Slightly unrelated question, but why does it seem like GoKunming publishes so few articles and features now?
It used to be several per week now it's only maybe a couple per month.
I'm guessing maybe coronavirus restrictions making it harder to visit places to write about them?
Still seems like even with that we could read more about things and life going on around town in Kunming? Just curious about this change as it was a major draw to the website for me in the past.
I haven't been on it this year but several locals have all told me it is now quite passable.
Unfortunately don't have a more current number for Aluo, but he should be pretty easy to locate in Dimaluo and all local drivers know where his guest house is.
The road from Dimaluo in Gongshan to Deqin is open but still not paved and bad in wet weather.
Rather than spending your entire trip in cars, I would highly recommend considering trekking for three days from Dimaluo to Cizhong, also in Deqin.
Much better scenery this way.
Aluo who has a guest house in Dimaluo can arrange the trek and guides for you or guide you himself.
Also, definitely no need for a sleeper bus from Dali to Fugong.
Easily completed in one day and as others have said much prettier this way.
The Nujiang Valley is not to be missed.
Don't travel it by night.
A note as well that you wouldn't be flying from Deqin to Kunming.
You will need to hire a driver (3 hours) or take the bus (4 hours) from Deqin to Shangri-La which is where the closest airport is if you want to fly out that way.
Thai Airways also flies direct to Chiang Mai every Sunday and Thursday and they are far better than China Eastern.
For years this was the only service to Chiang Mai until it was discontinued in 2009 and China Eastern then introduced theirs.
Last year Thai brought back this twice weekly service (a stop-over on the daily Bangkok route) to compete a bit with China Eastern which is great because they are indeed far better.
Thanks Patrick for the update! Planning to revisit the site of the Moet winery and lodge in the next couple weeks, perhaps after I get back to Kunming a new blog style update for GoKunming on my work out here will be due...
Great article and write up Dan! Ever since first visiting Liming in 2007 I knew it would be great for climbing so it's wonderful Mike has put it on the map and spent so much time developing the area. Having gone on two multi-day hikes and another trip with several day hikes out of Liming, I can reiterate that indeed with some gear the possibilities for other hiking and trekking are endless and fantastic. The valley alone is worth the visit, but some of the high mountain areas with alpine lakes and some of the best rhododendron forests anywhere are also very much worth the trip.
Hi Matt,
Mandarin should be able to order it for you, the owner Liu Feng is a casual friend and has special ordered a lot stuff for me but the regular staff don't know how to do this. If you want let me know and I can send you his email offline.
I don't believe I ever actually used the terminology distill in this interview, but it was over a year ago so I may have forgotten. Indeed I recognize wine making is quite different from distillation, though in fact in Cizhong many households partake in both practices and in fact distill liquor both in the traditional method with barley but also with the discarded grape skins and seeds left over from wine making. This makes a pretty powerful baijiu indeed!
It looks like Thai has only reduced flights by one day a week; they're just not flying on Mondays anymore. China Eastern has also increased capacity to two flights per day to BKK instead of one on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. However I'm not necessarily a fan of China Eastern as I know many of us aren't, and what I would really like to see is Thai bring back their old twice weekly service to Chiang Mai, which I used to fly regularly up through 2008 until it was cancelled. China Eastern being the only non-stop option to Chiang Mai for several years now has not been fun, and considering the explosion of Chinese tourists there now I'm surprised Thai hasn't resumed the route, especially since it was the regular Bangkok flight that just made a stop off twice each week...
Moët Hennessy to debut Yunnan wine this fall
Posted byThanks Patrick for the update! Planning to revisit the site of the Moet winery and lodge in the next couple weeks, perhaps after I get back to Kunming a new blog style update for GoKunming on my work out here will be due...
Climbing Away: Liming
Posted byGreat article and write up Dan! Ever since first visiting Liming in 2007 I knew it would be great for climbing so it's wonderful Mike has put it on the map and spent so much time developing the area. Having gone on two multi-day hikes and another trip with several day hikes out of Liming, I can reiterate that indeed with some gear the possibilities for other hiking and trekking are endless and fantastic. The valley alone is worth the visit, but some of the high mountain areas with alpine lakes and some of the best rhododendron forests anywhere are also very much worth the trip.
Recipe: Dai-style pineapple rice
Posted byHi Matt,
Mandarin should be able to order it for you, the owner Liu Feng is a casual friend and has special ordered a lot stuff for me but the regular staff don't know how to do this. If you want let me know and I can send you his email offline.
Interview: Anthropologist Brendan Galipeau
Posted byI don't believe I ever actually used the terminology distill in this interview, but it was over a year ago so I may have forgotten. Indeed I recognize wine making is quite different from distillation, though in fact in Cizhong many households partake in both practices and in fact distill liquor both in the traditional method with barley but also with the discarded grape skins and seeds left over from wine making. This makes a pretty powerful baijiu indeed!
Yunnan air routes a hot commodity
Posted byIt looks like Thai has only reduced flights by one day a week; they're just not flying on Mondays anymore. China Eastern has also increased capacity to two flights per day to BKK instead of one on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. However I'm not necessarily a fan of China Eastern as I know many of us aren't, and what I would really like to see is Thai bring back their old twice weekly service to Chiang Mai, which I used to fly regularly up through 2008 until it was cancelled. China Eastern being the only non-stop option to Chiang Mai for several years now has not been fun, and considering the explosion of Chinese tourists there now I'm surprised Thai hasn't resumed the route, especially since it was the regular Bangkok flight that just made a stop off twice each week...