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!
Xingyi: Guizhou's peaceful Karst paradise
Posted byNice work Ben. I've wondered about this area every time I've taken the train from Kunming to Guangzhou. I always keep my eyes open around 5:30 or 6 to make sure to catch a few seconds of the remarkably tall waterfalls on the east side as they catch the late afternoon sun... some of my favorite scenery in southwest China. Will go there next time I'm passing through - thanks for scoping it out first!
Interview: Mr Chelonian
Posted byLast saw them at the Speakeasy in 2008, one of the more memorable performances I saw there. I hear they're still a very good show.
Kunming battling Chinglish
Posted byBest one for me was in the old airport in the late 90s: "Warmly welcome foreign fiends"
How bad is Kunming's air?
Posted byInteresting to compare Philippe's air pollution shot from this article with the worst one I could find five years ago:
www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/483/kunming_goes_car_crazy
It's hard not to feel that once the oil refinery in Anning goes online people will talk about Kunming's once-blue skies the way older residents talk about swimming in a clean Dianchi.
Around Town: Business closings during Spring Festival
Posted byTusheng Shiguan is closed until the 15th.