Category: Kunming

The bus arrived in Kunming early, but we sat in the bus for a long time – I guess allowing us to sleep a little longer. No complaints from me. At 6am, they roused us, and we grabbed our bags. Thankfully we were right by the train station, so Natalia and I booked our train ticket to Guilin (or Natalia booked it, as she can manage a few words in Chinese). We had said goodbye to the others, but as it turned out, we had a day to kill before our train, so we met with them at the Hump guesthouse.

Had a shower at the guesthouse, on the sly, then met up with a guy named Glen who had just arrived from America. He joined us for breakfast. At one point he asked if we wanted a beer, and we reminded him it was not quite 8am in the morning. He was still on U.S time, so it seemed perfectly normal to him, but he opted for a coke instead.

After breakfast, Glen, myself, and Natalia headed to the lake in Kunming, to relax and to check out the bird and flower market en route. Did some reading in the park, then headed to the University area, to meet up with Craig, Jonas, and Kathy at Salvador’s Cafe for lunch.

Shopped around the University area for a bit, after that. Some arty shops and the like, that were fun to check out. After shopping we figured we better get our bags, and head to the train. At the Hump, we ran into a friend of Natalia’s – Peter from Denmark, who was also going to Guilin, so we shared a cab to the train station.

Checked in at the train station, and then boarded the train. We find out it’s a 16 hour journey, not the 10 we were expecting, so we settle down for the long haul.

Gabriella’s Birthday! Andrew’s too. Got up and got ready to visit the Stone Forest. By the time I made it to the bus stop, it was 11:15am, and the next bus would be at 11:30. I contemplated for a bit, and decided against going to the Stone Forest, as it was 2.5 hours away, and the last return bus to Kunming would be at 4. It was also expensive, so I might save it for a return trip to Kunming – as I most likely have to head back this way on my way to Hong Kong.

Decided to head north through Kunming (I was at the Southern Bus terminal), making a few stops on my way to the lake. Had some Across The Bridge Noodles, a Yunnan province specialty. I was given about 10 plates with different things on them, then a bowl of noodles and a giant bowl of broth. I assumed the idea was to add everything to the bowl of broth, and did so.

Nice park by the lake, which I wandered through for a bit. Stopping to read on occasion. It seems very dry here compared to the humid south, so I headed to the Chinese Wal-mart, to get some lip balm. Pretty much the same as our Wal-Mart, although poorly organized. Wasn’t hit by any falling prices, thankfully. I managed to find the checkouts and pay for my balm, then made my way back to the hostel to work on this journal, and upload some pictures. “Into The Wild” was playing next to the computer lounge, so I watched a bit of that too.

Bed seemed like a good idea, so I tried that next.

I managed to book a flight to Kunming, China before heading to see Indy the night previous, so in the morning I packed my things and caught a cab to the airport.  I was very early, so I went through a number of shops, but didn’t see anything worth buying – most higher-end stuff is cheaper in Canada.

The flight went pretty well, I mostly read the Economist magazine that was complimentary on the way onto the plane.  In Kunming I collected my bag, and asked at information if there was bus to the hostel, or at least downtown Kunming.  They wanted to charge me 90rmb for a minibus, which seemed a little high, so I took a cab for 20. 

Checked into the hostel, then did some roaming around the city.  Took a lot of twists and turns, but managed not to get lost, which was surprising. Back at the hostel, I watched some of “Forrest Gump” and did some reading.  Low key night.