The road is not much faster than the train, taking around five hours. There is not much difference going via Chuxiong or Lufeng, the Lufeng road is a bit shorter, but then it is a little slower.
Technically, the fastest way would be to take a bus from Heijing to Guangtong 广通 to catch the 14:29 train to Kunming, which gets there in just over one hour.
I think for the expensive hotels, like Green Lake, it is worthwhile to check out something like ctrip for online bookings. You can get the Green Lake Hotel for about Y800 (depending on season) which fits into your original budget. For some reason I have never stayed at the GLH, but the location is hard to beat.
There is a car hire agency who supply cars with and without driver near Xiaoximen, which I have used in the past and the prices were what I would consider reasonable and the cars are good. Their phone number is 138 8885 9900.
But Yuanyang is a long way to go (both in distance and driving time), so you have to keep that in mind when you try to negotiate the price, plus you will have to pay for the drivers accommodation. I would assume somewhere in the Y2500 range not so unreasonable for what you are suggesting.
Hiring a car in Yuanyang itself is easy, local drivers there know the area and are better able to guide you to the right spots at the right time.
Try Dali. I have had my visa there renewed next working day and some have reported that you can get it same day.
I have never had any luck getting a visa renewed any faster than five working days here in Kunming — and since it is now weekend and May Day holiday coming up, you would be lucky to see your passport again before May 4th.
I have in the past renewed a double entry visa here in Kunming, but you will lose your second entry and will just get the usual extra 30 days.
No results found.
It is rare to find good approximations of western food anywhere in China and their lamb-chops (listed as lamb T-bone steak or so) were the best I have found so far. They came with good fries and the beer was cold. I liked the way that they serve the gloopy 'black-pepper sauce' separately, so one can just skip it. Pleasant and quick service too.
A pleasant modern eatery. The menu claims the chef worked for a large Chinese chain of Thai restaurants, but the Thai aspect of the food is difficult to find.
I gave the 'boneless chicken feet' a miss and had some spicy beef which while not bad was closer to the usual Sichuan fare than anything Thai. A dog under the table quickly lapping up any dropped food complemented the Sichuan experience.
The spring rolls were not bad though and together with a beer the bill came to Y58.
Easiest improvement would be better rice.
Easily the best bread to be found in Yunnan with friendly and efficient service. I have made detours to Dali just to pick up some bread on the way back to Kunming.
Kunming's forgotten, and now desecrated, WWII cemetery
发布者I was at the site a few years ago, then it was a sparsely forrested hill surrounded by southern Kunming's growing construction. Apart from the Flying Tigers marker there were a number of newer Chinese tombs (the coffin part is more likely from one of the newer graves). Some people were up there for picnics, leaving the usual rubbish.
Finding the Flying Tigers marker set in 2008 is not too difficult. We took a taxi down to the old 贵昆路 to 普照村. Then with a little help from a local we turned east, crossed the railway line and scrambled up a dirt track to the top of the hill. There seemed to be better access from the other side.
A link to a map showing the location: www.yunnanexplorer.com/[...]
Around Town: Kunming's 12-1 monument
发布者A bit more background information on the times and the 12-1 incident in a book by one of Kunming's longest western residents, John Israel: Lianda - A Chinese University in War and Revolution, for the 12-1 incident see particularly pp369.
While scholarly, John's book is very readable and gives a lot of insight into the times of the anti-Japanese war here in Kunming. It has recently been translated and published to great acclaim here in China.
www.yunnanexplorer.com/bibliography/publication/lianda/
Dragon Boat Festival
发布者Closest 龙舟比赛 probably in Yiliang 宜良 as part of the annual 花街节. Races start at 10am on Wednesday, I am not actually sure exactly where they have enough water for a serious race, but the flower market is held along 乡鸭湖大道, a ten minute walk from the bus terminal.
Full program here:
www.yunnanexplorer.com/gp/yiliang-huajie-2013-1/
Nobel laureate Mo Yan's Yunnan connection
发布者@helface
You misunderstood me if you thought that I was expecting GoKM to be anything but lighthearted. Not reporting controversial issues is a practical solution to a real problem and as nothing of that nature appears in GoKM I assume that this an editorial decision. This is fine with me.
As I said, I draw the line where this turns into a bizarre defense of distorted facts that have significant meaning in this country, assisted by some semantic trickery and hidden editing.
Is that really asking too much?
@Liumingke1234
It was meant in jest.
Land mines and coffee in Wenshan
发布者I have been to Tianpeng 田蓬 in Funing county where this has happened a few times, the first time maybe ten years ago. Not only is the scenery pretty nice, but it also has a unique mix of minorities: Miao, Yao, Yi, Zhuang. Even the Han dress traditionally there and some people cross from the Vietnamese side on market day.
But the border police has been very itchy every time I went there. The first time they told me to move into a different guesthouse and not to leave the township apart from on the bus back. Now I understand their concerns a bit better.