The tropical botanical garden at Menglun (勐仑) is quite nice, I went there for the first time in November and was very impressed. One can easily spend a day or two there and still not see everything there is to see.
I really enjoyed the afternoon I spent there and only saw a fraction of what there was to see. My favorite part was a less-visited section of pristine rainforest in the back.
There's a hotel located within the garden compound where you can stay overnight, allowing you to essentially have the entire facility to yourselves.
If you choose to stay a day or so, you may want to stock up on food. There's plenty of tasty tropical fruit to be picked up in Jinghong or Menglun. If you want to have a picnic there it may be worth stopping by Wangtianshu Deli (www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/wan_31347/) in Jinghong before heading out:
It takes about 60-90 minutes to get to Menglun from Jinghong by car. I'd recommend showing up around one or two pm, as during mornings the park has a lot of tour groups passing through. That gives you an afternoon with the gardens basically to yourselves.
If you don't mind taking a little extra time to get to Menglun, I'd suggest rafting from Jinghong downstream to Ganlanba (橄榄坝) and taking a car east from there. It is possible in Jinghong to arrange a driver to meet you at Ganlanba.
Enjoy your trip!
Report: Cafe bomber confesses to bus bombing
Posted byxiaoliu's comment that Chingis refers to has been deleted. Comments or forum posts that threaten individuals or groups with violence are not welcome here.
Report: Cafe bomber confesses to bus bombing
Posted byA few comments on a few of these comments:
'If both of his legs were severed then you would have died within seconds if not minutes because of complete lost of blood expecially since the arterial veins were severed which will make his blood gush out like an ocean and lose conscienceness.'
Not sure what an arterial vein is, but the searing heat of the explosion may have cauterized his major blood vessels. The Xinxibao report did say that much of his leg mass had been reduced to 'cooked meat shreds'.
Also, one of the owners of Salvador's who saw the bomber in the hospital said the man was still alive - just barely - when the police took him to the hospital to confirm whether or not he had ever seen the guy in Salvador's before (he hadn't).
'if you look at the chinese news, you can see it's all bullshit. ridiculous report.'
While I am as skeptical about Chinese media reports as the next person, I think it's a bit much to assume that they're 100% wrong all the time. There are some writers who are trying to do the best possible job they can, and the Xinxibao reporter seems to have gotten closer to what I've heard from people who were there at the time than the other laughable stories by the likes of China Daily and Sina.
Although many Westerners like to think of the Chinese media as a massive propaganda machine, it is composed of many private companies that are trying to make money. Some - as in the West - do it through sensationalism or fearmongering. Others - who occasionally run into trouble with Big Brother - try to provide accurate and useful information to their readers. Chinese and Kunming media has a long way to go, but it has also come a long way in recent years.
Finally, it may seem 'convenient' that this guy confessed to the bus bombings prior to dying, but is it inconceivable that someone involved in the biggest bombing since the bus bombings may have also been involved in those very same bus attacks? I'm not convinced either way, but I wouldn't rule out any possibility at this point.
Treasure trove of new species discovered in Greater Mekong Region
Posted bythanks lulu, the necessary correction has been made
Buddha Noodle
Posted byYuquanzhai has been at its new location across the street next to Yuantong Temple for about a year now. here's a map of its current location: www.chinacitylistings.com/en/item/yuq_287/
'Kunming Information Hub' aims to increase government transparency
Posted byActually, tongzhi (通知) means 'notice' or 'notify', while xuanchuan (宣传) means 'propaganda' or 'publicity'.