@harriss, Chinese people do the weirdest things in China, certainly not westerners or other foreigners! What about all the parents allowing their children to take a piss or a crap in a supermarket in the nappy (diaper) section!!! Hello....buy a freaking nappy (diaper)!

But anyway, I digress...

My 2 cents - it seems that even if Chinese nationals are eligible for a visa-on-arrival the Chinese government does not let its nationals leave the country without a visa for that country. Things may have changed, but every Chinese person on the flight from Kunming to Vientiane I was on in March had a visa in their passport (no one used the visa-on-arrival facility at Vientiane airport). Similarly, I observed numerous Chinese people at Bangkok airport with Thai visas from the Embassy in Beijing; this despite Chinese citizens being eligible for visas on arrival in Thailand too.

Sounds like you are one of the few foreigners who haven't been to Thailand yet made it to Kunming first. Thailand has about 100+ times more foreigners in any given location than you'll find in Kunming or Yunnan in general. English is widely spoken and it's very easy to get around. Anyway, since you're asking, well you can start by staying in the Sukhumvit or Silom areas of Bangkok, or Khao San road for the cheapest backpacker style accommodation options. However, there are plenty of cheap beds to be had even in the former areas and there are equally cheap beds in other areas such as Ramkamhaeng road (though few first time travellers stay in these other areas as they are further away from the sights, English is less widely spoken and it's harder to get around, though with the extension of the skytrain this is beginning to change). It's quite easy to find hotels or guesthouses for around 400-600 Baht per night (around $13-20), however, cheaper places can still be found though prices have certainly increased over the years.

Try searching on www.agoda.com to see what you come up with. The same goes for Phuket and Koh Phi Phi.

Try John's car service. His contact details are listed on this website. John Xie speaks great English and has about 4 cars available for use. He can just act as a driver and not a guide - he charges 450RMB a day, however petrol and tolls are extra.

@blobbles, I agree with you about your points regarding interaction at home vs. Asia. However, I think that in China people tend to avoid any contact with strangers and don't care about people they don't know (only when they go to foreign countries do they try to seek out strangers due only to the most superficial commonalities). Although when it comes to Chinese people's reactions to foreigners in cities with relatively limited numbers of foreigners (i.e. Kunming) a small number of locals will have strange reactions to the presence of foreigners, which to someone quite self-conscious like me, becomes rather irritating and makes me want to avoid such situations (I'm talking about the hellos (by far the most common comments probably accounting for 90%+ of "interaction"), but also the occasional comments about foreigners that would appear racist or otherwise discriminatory if they were repeated back home).

The presence of foreigners in a given location automatically removes that stigma, because you're not likely to face such comments in areas frequented by foreigners, since people are used to seeing them. Therefore, while there's nothing wrong with being the only white guy in a particular location, for me at least, the excitement and possible feeling of uniqueness is no longer something positive, but becomes annoying because at the end of the day I am not that special, I'm just an everyday guy and why should I be the object of attention when a Chinese person (usually) doesn't receive much attention in the west anymore?

Therefore, if a westerner were to come up to me and start a conversation, I'd be more than happy to engage him/her. Sometimes we forget that living in China is still considered to be a "difficult" environment (especially for a foreigner) and trying to fit in and gain acceptance is not as easy as some people think it is. So if someone, especially a foreigner goes out of their way to be nice, rather than make an unfunny joke like saying "hello!" that's a good thing. Of course it's also an awesome thing if you can befriend locals too.