@Dazzer, agreed. Also, the same can be said about Pattaya on possibly an even larger scale (and reputation wise too). Stay away from jetski rentals too, lest you want to put up with their scams.

@CROwai, Umm...actually, some people do have very boring lives here in China, especially elderly people so watching an accident unfold is a form of entertainment, even if it's not in a good way. Think of it as a "live" form of watching the news. I think what some of the posters have tried to say here is that watching an accident unfold is not an everyday event, so of course they'll start watching. For some people here (less than a few years ago, but still), just staring at a foreigner is a "form of entertainment". Those people's lives must be completely boring if watching a foreigner walk past them could grab their attention, so I think stopping to watch the circumstances that unfold relating to an accident will grab some people's attention. This would be the case even in the west.

Also, the other responses about possibly causing trouble for yourself if you get involved are true. Unfortunately, China does not have the same form of law and order as the west just yet. This explains people's lack of willingness to get involved.

All I know is China isn't much noisier than living in a big Australian city. For starters, few Chinese people have house parties and cause havoc on Friday and Saturday nights in your own neighborhood compared to Australia or the USA. This has been my experience and I have lived in 2 different places in Kunming for about 1 and a half years and I have able to sleep in peace every night. When I was living in west Texas a couple of years ago, I seem to recall an awful habit of disrepectful locals having extremely loud parties well into the night and most other residents not being "game enough" to tell them to shut the hell up. It was impossible to sleep and I was beginning to question why I didn't tell those idiots to shut the hell up. A nice middle-aged lady did finally do so, but it wasn't a long term solution.

In short, I'll take living in China anyday over living in that city over in Texas.

Hmm sounds interesting. I think if you really love the country enough, then why not? I was told by a Chinese academic last year that China is considering allowing dual citizenship sometime in the future. In fact, I believe Vietnam now recognises dual citizenship in limited circumstances So China could be next. Anyway, I hold multiple citizenship from a couple of European countries + the largest country in the South Pacific, so I can tell you that dual citizenship is of enormous benefit to anyone that holds it.

@Billdan, I think that explains why Chinese men married to SE Asian citizens are more likely to reside in those countries than the other way round? For starters, those countries are more foreigner friendly than China, and visas are easy to renew on a long-term basis. All you need is enough money to pay for the visa extension, that's it. It also explains the large number of other foreigners married to locals living there.

Would I care to take on Chinese citizenship? For now, nah...Thai citizenship would be better, besides, Thailand is that little bit more cosmopolitan than China, features visa-free travel to all ASEAN members (including Myanmar, soon) and recognises dual nationality if you become a naturalized citizen! Not to mention the low cost of living and great climate.

There are 10,000 Vietnamese students studying in Kunming? Wow...that seems like a lot. I have noticed some, but there seem to be far more Thai and Lao students here than Vietnamese. I seem to recall a few recent "international" incidents in the South China Sea which have not contributed to China becoming "the flavor of the day" in the minds of the Vietnamese, but anyway, I digress.

Vietnamese food in Kunming? Where? Certainly not any around wenlin jie or nanping jie. If it's anywhere else then I'm too lazy to travel there...