plans to be in China/BJ would be next April. Still juggling family issues and tenant/building problems, and hopefully good resolutions will emerge before then.

Any suggestions for a care package?

5 gallon pail of Duck sauce! :p

I'm out of here in 5 days
 

-Empty swimming pool (in spite of the fact that day time temps are still well over 80 degrees)
-Subway construction is creating horrible pollution and has blocked off my short path to the MixC (which, is where I eat 90% of my meals)
-Local staff is now generating very nice coin (we repositioned them to cater to our Shanghai clients)
-Being the celebrity foreigner gets old after a while


Having gotten all of that negativity out of the way, I strongly believe that Nanning has a bright future, and I'm glad to have a foot in the door. As soon as HSR actually happens, expect a major transformation.

Is the pool empty of people or empty of water? Do locals think 80 isn't hot enough for swimming or did your (former) apartment complex drain the pool for the "winter"?

It's been empty since October 7 because the locals have a mental block about swimming in the fall/winter. (As I understand it, Nanning actually does have a winter of sorts, during which daytime high temperatures drop into the low 50s at times.)

Official climate data:
September - average high 31,6, average low 23,6, average 10,5 days >0,1 mm rain, total 128,3 mm, average humidity 78%, mean monthly sunshine hours 185,6, which is 51 % possible (the annual maximum)
October - average high 28,4, average low 20,2, average 8,5 days >0,1 mm rainfall, total 65,5 mm, average humidity 75 %, mean monthly sunshine hours 163,7, which is 46 % possible
November - average high 24,1, average low 15,5, record low 3,2, average 6,8 days >0,1 mm rainfall, total 40,3 mm, average humidity 74 % (the annual minimum), mean monthly sunshine hours 144,2, which is 44 % possible
December - average high 20,2, average low 11,3, record low -1,9, average 5,9 days (the annual minimum) rainfall, total 24,5 mm (also minimum), average humidity 74 % (equals November), mean monthly sunshine hours 123,7, which is 37 % possible
January - average high 16,9 (minimum), average low 10,0 (minimum), record low -2,1 (minimum), average 12,9, average 11,1 days >0,1 mm rainfall, total 35,3 mm, average humidity 78 %, mean monthly sunshine hours 69,6, which is 21 % possible
February - average high 18,0, average low 11,5, record low 0,8, average 13,2 days >0,1 mm rainfall, total 42,6 mm, average humidity 81 %, mean monthly sunshine hours 56,7 (minimum), which is 18 % possible
March - average high 25,5, average low 15,0, record low 3,7, average 13,8 days >0,1 mm rainfall, total 59,4, average humidity 82 % (equal to maximum), mean monthly sunshine hours 61,8, which is 17 % possible.

That's 75F, which is certainly a suitable temperature for swimming where I come from, and today was one of the few days since I've been here in which the thermometer did not hit the 80F (my definition of "hot") mark. It's all good though; I'm going to visit my mom in Florida towards the end of next week, and will be sure to do some ocean swimming. :)

And unlike March, which has similar temperatures, November actually has more sunshine (44% possible, compared to 17 % of March which is the annual minimum!), less humidity (annual minimum 74 % compared to the annual maximum 82 % of March) and less rain (6,8 days, compared to 13,8 days in March). You stand a chance to bask and dry after swimming, unlike in March.
Nanning lies on Yongjiang, and THAT they cannot drain.

How are the river beaches? Especially upstream of the Nanning central city and its sewers?

As much as I love swimming, the thought of immersing myself in any Chinese river sends shivers up my spine, though I actually did contemplate this idea during my recent visit to Yangshuo.

More implications in case you missed them in a wall of text:
October-December looks like the best time to walk or cycle around Nanning in not so waterproof dress and not get drenched in rain nor sweat. Just 5,9 to 8,5 days of rain (all other months have 10+, and all summer months May-august have 16+), and humidity averaging 74-75 % (all other months have at least 78, and most 80-82%). Daily highs declining from the 28,4 of October to 20,2 of December.

You do have these 6...8 rainy days per months, so follow the weather broadcast.

How are the rules of road in Nanning? Are flying pigeons (and fancier cycles) directed to share road with cars or with pedestrians? And do new developments come with passable light traffic roads/sidewalks?

The bikes do a pretty good job at staying in the outside lanes, but both bikes and cars are extremely fast. In other words, if one were to apply Beijing street crossing logic to Nanning, they would eventually end up being part of the street.

An e-bike guy and I had a close encounter (on a sidewalk!) last week; my first thought was that if he had collided with me, I would have cleaned his clock, but then I recalled the inertia chapter from my high school physics textbook (I would have flown 20 feet, and been in no shape to do any sort of "clock cleaning").

Have a nice stateside visit!

Oh course, pre-order the "duck sauce" for return shipment.:D

Today, by shear coincidence, it became what I would now describe as "cold". 66F according to the mercury, but when you get used to 85+ with high humidity, a sudden 20 degree drop sends a shock to the system. In any event, if day time highs continue to hover around 70F for the rest of November, your historical data will hold true.