Does anyone know of a place in Kunming where it's possible to learn the art of Bonsai? I've just been watching the Karate Kid (the original classic not the shitty re-make) and I feel it would a cool thing to learn.
Anyone been to Qujing before; is it worth visiting? I'm not too bothered about sightseeing, I'm more interested in good nightlife, meeting interesting locals, practicing my Chinese and drinking beer. Who knows, possibly even getting laid. Any recommendations for nightlife in Qujing would be most welcome.
i think the people who are complaining bitterly about being stared at and called lao wai are a bunch of wetties. it's really not that bad. most people don't stare at all and when someone (rarely) shouts 'lao wai' or 'helloooo' at you, it's not meant in a malicious way... at worst it's just a bit childish. i had an iranian friend in london and he had several occasions when people shouted 'paki' at him in the street, and once in scotland someone set a dog on him because of his skin colour. 'lao wai' is a respectful term. 'paki' definitely is not. the attention we foreigners get in china is overwhelmingly positive, so if you feel like crying when you hear someone say lao wai, just be glad it's not 'paki' or 'chink'. i know i'm stating the obvious here but it's worth highlighting.
i recommend chinesepod too. it's good. if you don't feel like paying, you can download 15gb worth of podcasts for free using a torrent site (although you don't get the useful extras). of course i would never do something like that but the option is there for you.
Well, of course this is something that comes up a lot because it's something which people are interested in talking about, which you can see from the number of responses. It's a reasonable question for someone thinking about coming to China. So if it's irritating, simply don't read.
Anyway here is my take - before I came to China I had spent 6 months in India some time before. So I was expecting it to be the same but actually I was pleasantly surprised. People do stare a lot but it's nothing like in India, where it can actually feel quite intimidating and I've had people stop in front of me when I'm walking in the street so they can stare. Also if you stare back at them they'll keep staring, whereas here in Kunming they'll almost always look away. In fact usually when I get a bunch of village idiots stopping to stare at me I like to stand in front of them and stare idiotically right back and they always move on.
Unless I'm in a really bad mood the staring doesn't bother me, because I know it's only friendly curiosity. The "helloooo" can bother me a bit but as someone suggested, a pair of headphones and sunglasses can come in very handy here.
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