I'm going traveling in a week or so and I'm hoping to purchase Diamox (or any other medicinal equivalent for altitude sickness) and pepper spray. Anyone have any idea where I can get these two things in Kunming?

If You need those two you better stay at home.

Me used to keep a pepper spray in Tibet, as protection from mastiffs and wild dogs. Never - and fortunately so - was there any occasion to try. I wonder how a mad mastiff would react to that anyway. Anyone who tries, give a report.

There used to be many stray dogs in villages around them Shigatse areas too, but last time I asked where they have started to disappear, there was a rumour that plenty of them end up as fried meat in food. This is just a rumour, then again. Well,...always better than sick pigs.

And for Ches21. As far as I am aware of, the pepper sprays are not for sale anymore. At least, not as easy around as before (compared to several years ago). May be legal issues.

@Ches21: If you're acclimated to Kunming, you're probably not going to need Diamox unless you're going to something near 3000 meters or higher, and I think most people will not have serious altitude sickness below about 4000 - but capacities vary. Dogs can be dangerous in areas like Tibet, but can usually be kept off with rocks.

I conducted a big hunt for generic Diamox two years ago in Kunming without success.

Visited several large pharmacies and general hospitals, public and private, armed with the proper Chinese names and descriptions of use.

Even visited two specialty eye hospitals, thinking they might get more glaucoma patients than the general hospitals.

That assumption was correct, but they informed me they now used various drops instead of Diamox (acetazolamide) tablets in treatment. Acetazolamide is considered outmoded.

Gave up and brought some back from the US instead.