Forums > Living in Kunming > Kunming vs. Chinese and East Asian cities

I lived in Saigon for about two years. When i moved to Kunming it felt like i was coming back to civilization again. Now having said that, i stayed in kunming for about half a year and when i went to renew my visa in hong kong i had the same feeling about moving back to a civilized world. Tomorrow, i will be heading back to canada and i know that everything will be as it should be again.

I guess you can get used to any condition and after a while you just think everything is normal until you head back to a more developed city. Then you realize how horrible your conditions really were.

Back to canada... Horray for personal freedoms again. Of all the diffrences in east vs west, freedom has to be the biggest thing to affect you daily life. Followed closely my hygene/cleaniess of the city.

On freedom, in canada i never had any remotely bad feelings towards the government officials and actually like the police. I really felt that they were there to help and to serve. In china, lets just say that they are not the most helpful. Losing face and/or having a good time is much more important than helping someone in need. That is unless you can help them out with their monthly wages. So much counterfits. I am addicted to cola but eventually stopped drinking it except at mcdonalds because nine out of tem time you just buy fake coke. FAKE COKE. Really!. In vietnam, well, it is just a free for all. Open joke is that the triad rides around on white bike with police written on them. Blatent raising cost on every item down to a bowl of soup to the point that it is the only country i have to ask the price of everything before i buy. What is mind boggling is that the same shop I go to everyday i have to ask the prices for the same items i buy. Also, don't get your bike fixed by the locals in vietnam. If you can find a foreign mechanic, use them. Even if it means you will be paying much more. At least you know the repair will be okay. Whereas if you get a local fix your bike i guarantee it will break down one kilometer down the road. This includes fixing flats. Tried over thirty diffrent mechanics over two years and the result was the same; if the bike rolls away from the shop okay then they don't care. I am not mechanically inclined but eventually learned to repair my own bike out of necessity and fear of breaking down.

Having lived in vietnam and china I realize that common courtesy and common deacentcy is not that common in these areas. On first glance it all seems okay but once you stay for a while you really see the true face of its inhabitants.

Side note, i used to be a very happy go lucky guy back in canada. In fact, a lot of my friends confide in me during their dark hours so i could cheer them up. After two years in vietnam my friends asked what happened to me. I seem always to be in a bad mood. That is when i knew i had to leave vietnam. It was just sucking the life out of me. Traveling around china brought my mood up again.

On cleaniness. In vietnam, people just go number one and two anywhere. In China, children go anywhere. In canada, unless their drunk, you rarely see people urinating and only dogs go number two in the open. Even then it is looked after by the owner.

Garbage. In vietnam it is thrown everywhere. In china, at least, it is grouped into piles. But then they leave it out overnight to pick up in the morning. Why not do that at night no you don't attract so much rats! Coming from a former "cleanest city in The world" it is quite a change.

Sorry for my long winded rant but is was good to let a little steam off. I am sure many will disagree with me but i must add that in all three countries i lived as a local would. Meaning i rented a regular house and ate at local eateries. I did not stay at the tourist traps, lived in hotels or ate at upscale resturants.

So in conclusion, great places to visit but dont stay very long.

Forums > Travel Yunnan > Extending Visa Via Vietnam

Sorry to hear about the cancellation. I lived in vietnam for a few years and took the train from hanoi to lao cai a few times. It is pleasent enough. I would have recommended you did the run via hong kong though. The people are much more friendly, city is more metropolitian and most people can speak some english (english is actually a second official language).

In any case, the one piece of advice i can offer is be careful if you use a agent. They sometimes charge quite a bit for their service, espically if they get you a ticket without the prices listed on the ticket. If you just go to the hanoi station you can buy a ticket for later in the day. I never had a problem with this. Near one end of the ticket windows (i think it was number 18) the attendent speaks deacent enough english.

One last piece of information, when you cross back over to china turn left, so the river and vietnam is on your left, walk about two to three hundred meters (i think) past the series of stalls selling vietnamese products, dried fish and fruit and souviners (this area is acutally called vietnam street). You should see the bus station across the street from the river. Hekou is really small, there really is just one area where the buses collect. Hpoe this helps.

Hmm... Spent many months in hekou over the last seven years. Never heard of a power outage there.

Forums > Travel Yunnan > Extending Visa Via Vietnam

Sorry to hear about the cancellation. I lived in vietnam for a few years and took the train from hanoi to lao cai a few times. It is pleasent enough. I would have recommended you did the run via hong kong though. The people are much more friendly, city is more metropolitian and most people can speak some english (english is actually a second official language).

In any case, the one piece of advice i can offer is be careful if you use a agent. They sometimes charge quite a bit for their service, espically if they get you a ticket without the prices listed on the ticket. If you just go to the hanoi station you can buy a ticket for later in the day. I never had a problem with this. Near one end of the ticket windows (i think it was number 18) the attendent speaks deacent enough english.

One last piece of information, when you cross back over to china turn left, so the river and vietnam is on your left, walk about two to three hundred meters (i think) past the series of stalls selling vietnamese products, dried fish and fruit and souviners (this area is acutally called vietnam street). You should see the bus station across the street from the river. Hekou is really small, there really is just one area where the buses collect. Hpoe this helps.

Forums > Travel Yunnan > Extending Visa Via Vietnam

Hello jhonourable,

$1300 for a trip to lai cai sounds crazy. I travel there all the time as I have cousins there.

Just head to the kunming east bus station and you can get a ticket to hekou for about 200rmb. Do not take the overnight bus as there seems to be alot of pickpockets that operates on those buses.

Dont worry about meals and hotel. Just follow the crowd during the bus ride. My mandarin is limited as well so i stand in line with everyone and pay the same as the person in front of me for meals. Regarding hotels, every third business is a hotel. Weekends they can fill up but since you will be going to take care of a visa i will presume you will be going during the weekday so no worries.

The bus station in hekou is right by the bridge to cross over to vietnam. Also, you can just head to the bus station to buy a ticket for the same day to come back to kunming.

Now, i have gotten a vietnam visa within the same day and the bridge closes at 11pm so stamps could be done the same day as well. There is someone that speaks english that will help you for a small fee. Sorry, i dont remember the person's phone number but a quick search online and you will find him.

Hope this helps, if you have any other specific questions just post and i will try to reply.