User profile: Alien

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Their back!

I'm usually happy about shaokao on the street - yeah, would be nice if they cleaned up afterwards, but...

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Forums > Living in Kunming > White Rabbit

Y'see, Peter, Gracie Slick and the Jefferson Airplane were secretly planting memes in American heads for a Chinese candy company back in the summer of 1967. Now the Americans are all crazy, especially those who couldn't understand the song - but in fact there are also some who have strong suspicions of the motives of Lewis Carroll - there's a line in THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, delivered to Alice by some impossible creature that she meets, I think: "I'll believe in you if you'll believe in me."
That's how conspiracies start. I personally belong to several, and you're welcome to sign up on the basis of the above quotation.

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Forums > Travel Yunnan > Passport waived at hostel. Good, bad or ugly?

Simplest to ignore the issue, it rarely if ever leads to any problems of note, at least for the traveler. The local person or hotel manager will be much more aware of possible problems than you will and will act accordingly and sensibly. Technically, I think you're right: legally you must be registered where you are staying, but I have successfully talked my way around such issues more than once. If you rent a flat, however, you will likely have a problem when you go to renew your visa, if you do not register at the local copshop.

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Something odd about the lengths of times listed - I think they must be for Chinese citizens. I have gotten the usual China-Laos visa at the border south of Jinghong about 6 times over the past 10 years: it always took me qabout 20 minutes, cost about US$35-40, and was good for a month (with US passport). Crossing from Hekou to Viet Nam, which I've done twice in the past 7 years, required that I get the visa in Kunming, but both times it was good for a month.

Have I read this thing wrong?

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@atwilden, you're right, the whole concept of ownership in any form has always been an important social issue everywhere, with a tremendous variety of local solutions that have worked for a time, more or less, until they no longer worked - still, I like Sitting Bull's incredulousness at the idea of land ownership: the man was not stupid, and it raises basic questions. Then there's control of the seas, which has been in the news lately....as for asteroids, I dunno, but take a look at the machinations of 'the company' in the ALIEN films.

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I wonder how long it will be until national regimes and/or private corporations start claiming they 'own' areas of the lunar surface. Read Sitting Bull's contemptuous comments on the White-American idea of land ownership in BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE ("They say we sold the land but we never did. Sell the land? Why not sell the sky, and the moon and the stars?")

Reviews

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Not quite what you'd call a jumping place, but not bad at all for rather standard US-type meals, not overly expensive, and with a really good salad bar that's cheap, or free with most dinner dishes after 5:30PM. You can get a bottle of beer or even wine if you really want to, but I've never seen anybody do it - maybe that's just to take out. Chinese Christian run, and they hire people with physical disadvantages, who are pleasant and helpful. Frequented by foreign (mostly North American) Christians and Chinese Christians - was started by a Canadian couple associated with Bless China (previously, Project Grace), who are no longer here, but no religious pressure or any of that. Steaks are nothing special, and I avoid the Korean dishes, which I've had a few times but which did not impress me.

As a shop and bakery, it's very good bread at reasonable prices, of various kinds (Y18 for a good multigrain loaf that certainly weighs well over a pound. Other stuff too, like granola and oatmeal that is local, as well as imported things, including American cornflakes and so forth, which some people seem to require.

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Large portions, seriously so with the pizza, which is Brooklyn/American style, I guess. Convivial, conversational, good place to drink with good folks on both sides of the bar, especially after about 9PM.

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Really good pizza and steaks. The wine machine fuddles me when I'm a bit fuddled, & seems unnecessary. Good folks on both sides of the bar.