The road through Fengke (the way most of the tour buses go) is in good condition, except for a 5 km stretch about 45 minutes out of Lijiang which is muddy and potholed. It's in good condition, but narrow and winding and does lots of climbing, so it takes a long time.
Honghe, Wenshan, Yuxi, Lincang, Baoshan, Dehong, Qujing, Zhaotong, and Chuxiong are all quite off the beaten path. Most of Yunnan is, for that matter. Just go to the bus station and choose a bus to somewhere random you've never heard of. Have an adventure. Most of Yunnan is beautiful, especially at this time of year.
Sounds like a better deal than the 25 yuan "Australian" blueberries they're selling in Dali these days. Though, probably not organic, as these Dali ones claim to be.
I biked from Lijiang to Lugu Lake last month. Text, maps, and pictures are all on my blog:
matthartzell.blogspot.com/[...]
The most direct route from Lijiang to Ninglang is closed for construction of a new 2nd class road (二级公路) and probably will be until 2016. There are three alternate routes:
a) Lijiang to Yongsheng (good 2nd class road), Yongsheng to Ninglang (paved but old, winding, narrow mountain road, very slow), Ninglang to Lugu (new 2nd class road, finished, and fast)
b) Lijiang to Mingyin (鸣因乡), Mingyin to Ahai Dam (阿海水电站), Ahai Dam to Hongqi (红旗镇), Hongqi to Lugu
c) Lijiang to MIngyin, Mingyin to Fengke (奉科乡), cross the Yangzte on the new bridge, Fengke to Yongning (永宁乡), Yongning to Lugu
I did route c) on my bike as it's the most scenic.
It took several days, and I also made out-of-the-way stops at Baoshan Stone City (宝山石头城) and Daju (大具). Each day, I saw a convoy of minivans and public buses heading from Lijiang to Lugu. They would all pass within one hour of each other, which means they must have left Lijiang at about the same time in the morning. There appeared to be many more than two buses. I'd estimate at least ten if not more. But I guess I'm not 100% sure if they were public buses or private tour company vehicles.
It was buried in one of the links provided above but so far no one's singled it out so I will:
There's a Vietnamese place at Saigong Wharf on Dianchi Road (越南菜馆,西贡码头,滇池路). For Vietnamese food purists it may disappoint. I'll admit the offering weren't exactly what I ate in Vietnam. Still, the food's really good, and the environment's interesting.
Highly recommended is the platter of do-it-yourself fresh spring rolls. It's cheap, and it comes with pineapple, baked tofu, basil, lettuce, cold mixian, and other herbs. It's also unlimited supply.
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Geogramatt
This guesthouse no longer exists.
Geogramatt
This is a really nice new restaurant in Dali. High quality vegetarian and vegan food, varied menu, daily specials. They make their own kombucha, too. The environment is very chill...multiple layers, floor seating, an outdoor courtyard and terrace balcony overlooking the the roofs of the neighbors in old Dali
Geogramatt
Serendipity is an honest-to-gosh American style diner, a concept I don't think I've ever really seen before in China.
They do salads, burgers, and pasta dishes, but the true stars of the menu are the breakfasts, which are served all day.
No measly hostel breakfast sets, these ones come with heaping servings of bacon and eggs and bottomless coffee.
No table seating. Everyone sits around the counter, where you can see what's going on in the kitchen and chat with the friendly staff.
The fresh donuts are the best I've had in China
Geogramatt
The 68 kuai Saturday night all-you-can-eat buffet is a terrific deal.
Steak, pork loin, chicken schnitzel, pizza, two kinds of salad, creme de caramel, cheesecake, and lots of other stuff.
Geogramatt
Recently experienced both very early morning departure and very late night arrival at Changshui. Was worried about making the connection to and from the airport, but both turned out well.
First, the departure. It was 7:30 am. I arranged a taxi to pick me up at 5:00. That he did. Cost: 100 yuan.
