User profile: Yuanyangren

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Thailand life ?

Further to your original post thebeargirl, the elevations in Thailand are very modest compared to anything in Yunnan. The highest mountain in Thailand is only as high as the western hills surrounding Kunming, so you won't need anything more than a light sweater.

The weather in Thailand in the dry season, covering all of northern, north eastern and central Thailand is superb. The chance of rain is almost nil, the visibility is superb and temperatures average around 28 degrees C in Chiang Mai, 31 in Bangkok and minimums are around 17 in Chiang Mai and 21 in Bangkok, although 25/33 even in December or January is not unknown in Bangkok. Basically, it's hot, sunny and less humid and cooler than other times of the year but that's it.

I doubt that the water quality in Thailand could be any worse than China. I would never drink tap water in China because that would make one very sick, and I would advise the same in Thailand. If you have a weak stomach, brush your teeth with bottled water only.

Thailand is generally safe, but as a freer country than China with less police control and far more tourists and expats, you'll find things a bit different especially in nightlife areas. While by and large safe, don't attract the wrong people or you could get in trouble.

As soon as you arrive in Bangkok, you'll see people from India, Europe, Africa and other places, whereas in Kunming you might see 3 foreigners roaming downtown, in Bangkok half of all people in the central shopping areas will be foreigners. The difference between Kunming and Bangkok in this respect is like night and day.

Finally, never ever lose your cool in Thailand. Nobody will help you or talk to you again if you do. Getting visibly angry might work in China, but it gets you nowhere in Thailand. You'll almost never see Thais get visibly angry, so I would advise you to heed this crucial piece of advice.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Thailand life ?

@the beargirl, you originally posted this thread on Oct 29th, but said you will be in Thailand on Oct 5. Unless you can go back in time, did you actually mean Nov 5?

Anyway, what will you be doing in Thailand? 5 months is a long time and there are no 5 month visas. You can stay for 60 days on a tourist visa, then get a 30 day extension. After that you'd need to leave the country and come back to gain a new permission of stay but you can't keep doing that as you'd start to arouse permission on the other hand if you don't stay more than 5 months you should be OK. If you have some sort of non-immigrant visa to come as an exchange student, you'd probably get a 90 day visa that can be extended up to 5 months. Make sure you have the right visa in your passport before leaving though otherwise you won't get on the plane.

Don't worry about Chinese pills, they are weird and what you'll find in Thailand is much the same as in the west, predictable and safe. Before every trip to China I stock up on medicine like anti-diahrrea charcoal pills (which for some bizarre reason are unavailable in Kunming, can anyone confirm?) in Thailand because I know that I don't want to try to find these things in China. In terms of doctors, they all speak good English and I'd much rather trust a Thai doctor than a doctor in Kunming. In fact, if I ever got sick in Kunming, I'd take the first flight out to Bangkok (I have travel insurance anyway) to seek treatment there.

I have never attempted to exchange Yuan into a foreign currency in Kunming, always thought it was too difficult to find a place willing to do it so I never even bothered (although I hear the BOC can help). Save your energy and get a better exchange rate for Yuan even at Bangkok or Chiang Mai airports. Alternatively you can try the moneychanger at Kunming's new Changshui airport, although their rates could be a bit better.

If you don't smoke, take drugs or even drink much, Thailand is heaven when it comes to partying. Much more fun than Kunming, 100x more choice and smoking is not allowed in nightclubs and this is largely enforced and adhered to. Smoking was banned in nightclubs back in 2007 and before then I always wondered why Thailand was so behind compared to say, Australia which banned smoking in nightclubs about 10 years earlier, depending on the state. However, now that Thailand has caught up that only leaves China, especially Yunnan.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Can pickups enter Kunming?

Hi, I have been told that there are restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city of Kunming and that they aren't allowed in the center of town. This seems a bit odd to me, as in most other countries, pickup trucks or utility vehicles are simply considered to be a type of car that can carry a load at the back and are treated the same as sedans, SUVs etc. Does anybody know if this is true?

On another note, does anybody know the procedure for a Lao registered car to be driven to Kunming and stay there long-term? The car would from time to time also be driven back to Laos, Thailand and other regional countries hence the reason for being Lao registered. I have read somewhere the car would need to have license (number) plates from Yunnan, likely Xishuangbanna plates obtained from Mengla or Jinghong, but haven't been able to confirm this. I know that Lao registered vehicles are commonly seen throughout Xishuangbanna and that they don't require any Chinese plates, but then they are restricted from travelling north of Jinghong without special permission. My company's case is different because the car would also need to be driven around Kunming and other parts of Yunnan.

Thanks for all the info.

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Forums > Travel Yunnan > Getting a Work Visa in Vietnam

The latets information is that Hanoi does process visa applications for non-residents but Ho Chi Minh City does not at this time. This is a policy reversal from what I stated previously, so the OP should be OK. In any case, processing a Z visa if the paperwork mentions a specific city should be OK regardless. The info I was referring to is mainly for tourist and business visa applicants.

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Yeah there are lots of hebrew speaking travellers in Vang Vieng these days. Same with regional tourists from Thailand - frankly given that Thai and Lao are nearly the same language I don't see how a Thai speaker can't read Lao, but apparently many can't hence the reason for the Thai signs you saw. Same in Thailand - at petrol (gas) stations near the Lao border, which are popular with Lao motorists you can see signs in Lao next to the Thai since there are some subtle differences between the two languages.

