May 18, 2013 - Interest in Kunming

Jin Jiang Hotel, Kun Ming WiFi was great whilst it lasted. Totally dead today ! Never mind- went off to explore the city I had intended to teach English in. Population now 5 million (2 when I was considering it 5 years ago). Subway under construction, due for completion next year, but, as it's being built in true Chinese style ie all at once, the city roads are a shambles. I headed off diagonally across to the city in a taxi and 20 minutes later, minus £2, and I arrived at the main gate of Green Park, a misnomer because whilst there are...

May 17, 2013 - Next stop Kunming

Jin Jiang Hotel, Kun Ming NO PHOTOS TODAY A travel day. We left for the 90 minute drive to Zheng Zhou Xin Zhen International Airport (the name for Luoyang airport) and I promptly fell out with Lilly, not for the first time. She then sulked the whole way. Poor but constructive feedback for her ! The flight was full for the two and half hour flight and I was the only European. But I was met by a whirlwind of efficiency and humour by Lucy. We drove into Kun Ming chatting and laughing none stop. The separation of the words - Kun Ming and...

Oct 15, 2011 - Kunming, Yunnan Province

Another morning flight and we met Susan at Kunming airport, our first stop on the week long tour of the province of Yunnan in the SW corner of China, home to 25 minority groups. We met our guide John and immediately drove to the Stone Forest in Shilin, about an hour south of the airport. The minority group here is called the Xi (“Ee”). Women dressed in native dress were tour guides for many of the large domestic tourist groups visiting the Stone Forest. It is a large collection of tall grey sword like karst (limestone) pillars, with razor...

Sep 27, 2011 - Kunming - Stone Forest

We began our day in Kunming with breakfast in the restaurant on the 13th floor of the hotel. Then, we four 'tourists' departed with Cao Lu for a visit to the Stone Forest, a World Heritage site about an hour and a half from Kunming. It was a beautiful sunny day and when we arrived at the Stone Forest, we decided to hire a guide which was the best thing we could have done. Alice, our guide, was a pretty Yi girl who spoke very good English. She had worked on the site for eight years, and later in the day she was to accompany a VIP; so she...

Sep 26, 2011 - Zhongdian (Shangri-La) to Kunming

Today was the first opportunity to access the internet in several days, and we uploaded a few photos from the last four or five days. On this, our last day in Shangri-la, breakfast was early and eaten in the nice warm kitchen. In late September in this area of Yunnan province at an altitude of 3, 000 metres, the mornings can be a little cool. We completed our final packing and said our farewells to the two guides that have been with us for the past few days, and to our cook. We were then driven to the airport where we all checked in with...

Sep 16, 2011 - Kunming to Dali

Our origin plan this morning was to walk to a local park to join in a Tai Chi session. However, as it was still raining hard, we all stayed put. Just before leaving, some of us off-loaded a box of 'stuff' (books, purchases and clothing not required for the next week or so) which we left at the hotel for our return later. It did make our suitcases a wee bit lighter! Kunming is nicknamed 'City of Spring' due to the fact that it has a good climate for trees and plants. It evidently it boasts over 400 kinds of flowers, though during our stay...

Nov 22, 2010 - Back in Kunming

The 6 hour bus trip to Kunming turned out to be more like 9 making it after 10:30 by the time we got to our hostel. After dumping our gear we settle into the cosy hostel bar for a final beer together. We are joined by Lewis from the UK who also stayed at the Garden Inn in Lijiang. The conversation somehow gets to politics. It’s very interesting to hear people from other nations talk about the political situation in their own country. There is, however, one common theme to all opinions and that is that everyone present feels as though real...

Nov 21, 2010 - Update from Yunnan Province

We've been in China for about seven weeks now and have ridden 2300km through cities, villages, mountains and river valleys. We are constantly surprised by the landscape and people of China. The people have been warm, curious and helpful after they warm up a bit. Blank stares turn into huge smiles (and generous offers of cigarettes or a puff from the water pipe) when we offer a wave, smile or a botched "ni hao!". We've been touched by people buying us lunch; offers of smokes and meals by field workers; and people in all cities, villages and...

May 4, 2010 - Cultural Diversity vs. Theme Parks in Disney World

Today I could pick up my visa extension which sets the ground for my hike through the “Tiger Leaping Gorge”. Still I had one day to spend in Kunming and had seen most of the recommended places except for the “Yunnan Minority Village”, an exposition of the culture and habits of the 25 minorities living in Yunnan. First I considered it interesting to have a look at the cultural diversity – the rites and rituals the different minorities still cherish, but when I walked through the park I was kind of disillusioned. The museum for me is the...

May 3, 2010 - My Birthday in Kunming - Teaching Table Manners

In order not having to refrain from birthday congratulations, yesterday, I bought a Chinese prepaid SIM card which opens up completely new ways of communication with the people at home. In an email I told my family and friends the good news and added a short instruction about cheap pre-selections so that I could hope for manifold calls and it worked out – almost everybody whom I have told my new phone number called to say Happy Birthday, thus making me feel less alone on my day of honor. Actually, I was not really alone. When the three...

May 2, 2010 - No Fleshly Pleasures in Shilin

Shilin, the “Stone Forrest”, is a Unesco World Heritage Site located 120 km South East of Kunming – so it was quite a trip to get there (about 2,5 hours by bus). Basically, it consists of a huge number of Karst Stones spread over an area of 2 km in radius. Huge is also the entrance fee of 175 Yuan. While natural science makes geotectonic movement and erosion responsible for the stone formations, the mythological explanation is by far more “romantic”. Legend has it, that the “Immortals” crashed a Mountain into pieces in order to create a...

May 1, 2010 - Climbing on the Sleeping Beauty - Xi Shan Mountain in Kunming

As it is in Germany, the first of May, Labor Day, is a national holiday in China, too. In the past years, the Chinese used to have a seven days holiday starting on May 1st, but due to an increased rate of traffic jams and accidents caused by the Chinese travelling all over the country, the authorities dealt with the problem as radically as they always do: they reduced the number of free days from seven to three (I wonder if the rate of traffic jams and accidents has declined by 4/7 now…). Be that as it may, the Chinese loss is my gain,...