The departure was scheduled for 12:30 am, was delayed, and didn't get in until 2:30 am. I was sure I'd have to find a black cab, and wasn't even sure if I would find that. Instead, I was delighted to discover that the Airport Express Bus was still running! For 25 yuan it took me to the train station, where I then caught a cab for the short ride the rest of the way home. I was very impressed by this late night bus. I'd thought the buses only ran till around 11 pm-midnight. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence or not. Maybe, knowing my flight was delayed and there would be hundreds of passengers looking for a ride home, the airport dispatched an extra bus. If so, kudos to whoever was responsible!
Cycling the Nujiang: Bingzhongluo and the Tibet border
发布者Dan,
Thanks for your report.
Sean and I biked from Bingzhongluo towards the Tibetan border on January 1st, 2010. We thought we might have reached the Tibetan border after riding for a few hours from Bingzhongluo, but now that I see the sign in your photograph I realize we never actually made it. Where we turned around was a small wooden dilapidated house with a tiny store in it. Do you remember how many more km from that wooden house to the actual border it was?
Interesting that when we visited in the middle of the winter the weather was considerably better than it seems to have been for you in the summer. Blue skies, and beautiful blue water in river.
Also...did you really take a bus direct to Bingzhongluo from Kunming? Was that a standard passenger bus, or a private chartered bus? We saw no signs of passenger buses direct from Bingzhongluo to Kunming when we were there. In fact, we didn't even see direct buses from Gongshan. The furthest up the valley one could get direct from Kunming in December 2009/January 2010 was Fugong.
New Kunming airport's first phase nearing completion
发布者If there are to be direct flights linking Kunming to The Americas, Europe, and Australia, which cities in particular do you think are most likely to score one?
Please submit your guesses.
Mine:
Europe - London, Paris
Australias - Sydney, Melbourne
Americans - Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco
Is this too optimistic? I'm not sure really how much market there is for these routes. I'd benefit, but how many others are there like me? How many actual Europeans, Australians, and North Americans live in Kunmign? A few thousand?
Then of course there's foreign tourists. That might be where it makese sense. I'd guess a good chunk of the foreigners who come to China would like to include Kunming on their itineraries? Currently the fly into the hubs in Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Beijng, and then travel to Kunming by train or domestic flight. I wonder how many would be diverted onto the new direct flights.
And then the're the outgoing Chinese market, which I imagine would not be insignificant. The number of Chinese going abroad for business, travel, and study abroad is getting bigger every year.
But all together, how much aggregate demand is there for these direct flights? Maybe if they only operate a 2-3 days a week they'd make sense.
Please add your thoughts on this topic...
Traveler loses Lonely Planet, stranded at Salvador's
发布者This post made my evening.
But I've gotta know...is Jenny part of the team, or for real?
:P
Around Town: China's last narrow gauge passenger train
发布者Thanks so much for this article, Chris!
I've been meaning to ride this train ever since I first moved to Kunming almost 2 years ago (I used to live on 建设路 right next to the train tracks and waiting for it to cross was part of my daily routine). Being somewhat of a train geek myself, I'm embarrassed to say I never actually did it.
But seeing your article now, I'm inspired. In fact, this very afternoon, I think I'll go to the North Station and take the afternoon run to 石咀！
Myanmar drugs imperil Chinese border towns
发布者Tangentially related anecdote:
I've recently been watching a Chinese TV series called 军人荣誉.
It's entirely filmed on location in Yunnan, and centers around the 缉毒警察 (anti-narcotics armed police division) and their efforts to control the drug trade between Myanmar and Yunnan.
At times it's pretty cheesy, but also quite entertaining. Every few episodes there's a new story arc focusing on a different drug trafficking party. Usually there a beautiful girl, led down a path of personal destruction by some nightclub boss or gangster. We see flashbacks of the girl's life when she was still innocent and pure, and then see how she was corrupted.
Can hardly vouch for its authenticity, but thought it merited a mention on this thread.
You can find all the episodes on youku and tudou.