I read on the U.S. Chengdu Consulate website that to call collect from SW China, dial 10811 and tell the operator you want to make a collect call.

I tried that from my Kunming cell phone and got an error message saying that wasn't a valid number. Does that only work from land lines, or is there now a new number?

Does anybody know of a number to use to make collect calls from a cell phone in Yunnan?

I went to an umbrella key man across the street from the Minorities University today, and he charged 1 kuai per flat key and 3 kuai per four-sided key.

You can easily copy keys at roadside stands all over Kunming. Look guys sitting under large umbrellas alongside the street. Sometimes they also fix bicycles.

There is one such guy at the corner of Wen Lin Jie and Wen Hua Xiang. He is used to overcharging foreigners, so watch out. He wanted 4 yuan/key and wouldn't bargain. I paid a total of 9 yuan for four keys somewhere less touristy.

Once you know how to spot these umbrella key guys, you will start to see them all over the city.

There is an outdoor pool at Jiang1 Dong1 Hua1 Cheng2, in the far northern part of Kunming near the northern Beijing Rd. Walmart. Some people swim laps in the pool and kids play around. The pool has a couple of diving boards. Swimming costs 15 yuan for non-residents and the facility has showers, lockers, changing rooms, etc. in the adjacent clubhouse (look for the building with big gold letters spelling "Club" by the bus stop). On the weekends, there is a musical fountain display in the nearby plaza that you can view while chillin' in the pool mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

There is a camping store on Wen Hua Xiang (near Mandarin Books), that has western quality goods at almost-western prices. Apparently you can bargain a bit in there, too.