Latest Comments

• • July 1, 2011
  • Video: Kunming driver crosses pedestrian bridge
    

    I'm surprised he doesn't drive Audi.

• • July 1, 2011
  • Getting Away: Chongqing
    

    One more tip for nightlife

    Cici Park (西西公园)
    Hippie-style bar and lounge with occasional events. The friendly owner's menagerie, including a dog, cat, and goose, all hang out at the bar. One side of the plaza overlooks the Jiefang Bei city center area; the other side offers a view of the Jialing River and Hongya Dong.

    2 Linjiang Lu, Jiefang Bei, Yuzhong District西西公园解放碑渝中区临江路2号(原酒吧一条街)

• • July 1, 2011
  • Getting Away: Chongqing
    

    Here is another older comprehensive article on Chongqing
    http://gochengdoo.com/en/blog/item/1702/chongqing

    Recent one on Ciqikou - Old town in Chongqing
    http://gochengdoo.com/[...]

• • November 17, 2010
  • Interview: Yang Zhi
    

    "What domestic or international magazines do you respect?
    Yang: City Pictorial (《城市画报》) ...and FHM."

    sad

• • September 4, 2010
  • American conservative group makes inroads into China's classrooms
    

    "Yunnan education dept. denies abstinence taught in textbook"
    http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/[...]

    Don't get yourself fooled by the headline - this article is actually confirming the report.

Latest Forum Posts

• • January 20, 2012
    
  • Forums > Travel Yunnan > Chengdu-Kunming: alternatives to train and flying?
    

    I could think of several options.

    There are sleeper buses (i saw some RMB70-120 from beimenzhan 19-23hours!, but there should be more sleeper buses leaving from other stations).

    use baidu.com/ zhidao.baidu.com search "成都到昆明大巴" for example

    But you could also try to first make it to Panzihua halfway and from there check more options.

    You could've sent your bikes by train (RMB70) 2-3 days earlier and then ride back South.

    Flying doesn't have to be expensive (especially the very day of Spring Festival the 22nd has many cheap flights)

    I see return flights for RMB400 and less (plus tax) till the 25th of Jan. and starting from February 1st

    http://flight.qunar.com/[...]

    Hitchhiking is another option, and for foreigner it's easy
    http://gochengdoo.com/[...]

    And ride sharing is getting more and more popular, but there are too many Chinese sites to list, so alternatively you could also post a classified on gochengdoo.com

• • July 1, 2011
    
  • Forums > Living in Kunming > Skype 5.3
    

    ok it was 5 years ago not 3

    http://blogs.skype.com/[...]

    Skype filtering and monitoring private conversation is a daily practice.

• • July 1, 2011
    
  • Forums > Living in Kunming > Skype 5.3
    

    Seriously, this tomtom signed me out a private conversation when using the word "fuck" or other swear and "sensitive" words. It wasn't even a political or sexual conversation, just some file transfer. They admitted to run a real-time filtering software 3 years ago.

    So they signed a cooperation with tomtom, but their file sending is incredible slow in China and not reliable. Skype is not the only one around and after skype being swallowed by Microsoft it's time to look for alternatives.

• • March 24, 2011
    
  • Forums > Living in Kunming > Driver License Test
    

    Try the online quiz

    http://www.chinacartimes.com/quiz/

• • March 21, 2011
    
  • Forums > Living in Kunming > Gmail chat blocked?
    

    this might explain it

    "Google accuses China of interfering with Gmail email system"
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/[...]

Latest Reviews

• • invisible
    July 9, 2009
    
  • Kunming > Vintage Café
    茴转时光

    since somebody mentioned the Vietnamese spring roll. I was tempted, but put off by the price 25 RMB for one! Next day I went down the local market and got 8 delicious fresh rolls for 3.5. Can't beat that!

