@tigertiger, I too have noticed all the trucks outside gas stations, but mainly on expressways rather than in the cities or rural highways. Even though I have previously only driven cars running on unleaded fuel within China, all the gas stations I have been to in the cities appeared to have diesel available as well.
It seems the Ford Explorer is not available in China, only another SUV with FWD transmission or AWD for the most expensive variant. It's called the Ford Echo - it looks good but doesn't offer 4WD transmission, which is what I need.
Any other recommendations for good quality SUVs available in China?
@chris8080, I have heard of this before, it sounds a bit racist but are you sure you were rejected because you're a foreigner? Also, were you quite "dirty" as you say? What is that supposed to mean? Many locals don't have showers very often and then go clubbing too and besides all the cigarette smoke and people, being clean is hardly possible after a night out there.
If so, you should file a complaint or post your experience on an international news site. Imagine the outrage this would cause if say, a black person were refused entry to a club for being black. Remember when "Mongolians and blacks" were refused entry to Beijing clubs during the Olympics and the outrage it caused, particularly in America and other foreign countries?
I have been to Kundu numerous times and generally not had any problems there, although once a friend of mine from Norway (he has since returned home) tried to enter a club I previously visited the weekend before (I think it was Babi club) and was refused although it looked quite full inside. Can't say what the reasons were although he was also already drunk. At the time my Chinese wasn't good enough to understand what the bouncer was trying to say...so we went to the club next door which was better anyway where he had no problems entering.
In any case, if you want quality clubbing, either look elsewhere or go to Thailand. Kundu kinda sucks anyway and given the amount of smoke in there, spend a few nights in there and you'll probably get a heart attack, stroke or lung cancer from all the smoke that fills your body. Thailand is way better- smoking was banned back in 2007 in nightclubs.
Thanks for the tip. I am actually most interested in diesel, since it's cheaper and more widely available than unleaded in neighboring countries but will consider some hybrid models as you have suggested. BTW are they also affected by the high tax rate you mentioned earlier? You mentioned the Escalafe 5.7ltr, which is quite a large engine, but it is a hybrid. Does this mean higher taxes or tax incentives by the Chinese government?
@tigertiger, I was just thinking the same thing. We might be better off purchasing a vehicle in China and then trying to register it in Laos aswell than the reverse, based on my initial enquiries on import taxes for vehicles imported into Laos. We will try to explore which option is better tax-wise.
I have noticed the huge difference in price for the 6.4L Jeep Cherokee compared to the smaller engine models. I guess this is evidence of the larger taxes applied to larger engine vehicles. Check www.jeep.com.cn (only in Chinese I believe) for details.
Some airlines, particularly international ones like THAI have not updated their systems to reflect the new airport. At the beginning, starting tomorrow, I'm sure there will be some passengers that won't know about the change and will thus go to the wrong airport and miss their flights.
Yeah the Lijiang line is currently under construction, while the Ruili line is supposed to form part of a proposed Kunming-Myanmar rail link - it will probably also be constructed at some stage (as reported by GoKM last year) but I suspect it will take a little while.
All of this is quite amazing, but even in China not everything goes to plan. Originally the proposed high speed railway from Kunming to Vientiane, Laos via Jinghong and Boten was supposed to be completed by 2015, but a number of issues will likely push back that project for another 10 or more years, though I do believe that it will eventually be built. Also, since the idea is to link south-western China with the south-east Asian coast, Thai and eventually Malaysian and Singaporean co-operation is vital to building this link in the first place; building a line only as far as Vientiane would likely turn out to be a white elephant project since the objective is to make most income from moving goods between SE Asia and SW China quickly via train rather than passengers and that requires linking SW China to a coastline - something which Laos doesn't have.
Regarding the Hekou line, they've been proposing that one for years now since trains stopped running between Kunming and Hekou in 2002. Finally this article mentions a new high-speed line is under construction, but this will be of little use unless the Vietnamese also build a complementary high-speed line on their side (sure, they already have an existing railway line running from Lao Cai via Hanoi down to Saigon, but it's rather slow). Also, the Vietnamese government recently turned down a proposal for converting their existing line into a high-speed line, citing the high cost and the low passenger volumes that would utilize the line.
