Thanks again @AlPage48. I guess I'm just too lazy and was trying to minimise travel time. In truth I would rather not pay for such hotels when Vienna hotels are nice enough for me. They've been welcoming in every other city.

I remember when I first got here, taking the bus a free for all. Nobody waited in line. They just 'bum rush' to get on. They use to not turn on the lights on the buses. Sometimes they would turn on only the emergency lights. The amount of 'pickpocket-er' was outrages. There was no subways. You could only use coins or paper money to pay for the bus ride. Nan Ping Jie use to have all these beggar (some disabled and some faking disabilities). They use to have these kids come up to you and they would hold on to your pants until you gave them money. The parents would watch them from afar. You had these guys handing out airline/traveling brochure and business card one after another. It was a free for all.
There was less 'greenery'. Streets were more dirtier. There's more but you get what I mean. I sometimes think about the past and can't believe how Kunming has changed.

Thanks for the flashback @livinginchina. Totally true. The metro is a be big one for me - most would agree that it's a step in the right direction though some would debate the necessity in a city as small and relatively flat as Kunming. I remember first coming to Kunming in '04/'05 and thinking that I would definitely not like to live there. The area around the train station and the bus stations nearby was particularly nasty. It's a pity that the city 'threw out the baby with the bathwater'. I do miss the street food, outdoor seating, multicultural and generally more laid-back and comfortable lifestyle. I won't miss the endless construction (development apparently)or any other things you listed. I just hoped that the city might have caught up in its acceptance of 'foreigners'. Maybe they can sort out the traffic too. The contrast with more civilised Chinese cities is shocking.

I see your point. All these new high rises for the sake of GDP really has changed the 'quaint' city atmosphere. They have torn down hundreds if not thousands of buildings for the sake of modernization not taking into consideration the other aspect of it. Kunming is not as lively as it was back then. There was a warmth to it. I guess that's progress. Another thing I forgot to mention are the bathrooms. Before you had to pay to use the dirty, disgusting bathroom. The toilets are free and modern.

I use to go to McDonalds, Carrefour for my bathroom needs all the time. I used to get diarrhea all the time. When I visit other places in China, I love to go to the 'old towns' for that 'way back' feeling. :-).

I'd forgotten all about the bathrooms. I seem to remember hearing that it was a part one attemt to

become a 'civilised city'.

I guess I just can't accept any place that would rather leave a family with a two-year-old child on the street than allow a foreigner with all the necessary documentation to stay (apart from an ID card). Like I say, I didn't face such discrimination in the 4 previous days while travelling across China.

Haha. I'm not a fan of the old towns. So fake. So Disney. Dali old town has become pretty terrible in that regard.

Funnily enough, Dali is one place in Yunnan I've never had trouble staying at a hotel.

Funnily enough, Dali is one place in Yunnan I've never had trouble staying at a hotel.

Same here @The_Dude. Always welcoming before the virus made everyone paranoid. Haven't been. back since.