The Fifty Best Buys in Kunming
While prices have certainly risen dramatically over the last ten years in Kunming, there are still plenty of great bargains out there. I will start off here with three of my own and then maybe you can add a couple more and we will see if together we can make it up to fifty.
7. Home Made Cookies – 8 Kuai – Paul's, Just Behind Wenlin Jie
Probably my favourite dunking cookies ever, with just that slight saltiness that goes well with sweet coffee. There are occasionally cheaper cookies out at Samoana but that is a long way out of town.
8. Army Surplus – Knock-down Prices – Beijing Road outside the Barracks
If you are going on a camping trip, this is the best place to buy all your outdoor gear. Forget those poncey places that sell fake North Face and Columbia that never lasts, this surplus stuff will last a lifetime. If it is good enough for the PLA, then it is good enough for me.
9. Photocopying – 0.5 kuai per double side page – Outside the Minorities University
China is a dead zone for book lovers but why worry when you can download just about any book you want in PDF, Word or Mobi format and knock out a copy at the print shop. 400 pages works out at about twenty kuai. So fire up emule, soulseek or torrents and get to work on your own personal library.
Ha.ha. It's a secret. Ha..ha.
10. The 2.5rmb Vietnamese style loaves of bread.
11. The fresh fruit and vegetables which is sold in real kilos as opposed to other cities where a kilo is really a 1/2 kilo.
The 101 reasons to live in China thread was so hot and creative, I thought that this one would quickly catch fire too.
Here are another three from me to get the ball rolling again.
12. Fresh figs in late summer. Grown in abundance in nearby Fumin and always super sweet.
13. Malatang soup. A great healthy lunch for less that ten kuai
14. Chocolate coated biscuits from Wicker baskets. Not sure why they are banana shaped but they are the ultimate breakfast treat.
Do not tell me Kunming is not great for bargains. Otherwise why would we all like it here so much?
yeah, that 101 reasons thread was 'hot'.
15. Foot bath + toenail trimming + dead skin scraping + foot massage for only 15 kuai (many places around town). Throw in another 5 kuai for a shoulder massage.
16. Regular body massage, 60 minutes for 30 kuai (many places around town).
17. All-you-can-drink drip coffee at Sal's before 2 pm, 12 kuai.
18. All-you-can-eat salad bar at Wicker Basket, 28 kuai.
19. Homemade meals. Inflation may be driving up consumer goods and services, but vegetables are still hella cheap in Kunming.
20. Fruit from the minivans. It's cheaper than in the produce markets.
21. The drinks at GoMax. 8 kuai for a smoothie, instead of 12-18 kuai for the same thing at most other drink shops.
22. Kunming bus. 1 kuai to get across town is a good deal.
The prostitutes! Can't be beat.
i dont think malatang soup is a good healthy lunch alternative...
also photocopying at YNU is about 0.1kuai per side, 0.15kuai per double side