Wow, it's finally upon us. The new airport will finally open at the end of this month! Only thing is, I'd avoid non-essential travel in and out of this airport for the first couple of weeks since it will probably be more chaotic than usual and things may not go as planned (for example baggage claim may be unusually slow).
I like the statement "For travelers without cars, taxis are always an option." well of course they are. For starters, most people in Kunming still don't own a car despite all the cars on the roads these days. Secondly, even if you do have a car, who would drive to the airport in order to catch a flight and then park their car for the duration of their overseas or interprovincial stay there? I don't think long-term parking is well known in China so even a week's worth of parking could become very expensive and possibly more expensive than even in some western countries.
I am looking forward to the proposed direct Europe flights. Anyone have any idea about when these flights might begin and who which carriers will offer service (presumably Chinese carriers I would imagine)?
What do you mean by "foreigners"? Everyone who is a non-citizen of Myanmar and wants to travel there is a foreigner. I doubt Burmese citizens require visas to return to their homeland.
Horrible tasteless, thick-crusted "cardboard" like pizzas that are a far cry from what they should be like. Way overpriced too. Wine may be good, but why bother when the nearby Prague Cafe makes much better pizza at a more reasonable price?
Great Mexican food and ice cream, excellent Raspberry smoothies and an overall good atmosphere. Can't do much about the low ceilings on the second floor, but the early closing time could be adjusted, after all, the nearby French Cafe closes at 1am.
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Riding into Kunming's future
发布者There's a flight from Kunming to Beirut? Wow...
Changshui Airport set to debut
发布者Some airlines, particularly international ones like THAI have not updated their systems to reflect the new airport. At the beginning, starting tomorrow, I'm sure there will be some passengers that won't know about the change and will thus go to the wrong airport and miss their flights.
Yunnan goes infrastructure crazy
发布者Yeah the Lijiang line is currently under construction, while the Ruili line is supposed to form part of a proposed Kunming-Myanmar rail link - it will probably also be constructed at some stage (as reported by GoKM last year) but I suspect it will take a little while.
Yunnan goes infrastructure crazy
发布者All of this is quite amazing, but even in China not everything goes to plan. Originally the proposed high speed railway from Kunming to Vientiane, Laos via Jinghong and Boten was supposed to be completed by 2015, but a number of issues will likely push back that project for another 10 or more years, though I do believe that it will eventually be built. Also, since the idea is to link south-western China with the south-east Asian coast, Thai and eventually Malaysian and Singaporean co-operation is vital to building this link in the first place; building a line only as far as Vientiane would likely turn out to be a white elephant project since the objective is to make most income from moving goods between SE Asia and SW China quickly via train rather than passengers and that requires linking SW China to a coastline - something which Laos doesn't have.
Regarding the Hekou line, they've been proposing that one for years now since trains stopped running between Kunming and Hekou in 2002. Finally this article mentions a new high-speed line is under construction, but this will be of little use unless the Vietnamese also build a complementary high-speed line on their side (sure, they already have an existing railway line running from Lao Cai via Hanoi down to Saigon, but it's rather slow). Also, the Vietnamese government recently turned down a proposal for converting their existing line into a high-speed line, citing the high cost and the low passenger volumes that would utilize the line.
Changshui Airport set to debut
发布者Wow, it's finally upon us. The new airport will finally open at the end of this month! Only thing is, I'd avoid non-essential travel in and out of this airport for the first couple of weeks since it will probably be more chaotic than usual and things may not go as planned (for example baggage claim may be unusually slow).
I like the statement "For travelers without cars, taxis are always an option." well of course they are. For starters, most people in Kunming still don't own a car despite all the cars on the roads these days. Secondly, even if you do have a car, who would drive to the airport in order to catch a flight and then park their car for the duration of their overseas or interprovincial stay there? I don't think long-term parking is well known in China so even a week's worth of parking could become very expensive and possibly more expensive than even in some western countries.
I am looking forward to the proposed direct Europe flights. Anyone have any idea about when these flights might begin and who which carriers will offer service (presumably Chinese carriers I would imagine)?