Forums > Living in Kunming > Dining alone in China/Kunming Yeah people are weird here, but you will find lots of lone diners in the following types of restaurants (which, given we're in Kunming means that up to 99% of the patrons are locals):
Fast food restaurants (KFC, McDonalds, Dicos etc.) @AlPage48, KFC is definately not the place to go for communal dining.
Western style cafes/restaurants (think Salvador's, French Cafe, The Box, A Slice of Heaven, Prague Cafe etc.) Both locals and foreigners can be seen dining/drinking coffee/using the internet etc. alone. In fact, as I write this response, I am in a cafe with only one other patron sitting inside and not only is she alone, but she is CHINESE! Yes, she is a local and she's not eating with anyone! Perhaps we should call upon some other locals to look at her for being "weird".
Noodle shops such as mixian shops where you go for a quick 5Yuan cup of noodles, complete with a hair or eyebrow or two. Or better than this, Brothers Jiang, where for a bit more (about 13-18Y) you can get a much better noodle soup.
The main reason that some Chinese will think eating out alone is weird, has to do with Chinese food being designed to be eaten "family style" with many dishes ordered. This is impractical and becomes expensive for an individual diner.
Finally, I find your first sentence "I never had a problem dining alone at home" funny. I wonder what kind of person would need to have people eating with them all the time, even at home. Even if I wanted to, I'd struggle to find someone to eat with me on a daily basis for every meal - even Chinese people can be busy too. This is perfectly acceptable and I think you shouldn't worry about people "judging" you.
Forums > Living in Kunming > sex first or friends first? @Billdan, haha...whoever said that "western teaching methods" were so easy as to not have tests etc. is either seriously stupid or misinformed.
In China I believe there are no assignments etc. only final (and maybe mid-term) exams. 100% of a student's final mark/grade is based on exams and nothing on assignments or classroom participation etc.
Anyway, I digress.
Forums > Living in Kunming > sex first or friends first? I agree with TICExpats. For starters, I wouldn't believe a girl that tells me she is still a virgin and wants to remain that way until marriage. For those girls aged under 30 or 35 both in China and elsewhere, this is highly unlikely - they simply make it seem as though they were virgins to "look good" in the eyes of their elders, including parents and relatives etc.
These days I have noticed a trend amongst Asian girls, including Chinese girls, to have sex on the first date or soon thereafter, whereas many western girls are not as "easy" as previously thought; which means many of them won't have sex until much later. If you've ever seen American Pie I you'll realize that even though the girls there are portrayed as horny as hell, the ones which have boyfriends didn't have sex until they "were ready".
Just look at the number of posts here on GoKM about local girls looking for sex to confirm this.
Also, don't always blame the guy. Girls these days are as horny as ever.
Forums > Food & Drink > Upscale Chinese How about Yitianyuan near Carrefour on Longquan Lu? OK, it may not be the most upscale option in town, but it's pretty up there and an average meal out for 2 will easily cost from 300-400 Yuan.
Other options include the two Thai restaurants near the Green Lake and Yunnan University.
Forums > Travel Yunnan > China forbids international tourism tibet @dazzer, smoking weed? And we all know how "enlightened" of a world view that people who smoke weed have.
Getting Away: Luang Prabang
Posted by@flengs, what do you mean by being fed up with the "foreigner-local" relations? Some of them seem quite superficial, but it depends on what level the relationship is. When both parties speak at least one of the other's languages really well, then mutual understanding will increase of course, however, this is rarely the case as few foreigners can speak Lao (except for a few words maybe) and few Laotians can speak very good English.
Major Kunming traffic arteries converted to one-way roads
Posted byAn interesting read. I first came to Kunming in mid-2009 and by then the changes were already made. I actually live just off xue fu lu and everytime I'm in a car or taxi (except late at night) we have to go the long way round starting on yi er yi, passing by hongshan bei lu and finally onto xue fu lu. In the reverse direction it's a straight route direct to yi er yi that takes all of 5-6 minutes outside or rush hour; in the original direction going back home it takes about double that. Good for taxi drivers (they get more money!), good for bus patronage but a little annoying for the average commuter affected by this everyday. Anyway, nothing wrong with it, it's just the way it is now - i never realized it used to be different before!
Getting Away: Jinghong
Posted byReally nice city.
First-hand account: Setting up a guesthouse in Xishuangbanna
Posted byGeezer, where did you hear this? Would be really sad if it was true. I too have thought about such a business and indeed have also considered xishuangbanna, which is one of the nicest parts of all of China. However, all things being considered, I find it much easier to set-up something in SE Asia.
First-hand account: Setting up a guesthouse in Xishuangbanna
Posted byFirst of all, Thais are foreign tourists too if they are outside of Thailand. Anyway, nice article, I wish these people lots of success. I think it would be nice if there were more westerners (and foreigners in general) travelling in Xishuangbanna, because right now it's a world away from neighboring Laos and Vietnam. In fact, even though it's so restrictive, I find it easier to come across other travellers in Myanmar than in Xishuangbanna...why is that? I look forward to the day you can find a central backpacker district in Jinghong that looks like its equivalent in Laos filled with hundreds of western backpackers.