My post here is to simply to mention, with concern, subtle problems that can occur in high altitude, dry, areas with slightly smaller amounts of oxygen. Many should drink more water.
We have numerous visitors to Kunming this week. Dehydration can occur to some. The effects are slow and subtle often not noticed by those who suffer them and usually are not that serious. This has happened to many living here. They can slightly affect ones judgement depending on the person. This is NOT a serious huge problem Kunming, one simply should be aware of it. One can notice the affects sometimes when climbing stairs here if one is from sea level area. Slight shortness of breath. One sees many of us locals carrying bottles of water around on the streets daily. Denver in America has had similar conditions since it was developed. As to beer it contains alcohol which is generally classified as a dehydrator.
Symptoms and signs of dehydration. What to watch for: This can be minor, such as increased thirst, or more severe. Depending on the extent of the dehydration. Along with thirst, initial symptoms of dehydration include reduced urine output and darkening of the urine as it becomes more concentrated. If the condition progresses, other symptoms develop, including dry mouth, decreased perspiration, lightheadedness, muscle cramps, weakness, palpitations, and absent tear production by the eyes. The skin may feel cool and clammy.
And for hypochondriacs who are unfamiliar with life in Kunming, note that there are EVEN GREATER DANGERS here, such as drinking, eating, people who don't speak English, and strong laughter, during which you may forget to breathe. The problem with that 'high' (under 2000 meters) altitude, however, is that it can sneak right into your apartment, even when you've locked all the doors and windows to keep out beer, food, the Chinese language and fun...
Yeah, alright Dragon, I don't know where you're from but I'm not sure it's worth calling a lot of attention to this, since everybody knows about altitude anyway and we're not talking about Mt. Everest, or even Lijiang.
Yep, LiJiang is high and dry. It sure is a lot better then low and humid Guangzhou or Xiamen. In those cities when you hang your clothes out to dry, the don't! Symptoms include staying wet and getting the stench of mildew in them. For this reason I highly recommend buying a laundry dryer. You don't need to carry it around with you on the streets. Just leave it at home. Hope that helps.
@strato
Do you have an all-in-one washer dryer or a separate dryer? We chose the Panasonic - which works most of the time - but allegedly the computer controls get wonky regularly.
@michael
We have a separate dryer - Chinese brand GREE. It works well enough for small loads. It's old school - just a dial timer, no AI. Absolutely don't need it here in Lijiang, but we'll be taking it back with us to GZ soon.
@strat
Thanks for the info - dial timer works fine - the Panasonic has this feature that "fluffs" the clothes in the dryer - but as it's a low water side loader - doesn't get really grubby stuff super clean, according to the wife - who hand washes EVERYTHING (except my stuff) before loading the machine.
LOL @michael, sounds like you also have a Chinese wife.
@Dragon: Apologies for my last post, I didn't really need to do that - the info you provide makes sense, it's just that I've never met anyone in Kunming who might really need it, in Kunming - yeah, ok, I'm sure there may be an exception somewhere.
