Forums > Living in Kunming > Is Kundu safe? Haha...good point. Drunk people in clubs are naturally unpredictable, though I've always felt that drunk people in China just tend to act funny, start stumbling and within moments start to throw up, not really dangerous like in the west though. Note that I wasn't around when those incidents I described above happened...but I have to say I'm puzzled by what appears to be a large number of separate incidents. Also, apparently the police simply blocked off the area where that person died but didn't appear to be doing anything else, according to the people I talked to, who went to Kundu on Wednesday night.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Ban on smoking starts May 1st Do this: if you're a foreigner, point to a sign prohibiting smoking (in Chinese of course) to the next Chinese person you see smoking and see what their reaction is. If they don't react, ask them if they can read characters. If not (or even if they answer yes), tell them they are selfish and stupid.
Forums > Living in Kunming > exchange large amount of money I was told it was unlimited going from foreign currency to Yuan (well, there may be a limit like you guys say, but it's quite high) or 500USD equivalent per day when exchanging back to a foreign currency.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Visa run to honkers Phnom Penh is good, you can generally do everything through your hotel without even going to the embassy yourself, but this may also depend on your visa type. On the other hand, Phnom Penh is further away from Kunming than Bangkok or Hong Kong. Hanoi would be the closest and best, but that embassy sucks coz they only allow residents and locals to apply for Chinese visas...god knows why given that Hanoi is a major tourist city and not too far from China.
Forums > Living in Kunming > What the #*%$s wrong with the internet? My internet connection is generally quite good. Movies can be downloaded in about half an hour to 2 hours, which, while slower than in the west is good enough. Facebook, Youtube, etc. all work perfectly well with a VPN or freegate or something. Most other foreign websites work well enough even without a VPN or freegate. That's my experience, but basically, if you want to get a decent connection, get a good ISP, even if it costs 1000+ Yuan per month, which is OK I think, especially if you get a reliable connection and good speeds.
Video: Kunming driver crosses pedestrian bridge
Posted byI'm surprised his car was still driveable and didn't end up with a zillion dents (or maybe it did). I wouldn't dare drive like that knowing that damaging my car is almost certain if I were to attempt that and secondly I have more regard for the safety of pedestrians than this bozo did.
Still, this was an entertaining piece of news.
Kunming addresses taxi shift change troubles
Posted byYep...though I'm more used to getting hassled than ignored. I thought we were all walking atms to these guys! Haha...anyway, it really depends though, because those taxi drivers that constantly pester you in places like Vietnam often rip you off, but if you go for the ones that are not specifically looking for fares they'll actually use the meters. Of course, taxis are better than motorcycle taxis though since they are less likely to rip you off. Also, you can almost always find a taxi or something else when you need one in those countries, even during rush hour. Something that's hard to do in Kunming and even Shanghai...
Also, apart from the occassional three-wheeled scooter or electric scooter driver willing to drive you somewhere, there are few alternative forms of transport in Kunming apart from the standard forms you'd see in the west: buses and taxis (and eventually, a subway). Only on the outskirts of town will you find motorcycle taxis who congregate around tourist spots such as the Nationalities Village, but these guys don't pick up fares inside town, probably because they aren't allowed to, I presume.
Kunming addresses taxi shift change troubles
Posted byWhat i find that's totally bizarre to me is that in a developing country like China, no taxi driver follows a foreigner like would happen in neighboring Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or elsewhere. In those countries, you don't look for the taxis, they look for you! In Kunming and China in general, you can walk down the street and no taxi driver will ever stop for you unless you want them to.
Yunnan preparing warily for China smoking ban
Posted byTell the people to look at the signs and see what their reaction is! If they don't react, tell them that they can't read (which is what I would assume, if someone was just so oblivious to a sign right above their head).