User profile: voltaire

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Poetry anyone?

Please tell me they sell alcohol! I will come up from Fuxian lake for the occasion. Now to find some inspiration or a good poem to read!

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Poetry anyone?

I'm in. Haven't written anything of late, but super supportive and have some interesting stuff to read, anyway. The arts in China as a whole, but also Kunming (despite its relative virtues in this area) need as much support as possible. I like Moondog, it's a cozy and unassuming venue. Seconding the idea of slightly-earlier-but-not-too-early so hardcore boozers can get their Vitamin-A on afterwards ;)

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Forums > Living in Kunming > The Mountain Bike Thread

Surprised nobody has mentioned my favourite trail.

It's my fav because it's close to town, it has a really nice steep hill, low traffic, and a nice view.

Basically you head north up to Huangtupo, then head directly west.

After a few blocks cycling past large buildings, the road goes a little up an incline, then bends slightly south. You keep going straight here, down the off-shoot that continues directly toward the mountains.

There are two options here for route: you can either go straight, and keep going straight when the road bends right (sudden, not far), climb to the residential area, then make your way through it to the left (southwest) corner, where you can lift your bike on to the trail. The other way is after a hundred or so meters on the left is a little off-shoot road that winds up past a little market and along a stream.

They join up, you go over a rail bridge, under a road bridge, a little further upward and you are on the old road up to Xiongzhusi (Bamboo temple). Now, if you were going up to the temple you'd continue along the road when it crosses the stream-valley, turning left. This is an OK ride but is fraught with traffic. Instead, turn right immediately and head up the road the follows the valley. Keep going and you eventually get up to a cemetery. This is my regular ride, used to be daily (I live in Bangkok at the moment). There's almost never anyone up there, and you get one of the best views of Kunming.

You can also continue up through the cemetery and along trails, which drops you down the western side above a prison. If you are careful you can negotiate the rough descent (note: definite MTB only territory) and then get on to a road. Turn right on the road and you'll climb and descend down another incline slightly to the north, back in the Kunming metropolis. Turn left and .. well I never went that way, but it's probably good if you want a long loop.

If you are lucky and get there fast through the traffic, you can probably get out there, climb the mountain, and cycle back to Wenlinjie for a drinking session in about an hour.

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So many memories! The first Tuodong Camel was my first regular bar way back in 2001... things are different now but Camel's still so damn friendly! Thanks Dengling, and thanks your parents and Ian too. Camel is an institution. Smiles from Sydney! Walter.

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Oh one more thing. The Canadian paraglider, Mike, has a jeep and is interested in taking cyclists out of Kunming to decent trails. If you want to get a lift out (or back in to) Kunming he's willing to consider helping out. His number is 15825256431 and he is mostly based around Chengjiang (north of Fuxian lake). When we went paragliding together recently (really fun!) he took a great road leading south to Chengjiang through the mountains that is a lot nicer than cycling through Chenggong.

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Hey Frank, cool trip!

I haven't cycled south out of Kunming for ages but am not surprised at your difficulties. Chenggong is definitely to be avoided. Let me know if you want to do another trip soon, I'd love to join in and have cycled around Yunnan quite a bit. My first trip is written up at pratyeka.org/bike/southern-yunnan.html

Like you, I really enjoy the area south of Yuanyang and love Nansha. Let me tell you though - it used to be a lot nicer, before the dam. This brings me to a correction. When you stated "The Yuanyang (元阳) county seat was moved from Xinjie (新街) to Nansha in the early 90s, upon completion of a large dam on the Red River." this is actually false. I first visited the area on a bicycle in 2001 and there was no sign of dam construction. The dam must have been built circa early/mid noughties, and the size of Nansha almost tripled overnight. That said, the county seat may have easily moved earlier.

I've visited the Yuanyang/Luchun area twice and cycled it the second time on some locally acquired cheap Chinese mountain bikes around 2006. However, I was with a not particularly keen cyclist and we jumped on local buses for some of the uphill segments past Luchun on the way down to 'Banna, eventually copping out and bussing as far as Menglun (between Mengla and Jinghong in 'Banna).

Reviews

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@nailer is being unfairly dismissed: they are certainly fallible. At one point they were well managed and the only game in town, and their outdoor bar had an interesting social vibe. Recently, none of these is the case (was given a bad bill to the tune of ~300% - no managers present and a subsequent complaint resulted in a less than ideal outcome, many more places are now open, and the outdoor bar is closed). Unless you are specifically seeking faux-Americana (often far better examples elsewhere) or two degrees removed faux-Mexicana, there's little reason to go there. How come French Cafe can serve a great sandwich for 24元 but Sals requires 50元 for a pretend-exoticized nibble? Certainly the business will continue, but the hey-dey is clearly gone. Romaniticizing the past aint gonna help. E-waste recycling by shipping (non carbon neutral) junk across the country? Puh-lease. Garbage processing people here recycle anyway! I applaud the ethical stance of one of the managers, but the place has frankly lost its mojo.

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Hands down the best draft craft beer in Kunming. On top of that, very reasonable prices for food and other drinks (especially wine).

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Called the number provided on a Friday at 2:15PM while a 10% discount was advertised "on Friday and Saturday" (listed in GoKunming specials).

A Chinese person answered the 'English' phone number in Mandarin then explained in broken English that you need to order 3 hours in advance. (Subtext: As their business is so slow)

Grumble. False advertising. Waste of time. Seems 100% Chinese run. Probably bad pizza.

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The listing here is wrong! Teresa's are not defunct, they are just back to being one store instead of two stores on Wenlinjie now! They are still in business, still answer on this phone number, and are still delivering! Points for consistency, it's been years! As of right now, it's 68元 for the more toppings vegetarian at the largest size. They will do thin or thick crust. Yes, it's not to everyone's taste, but I always used to find adding dried chilli powder and some extra salt brought it up to tasty. Might go for a dash of Sichuan pepper oil to spice it up this time around. (You know you've been in China too long when...)

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I also had a bad experience here recently.

Honestly, I wish them the best of luck, but I do think the staff are poorly managed and the owners have the wrong attitude and a clear lack of experience in service-oriented business. While the pizza is OK, everything else I have tried (including overnight stay) can be had cheaper and better elsewhere, and the pizza at Roccos is better in my opinion. The service has always fluctuated between acceptable to don't care.

Since they don't have their situation resolved yet, and it has been a few years, I have made the decision not to go there anymore or send anyone else. It's just not worth the hassle, given the crappy location (masked as private or lost). Better pizza with more quiet and privacy on Roccos' terraces.