Dear all, I have a question for the community. Yesterday I wiped my phone to the factory settings because it was unbearably slow. But it is now booting in a Samsung - Google environment which seems to be blocked over here.That means I'm stuck in an endless loop of "Checking network connection... This can take up to 2 minutes..." I guess the only way around this is a WIFI signal that has a VPN activated over it. Does anyone around here know of a place where I could go and connect quickly to get through this initial stages of setting up the phone and equipping it with a VPN? Thanks in advance!
Getting Away: Luang Prabang
发布者I agree with bluppfisk the backpackers are an exhibit in their own way, and they have changed the attitude of the locals considerably. Dealing with them is convenient because they can all speak great English and have perfectly adjusted their ways to accommodate this continuous wining and dining of the tourists, but in their hearts you feel a big distance and you feel the need to make money off the tourists is stronger that genuine hospitality. Especially if you compare it to travelling around in Yunnan or even parts of rural Laos just kilometres away from tourist centres like Luang Prabang. I agree there is an interesting cultural heritage and a general pleasant laid-back vibe. But after a week I was really fed up with those foreigner-local relations that ruin the atmosphere.
Cycling from Kunming to Lüchun
发布者Hi Voltaire,
Thank you so much for your correction. I asked a few locals about it and actually tried to distill a story that was as plausible as possible out of their contradicting answers, happy you could clear that up!
When I get back to Kunming next week, I'll post some more anecdotes of my cycling inside Luchun county, and some more pictures.
Video: The Dangsters
发布者I do not see or hear anything offensive in this video. The dance is really cool.
Insect cuisine: Bugging out in Kunming
发布者Great article indeed!
In southern Yunnan (I found this in Honghezhou) they also tend to sell a roadside snack that consists of an empty honey comb with living bee larvae inside. A friend of mine bought a piece and tried a few, but it was too much for me. I'm okay with eating insects but not when they are alive.
Wenhua Xiang filling up with financially overextended youth
发布者I think one of the motives for this behavior that is not mentioned in the article of comments is not a financial one. The youths seem to consider it as a very hip kind of lifestyle to sell their fashion on the street. They try to be as image conscious as possible and as it often goes with this kind of young-hipster-fashion-motivated behavior, they completely disregard and undermine the existence of other people around them; neighborhood residents and the people who pay loads of rent in order to open legitimate shops.
The chengguan once again show us that they are not more than lazy, selective and ignorant thugs who are not at all genuinely concerned with the well-being of the city. They use overly excessive force when there is not a single reason to do so, while at the same time giving those disrespectful youths the chance to exploit the lax policies and almost vandalize a neighborhood.
What else is there to do? At least don't buy anything from them..