• • invisible
    July 7, 2009
    
  • Kunming > French Café
    兰白红

    Still the best street cafe on Wenlinjie. Some dishes are superb, most dishes nice to average, the only dishes that break that consistency are the so la la soups. Good hot and cold drinks and some nice authentic French menu items you can't find anywhere else in town make it an outstanding place. I would give it five out of five it they wouldn't have doubled the prices in the the last years and kicked out that PC to check your mail. But the price hike is also due the increasing rent and commercialisation of the whole uni-area. Still I love to hang out outside and drink my hot chocolate everytime I'm in KMG. Keep up the good work and think about franchising in other cities further north:)

• • invisible
    July 7, 2009
    
  • Kunming > The Box
    老夫子

    Not a big place, but they managed to transform the lack of space into a comfy coziness. Music is ok, as is the drink menu, and the staff. One of the few places to use the internet for free for those you don't walk around and sleep with their laptop.

• • invisible
    July 7, 2009
    
  • Kunming > Teresa's Pizza
    特蕊沙匹萨

    As far as I remember this used to be a good place for pizza, but shidai bian le. Service is slow, pizza is ok-average, but nothing great, nor is the music, deco. Their tortellini are ridiculously expensive, and the portion so small, that they agreed not to charge for it. The fresh orange juice is the only deal I can recommend. 10 Yuan.

• • invisible
    July 7, 2009
    
  • Kunming > Mingtong Yinxiang Youth Hotel
    明通印象青年酒店

    First it took the taxi driver quite a while to drive around as it's hidden in a side street off Beimen Jie. But the location isn't bad: 10 min walk off the lazy hang-outs on Wenlinjie (with a short cut through the east gate of Yunnan Uni). As often in China it took the staff half hour to check us in, with requesting our passports again at night and again after the check-in. Yes they have hot water, but you have to wait very long (up to 30 min at night!!!) and waste a lot of water in the meanwhile, which I specifically mention out cause they jump on the bandwagon of being green at least according to the Chinglish stickers in the bathroom. Staff wasn't very helpful when I asked them about the hot water prob, they were too lazy to get up or even reply, let alone that all the Q&A would be in Chinese, as they don't speak a word of any other language and don't bother. At first glance the rooms are clean, but next day there was a huge cockroach surfing on the wet bathroom floor. Rooms are tiny and remind you of bad days in Chungking Mansion in Hongkong. Really tiny (you can hardly move around in the half meter space between the wall and the bed), and the doubles are even smaller than the twins. All rooms have half transparent bathroom windows, which in terms of twins is a quite perverse idea. The rooms have no AC, but big flat-screen TVs, telephone and internet access. When you lift the curtains your view is limited by a fat white wall, and no it isn't the "Great" wall. The mattresses are really hard, too hard for me. I managed to break two new little shower parts just by turning it on and off, and one glass busted when filled with hot water. Also the ventilation in the bathroom doesn't really work, so in a couple of months it will be really moldy.
    Other than that the hotel has no other whatsoever facilities, and no maps or other free info to help you getting around KMG. As even the lobby can only have 2 people seated at the same time it makes it really just a place for sleep, the shit/shower&shave and leave asap. I give it one star, because you feel like staying in a prison, there are better options for less money and for a bit more you get a room in real hotel like the Home Inn. Don't stay here unless every single room in Kunming is booked out and you happen to hold the Guinness world record for being the smallest person on the planet.

• The Old Theatre Inn
• Lost Garden Guesthouse & Restaurant
• Chicago Coffee
• Kunming Mei's Mandarin School
• As You Like
• Keats School
• Moondog
• GoKunming
• YMCA Club 1933
• Slice of Heaven
• Kingsway Tented Resorts
• Bakery 88
• Camel Bar
• The Mask
• Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture
• My Favor Restaurant
• Chapter One
• Wonders Of Yunnan Travel
• O'Reilly's Irish Pub
• Salvador's Coffee House
• Wangtianshu Restaurant & Deli
• Tenwest Mandarin School
• Cacao Mexican Restaurant
• Flying Tigers Restaurant
• Kunming Yu-Cong Enterprise Management Company
• Huiying Dental Clinic