@Senorboogiewoogie, in Laos everything is flexible due to the power of money aka corruption. I was in Vang Vieng around midnight back in 2009 and it was still noisy in parts, but generally quiet outside the center of action.

Also, while perhaps not a good idea, every foreigner living in Laos knows you can sleep with a Lao citizen of the opposite sex in the same room if you are discreet about it and you'll only get in trouble if you piss someone off. I also think that the government only sees the images of westerners in Thailand and the Philippines "buying" girls at girlie bars and wants to maintain a more lowkey image, but naturally no Vietnamese or Chinese (or Thai) truck driver would be without his karaoke and Lao prostitute in the border provinces. The reality is that prostitution is as big in Laos as anywhere else, but maybe just a little less visible. However, in Vientiane there are large numbers of local girls with western or other foreign "boyfriends", or in genuine relationships.

Haha, well I don't think I was that pessimistic, and I do agree with you on some of your points - although being quite knowledgeable about languages myself, there is more overlapping of the dominant language from the more economically powerful country into the less dominant one than the other way round - i.e. despite what you said, there is very little Lao spoken in Vietnam, but the other way round there is quite a bit of Vietnamese understood in Laos. Lao officials on the Lao-Viet border can usually speak some Vietnamese, but Viet officials generally can't speak Lao. I have been there and know this for a fact. Same with Viet officials on the Chinese border - they can speak Chinese, but Chinese officials speak only Chinese and English, not Viet.

Vietnamese is also only understood amongst a very small minority of people on the Thai side of the Lao border, not many as you say...same with Thai in Myanmar but not Burmese in Thailand (except amongst the immigrant workers and some Burmese signboards near the Burmese border) in Thailand. As mentioned above, Chinese is quite strong in northern Laos, but Lao is non-existant anywhere in Chinese territory except when it comes to the Dai language, which is fairly close but not exactly the same language.

I've also found that the majority of South-East Asian Chinese language students here in Kunming don't speak much English at all for some strange reason. The ones back in their home countries that didn't major in Chinese are often quite good at English, so I guess there aren't that many polyglots around as you say - 2 languages seems to be what the average person knows and not more.

Although if we're on the subject of which SE Asian language to learn IN ADDITION TO English, which will continue to be important, then it must be Thai. Thai is understood throughout Thailand, Laos, western Cambodia and the Shan State of Myanmar. No other SE Asian language is as dominant as Thai.

This is reflected in the much greater interest amongst Chinese students in studying Thai than say, Vietnamese. I have met tons of Chinese students interested in, or with at least one semester of Thai behind them, but only two who had studied Vietnamese.

Sounds good in principle, but learning to speak all SE Asian languages would require you to be some kind of linguistic genius and probably half a lifetime of devotion. Speaking only one of the languages from the region, say Thai or Burmese or Vietnamese, wouldn't help much in neighboring countries since each language in the region is not mutually intelligible with only limited overlapping...so such an approach would mean limiting your engagement to one country.

In parts of northern Laos and northern Myanmar, no attempts are made by Chinese settlers to learn the local language - everything (signboards, menus etc.) is in Chinese and locals [Laotians and Burmese] who can't speak this foreign language [Chinese] are left out.

Also, I don't think English should be forgotten - despite various levels of English fluency in the region, English is still the only global lingua franca and the global language of business. English is the only language you can successfully use in all SE Asian countries. While it's great to know Thai, Lao, Burmese etc. it isn't realistic unless you are living in those countries. I have also noticed that just like with English, Chinese learners of these SE Asian languages really struggle, and when encountering a local that speaks good English, the conversation will usually inevitably switch to English since the local will assume the other party can't speak their language well enough. It's only once fluency is achieved that this is overcome.

My recommendation would be for both Chinese and other foreigners interested in investing/doing business with the region to know how to speak English fluently, followed by becoming proficient in at least the basics of their host countries' language to at least show some interest and respect. Apart from those interested in becoming translators however, I personally think time and money is better spent gaining technical skills and then applying some language skills on the side - not the other way round.

I've done that and I'm doing quite well. I am an engineer that has worked in Vietnam and Thailand and I speak Thai and some Lao with an almost native accent (and can read and write both languages) - something that is of enormous benefit to me, but I have achieved this as a side passion rather than as my main job. Still, I barely speak Vietnamese and don't have the energy or time to work on it - in any case, doing business isn't difficult as most educated people there speak English anyway and I have a very good friend who helps me so it's all good. Ditto for Cambodia and Myanmar.

There is an error in this article. Lao Airlines flies only twice (2) a week from Luang Prabang to Jinghong, not daily. They only just restarted this service recently and I highly doubt there would be enough demand for a daily service at this time. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this service were to once again be suspended in the near future. Luang Prabang-Kunming flights are said to be restarted again in the near future too, but no date has been given.

Check out online copies of Lao Airlines' Champa inflight magazine for more details.

Reviews

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Horrible tasteless, thick-crusted "cardboard" like pizzas that are a far cry from what they should be like. Way overpriced too. Wine may be good, but why bother when the nearby Prague Cafe makes much better pizza at a more reasonable price?

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Great Mexican food and ice cream, excellent Raspberry smoothies and an overall good atmosphere. Can't do much about the low ceilings on the second floor, but the early closing time could be adjusted, after all, the nearby French Cafe closes at 1am.