Forums > Living in Kunming > FAKE APPLE STORE-YAHOO NEWS The funny (and at the same time lame) side of things is that the quality control of whoever designed and decorated this store is really non-existant. You will notice that while most of the signs say "Apple Store", at least one says "Apple Stoer". That's just the laziest, dumbest quality control i've ever seen. Embarrassing to say the least. If you're going to open something fake, the least you could do is open a dictionary or hire a foreigner for an hour to proofread!
I know I wouldn't open a store with Chinese writing without getting someone to proofread it first.
On another note let's hope that the products they sell are actually real (as some people have suggested) even if the store is a fake.
Forums > Living in Kunming > SCUMBAG ALERT I have seen this guy's posts but I never bothered to read them properly (too boring). Anyway, it's sad that in a city like Kunming where there are few foreigners, that scumbags like this should exist. It's sad because if the going gets tough, many foreigners like to seek each other out to get over the rough times, but if scumbags like this get in the way then it makes it more difficult to seek out genuine, honest people.
Forums > Food & Drink > Donuts in Kunming Try walking around downtown Kunming - there might be a donut king there. Otherwise, passable donuts are sold in a small shop that also does coffee on that road beside Yunnan University (yuenshi lu or however you spell it), it's the same one where you'll find the Dai restaurant with it's bamboo furniture.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Anti Thief and Pickpocket rules in Kunming or how to avoid beeing robbed Some good advice there, but seriously, who lives in a house in Kunming, or indeed any city in China? I have only seen apartment buildings in Kunming, or at the very least, townhouses on the outskirts of the city where there are multiple storeys. I have never seen a single freestanding home (they seem to exist only in the countryside), so I think that while you can never take any chances, the chance of a thief climbing up to the 9th floor of your apartment building through your open window are zero. Yes, zero. Unless you're spiderman or you're a fireman with a cherry picker there's no way of getting up there.
That being said, keep your electric bike (if you have one) in a designated parking lot in your apartment complex since I have heard of numerous thefts from those areas underneath the stairs inside an apartment building, this inspite of the bike being parked inside the building! Presumably a thief could just gain entrance to an apartment complex and then enter a building after a resident opens the main door and finally steal a bike. I have a friend whom this happened to, although I presume he lives in one of those older apartment complexes on xue fu road (I have never been to his apartment, he only told me the approximate location where he lives), which are easier to gain access to than the newer ones.
Got another friend who got robbed of his valuables including his passport while riding on a bus during the daytime. Apparently nobody saw the thief razoring my friend's bag, or they didn't care! My advice is unless you need your passport for ID when going to a bank or to get a visa or check-in to a hotel, etc. don't carry it with you (despite what the law may say)! At most bring a photocopy of your passport. No one is going to ask you for your passport on the street, and if they did, I'd run (never know if these guys are legitimate)! If a legitimate police officer ever wanted to see your documents, tell them to go to your apartment to inspect them there (though I have never heard of that happening either).
Similarly, another friend had her passport stolen (was in her bag) from a football field at a university during a cultural event. This happened inspite of the bag being placed on the edge of the grass and her not being far away from her bag the whole time she was there. In fact, her friends were supposedly watching her bag the entire time!!
Forums > Living in Kunming > Is aborting girls really still so common? Why kill off females? Not only are Chinese females very beautiful, especially between the ages of about 20 and 35, but they are more studious and better behaved than their males counterparts. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind in China preferring a male when females have so many prospects these days.
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.