Freegate has had problems well before now. When I first used it in 2010 it was already fairly unreliable. Luckily I have a VPN (which is free in my case as it's provided by a company I used to be associated with) that does the job reliably everytime.
@filipd, thanks for that info. Seems like the clerk I dealt with was correct then. I have plenty of credit cards but they are all international ones.
Any ideas about other car rental firms in Kunming, particularly ones that accept international credit cards and/or cash, not mentioned on this thread so far?
Does the remaining visa validity really matter? I thought that having a Chinese driver's license is what counts. Sounds a bit strange to me, but anyway, you have direct experience renting from them. When I went to Zuche near the airport back in late 2010, they didn't care about my visa, but the main issue was the deposit. Apparently they don't accept international credit cards. On the other hand, another poster on GoKM mentioned that they do as he had successfully used his visa card with them; in fact it was probably the particular clerk that I dealt with that didn't know the rules.
For a better deal and less paperwork, how about renting from John Xie's car rental? He has a couple of vehicles available and accepts cash. He advertises here on GoKunming. He normally charges 250 Yuan a day for his sedan. Only 140 for the minivan. There is also a refundable deposit payable at the time you pick up the car and refundable immediately upon return.
@dazzer, you obviously aren't a linguist and I don't understand what you are trying to say - I think I was being very clear though. Then again, I'm not a linguist either (I'm an engineer with a passion for languages though!) I am just pointing out what every Chinese language student starts to realize: the number of different sounds in Chinese is very limited. A syllable is a sound. I apologize for using the word "words" to describe what is actually a syllable in an earlier post.
Chinese has 2000 syllables with which to create every possible word. Many words consist of single syllables, others are composed of two syllables; a few words have 3 or more syllables but in general not many. Whereas in English many complicated medical, engineering and scientific terms have been borrowed from other languages including Latin and German, in Chinese, you'll find that unfamiliar words are composed of familiar syllables (or sounds). The characters for these words could however be very complex or different to anything you've ever seen.
That's why it's so important to be able to read Chinese characters. I can't stress this enough. There aren't enough syllables in Chinese to be able to make sense to a learner that doesn't have any knowledge of the written language. It's also another reason why Chinese can never use a phonetic writing system: every word would look the same even after adding tone markers. There are too many homonyms.
Absolute insanity.
Anyway, as I have previously mentioned on another thread, and as is evident in the news all over the world, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and many other countries around the world will become even greater recipients of Japanese investment as a result of these crazy incidents in China.
The news channels in Thailand are currently showing reports featuring economists and businessmen rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of increased Japanese investment inside the country. Already Thailand is "Japan's manufacturing hinterland" with most Japanese pickup trucks built in Thailand these days, both for domestic consumption and export. Japanese electronics and supporting industries for cars, electronics and hard disk manufacturing are all big industries in Thailand, where a pro-Japanese and pro-foreign investment business environment are in force. Vietnam is also an emerging destination for Japanese investment thanks to a large, skilled laborforce and low wages.
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What do you mean by "foreigners"? Everyone who is a non-citizen of Myanmar and wants to travel there is a foreigner. I doubt Burmese citizens require visas to return to their homeland.
Horrible tasteless, thick-crusted "cardboard" like pizzas that are a far cry from what they should be like. Way overpriced too. Wine may be good, but why bother when the nearby Prague Cafe makes much better pizza at a more reasonable price?
Great Mexican food and ice cream, excellent Raspberry smoothies and an overall good atmosphere. Can't do much about the low ceilings on the second floor, but the early closing time could be adjusted, after all, the nearby French Cafe closes at 1am.
Chinese teens murder seven before arrests
Posted byThis is crazy! Sounds like the kind of thing you hear about happening in the US, not China. Anyway, they were arrested quickly and yes, Liumingke1234, they can and most likely will be given the maximum penalty for their crimes. I believe in China 14 year olds can be tried as adults. It doesn't say how old these teenagers are, but my guess is they are certainly in their mid to high teens.
The Box says goodbye
Posted byVery sad indeed...I hope the new tenant is also a foreigner who opens up a similar bar or restaurant to you guys. Good luck with the future and hope to visit you in Lijiang or Shangri-la. In any case, stay in China! Restaurants/bars like yours really make places like Kunming feel cozier.
