The road is not much faster than the train, taking around five hours. There is not much difference going via Chuxiong or Lufeng, the Lufeng road is a bit shorter, but then it is a little slower.
Technically, the fastest way would be to take a bus from Heijing to Guangtong 广通 to catch the 14:29 train to Kunming, which gets there in just over one hour.
I think for the expensive hotels, like Green Lake, it is worthwhile to check out something like ctrip for online bookings. You can get the Green Lake Hotel for about Y800 (depending on season) which fits into your original budget. For some reason I have never stayed at the GLH, but the location is hard to beat.
There is a car hire agency who supply cars with and without driver near Xiaoximen, which I have used in the past and the prices were what I would consider reasonable and the cars are good. Their phone number is 138 8885 9900.
But Yuanyang is a long way to go (both in distance and driving time), so you have to keep that in mind when you try to negotiate the price, plus you will have to pay for the drivers accommodation. I would assume somewhere in the Y2500 range not so unreasonable for what you are suggesting.
Hiring a car in Yuanyang itself is easy, local drivers there know the area and are better able to guide you to the right spots at the right time.
Try Dali. I have had my visa there renewed next working day and some have reported that you can get it same day.
I have never had any luck getting a visa renewed any faster than five working days here in Kunming — and since it is now weekend and May Day holiday coming up, you would be lucky to see your passport again before May 4th.
I have in the past renewed a double entry visa here in Kunming, but you will lose your second entry and will just get the usual extra 30 days.
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It is rare to find good approximations of western food anywhere in China and their lamb-chops (listed as lamb T-bone steak or so) were the best I have found so far. They came with good fries and the beer was cold. I liked the way that they serve the gloopy 'black-pepper sauce' separately, so one can just skip it. Pleasant and quick service too.
A pleasant modern eatery. The menu claims the chef worked for a large Chinese chain of Thai restaurants, but the Thai aspect of the food is difficult to find.
I gave the 'boneless chicken feet' a miss and had some spicy beef which while not bad was closer to the usual Sichuan fare than anything Thai. A dog under the table quickly lapping up any dropped food complemented the Sichuan experience.
The spring rolls were not bad though and together with a beer the bill came to Y58.
Easiest improvement would be better rice.
Easily the best bread to be found in Yunnan with friendly and efficient service. I have made detours to Dali just to pick up some bread on the way back to Kunming.
The last Mongols of Yunnan
发布者Nadam is held every three years on December 13th, the next time actually this year: www.yunnanexplorer.com/festivals/nadam/
Like many festivals in the province, it is now a ticketed event with show, Mongolian feast and some riding/wrestling/singing competitions. Judging by the construction work of their show stage they are planning to make it even bigger this year.
Another Yunnan Mongolian festival is the Lubanjie 鲁班节, honouring the god of carpentry, sometimes held in 西城 village at the beginning of the fourth lunar month www.yunnanexplorer.com/festivals/lubanjie/. But when I once showed up for it, villagers were almost unaware that it was the day of a traditional ceremony.
New provincial museum nears completion
发布者Yes, that is it.
New provincial museum nears completion
发布者I think it is on the southern side of Guangfu Road, just east of the intersection with Qianxing Road.
Rare snow dusts Kunming, causes problems
发布者A bit of snow in Dali too, pictures here: www.yunnanexplorer.com/slideshows/dalisnow/
Yunnan: A Chinese Bridgehead to Asia
发布者This is the third time this very article is hitting my inbox in as many days as it is republished on various sites. It reads like a review one would do for money/exchange for reciprocal friendly review. Some might call it spam.
I guess I will never know if this book is actually worth reading or whether the author just seeks a lucrative consulting job as at over $100 it seems a bit pricey. No digital preview on Amazon either - what do they have to hide?