Yes twice a week, price is probably about US$100 one way. Check out www.laoairlines.com to find out.

@tigertiger Agreed. I think there are plenty of well-qualified and hardworking English teachers here in Kunming (and elsewhere) and they definately get my respect. If they enjoy what they are doing, then good for them and I salute them for trying to make a living here in this city, which is not always an easy thing.

Personally it's not my thing though - in future I doubt I'll teach English again unless perhaps there is a widespread economic crisis and suddenly engineers, scientists, business analysts etc. can't get jobs.

Having said that the stereotypes persist and every second local I meet assumes I'm an English teacher (due to being a white male) to which I have to prove them wrong and tell them exactly what I do. I'm not sure what they hold of English teaching but it seems to me that a lot of people don't exactly give it the respect it deserves.

While I have taught in Kunming in the past, I am now happily working in another field consistent with my qualifications. I was happiest working at the university; although the pay was not excellent it was guaranteed and the students were a pleasure to teach. Also, being a university teacher was quite rewarding and I actually enjoyed the experience.

When I last taught at a language school sometime last year, mind you only for a few weeks to make some extra money I wasn't really interested in teaching anymore and as soon as I started, I got offered a professional job in another field which I accepted and was due to start about 2 months later.

I got offered the language school job without specifically asking for it; a professor from a local university had lunch with me and then asked me if I was interested - despite that school having nothing to do with him. I expressed a very vague interest, but this was enough for the school to call me and schedule an interview. The first time I couldn't make it, but they were persistent and so 2 weeks later I finally made it and started teaching the following day.

I have to admit I was very lazy because I just couldn't get motivated. The teaching materials were boring, the pay was on the low side and getting there was a pain too. After a while, I did the classic "lazy foreigner" routine: party all night, get drunk, sleep in and only call your school 15min after the start of class to tell them you are "sick". I did that twice and they cut my pay. Later on I had to travel to interview for my new job and upon returning found that they mysteriously didn't have any more classes for me. I didn't even attempt to collect the remaining 800Y they owe me.

The fact is many teachers here are exploited by poor wages, boring curriculum and many of them would really like to be doing something else, so it doesn't surprise me that some of them would be "lazy". I know I was.

bluppfisk, yes the restaurant I mean is on Jianshe lu. I didn't know it was a Dai restaurant, I thought it was Thai as my friends and I ordered actual Thai dishes (unless we're talking about a different restaurant?) For good Dai food, there are two Dai restaurants almost next to each other on Yuanxi lu, not far from both Yunnan University and Yunnan University of Nationalities. They're not the cleanest restaurants either, but they do have a decent menu and much better seating than the aforementioned hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

There's also a good, but tiny Thai cafe downstairs in the basement of duanshi jie, not far from Nanping jie. To get there, you have to walk along the pedestrian street and you go down to the basement level which is visible right next to McDonald's. The cafe is about halfway somewhere on the left. Although it doesn't offer many menu items, they do make a pretty authentic somtam (spicy papaya salad) with khao niao (sticky rice) and gai yang (Isarn style fried chicken).

I know of a good Thai or Thai-style restaurant on the road that intersects with Wenlin Jie and 121 street. I believe it's Dongfeng dong lu but it may have a different name between xue fu lu and 121 street. Anyway, the restaurant is a dingy hole-in-the-wall place not far from Yunnan normal university half way up the hill.

I was surprised about the large number of Thais and even westerners that eat there - I think there were hardly any local Chinese patrons there when I went. The food is good, but when it comes to cleanliness and atmosphere: there is none. You go in to eat and get out as quickly as possible - it's definately not a place to linger. Surprisingly, some of the staff even speak some Thai despite being Chinese.