Chiang Mai's Chinese invasion
Posted by@Peter99, I agree that there could be many more independent Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, or indeed in many other parts of the world in the future.
I have seen many independent Chinese tourists, many travelling by themselves in places like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. They usually have enough English to at least order from a menu though. It's kinda ridiculous for people like the young Chinese tourists above to not know what they "are ordering". If you ask me, except at Wenlie Jie and a few downtown areas, it's much more difficult to know what you are ordering in China!
Contrary to what is stated in this article, I don't think the Chinese can take away Thai jobs or properties because unlike in Laos, the Thais are fiercely protective of their rights and know what they are. Also, foreigners can't own land even if they become married to Thai citizens. With the exception of jobs requiring Chinese language skills, Chinese citizens wouldn't be able to find work in Thailand either and they can certainly forget about working in protected sectors like farming etc. so I think the fears raised above are unfounded unless Thailand opens up more but their restrictive property and work laws are probably in place to avoid such a scenario.
However, for now, the Chinese train project from Kunming through Laos connecting all the way to Singapore is not going to happen, but the Thais seem to be confident about a possible Japanese investment for some domestic HSR (high speed rail) lines in the near future. Personally, I would still put my money on the Chinese coming through eventually, but it might take 10+ years to happen so the original opening date of 2015 is now nothing more than a pipe dream given that the Chinese have now scaled back on HSR projects given safety issues, the resignation of the railway minister etc.
The road through Myanmar (Burma) from Mae Sai/Tachileik to China has too many restrictions on travel and since the Mae Sai crossing only allows travel to/from Mae Sai it can't be used by anyone planning on travelling overland between Thailand and China via Myanmar territory; thus Chinese and Thai/third party tourists/businesspeople etc. travelling overland between Thailand and China must go through Laos (or alternatively, Laos and Vietnam). I hope that with the recent positive developments in Myanmar that an overland route connecting Thailand and China and an upgrading of the Chinese/Burmese border post to an international one will happen, but until it does it won't become an option for anyone.
I wouldn't put my money on low-cost flight options to Kunming happening anytime soon, though eventually they should come through put this will depend entirely on demand for such services.
@invisible, the railway link from Kunming to the Vietnamese border has existed for like 100 years but only now does it look like it will reopen again after being closed for roughly 10 years now. As such, this will mean you can once again travel by rail from Kunming to Hanoi and beyond to Ho Chi Minh City. When it opens is unclear, but I'd say give it a year or so.
Kunming to Laos by bike: Part II
Posted by@pickley - hitchhiking is possible, but not really recommended due to the low cost of public transport and possible risk of things going wrong, though having said that hitchhiking is far safer in most parts of East Asia than in the USA for example. But you can still try anyway and it is surely a very interesting way of travelling.
I think Chinese truck drivers (starting in northern Laos, not far from the border) or Lao truck drivers (who wouldn't go much beyond Mengla) would help you cross the border, and then you could try flagging another vehicle to go further north. Alternatively, Chinese tourists driving themselves in southern Xishuangbanna or possibly in Laos itself might be willing to help you. It would be a good idea to offer some food, drinks or something for the ride and truck drivers often expect some payment anyway, but if you are nice and give them some food, cigarettes (if they smoke) or something else then that should make them happy enough without the need for monetary compensation. Every experience is different so you'll need to just try it out and see what happens.
Kunming to Laos by bike: Part II
Posted by@russell, it's Ji. There's a much faster way of translating English to Chinese these days and requires no travel outside of your own home: it's called google translate.
Anyway, from this itinerary it looks like the writer is about to enter Vietnam before he enters Laos, unless he backtracks first. Normally to travel from Kunming to Laos one would pass through Yuxi, Yuanjiang, Simao (Pu'er), Jinghong (Xieng Hung or Chiang Rung), Mengla (Muang La) and finally Mohan before reaching Laos. Of course while you can't cycle on the expressway, I have seen western cyclists on the highway between Jinghong and the border (there is currently no expressway there).
Therefore taking the backroads between Kunming and Jinghong would be the fastest way, but this cyclist's itinerary sounds more interesting and passes a more beautiful region of Yunnan - I too was very impressed by Yuanyang (hence my GoKM username right hehe), not to mention Lvchun and the Vietnamese borderlands before reaching Hekou.