Thanks to everybody for the info!

I did not know ctrip had an office in Kunming. Does anyone know where it is?

2F, main building, Yunhua hotel, 118 East Dongfeng Road
I think the hours are 8:30 - 21:30 (not sure about weekends).

I think it's best to reserve the ticket by phone first as it may take them some time to prepare the ticket. I suggest you call first.

Would like to hear from anyone who has found a good company for booking international airfare. elong has some decent rates to major usa cities and Ctrip is great for China and asia, but does not seem good to usa. In past i have had good luck booking directly with airlines but fares are very high and i am concerned that might be the future trend.

Per my previous post try Expedia's U.S. site rather than Elong (which they own). Unlike Travelocity and others more often than not they also won't charge a service fee and your credit card will be directly billed to the airline. Plus good prices of course.

or you can try this site: airfare.bootsnall.com/

it checks expedia along with a few other sites so you can compare rates.

i plugged in some dates and found that a hong kong site had cheaper flights than expedia to the US.

if your dates are flexible and you have time on your hands, just keep plugging in different dates on these online sites and you'll find a good price.

There's some useful information here:

How to Find Cheap International Flights
budgettravel.about.com/[...]

Find Cheap Airfare Tickets With Comparison Engines
video.about.com/budgettravel/Compare-Airfare-Prices-Online.htm

and don't forget to collect airline...

How to Collect Airline Miles
video.about.com/budgettravel/How-to-Collect-Airline-Miles.htm

CAYA works for me.

gokunming.com/en/listings/item/cay_22219/caya

Checked flights on elong.net and found a flight this Friday, Kunming to Xishuangbanna (Jinghong) for 100RMB. Called CAYA, got the lady that speaks Englih, gave her the flight number and booked the flight. Two hours later the guy showed up and I paid 220 RMB, 100 + 120 tax and airport fee.

Note the elong quote is before tax and fee but CAYA will quote the all in price. Support GoKunming advertisers!

Now I only have to worry about the fog!