http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , China , Yunnan , Kunming en-us Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:56:08 BST Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:56:08 BST I never really know how to start a new blog entry so I'll just get right into it forget all of the creative writing mumbo jumbo. So we are in Kunming we survived the 40 hour train ride from Xi'an. I will write another blog about that later. Back to my point of this blog entry Yesterday was my day off so in the afternoon I ventured out with a map and instructions on how to get to the nearest http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-329670.html So much has happened since our last entry. The days merge from one to the next and all of a sudden more weeks have flown by. We had a wonderful Mid Autumn Festival Moon Festival as friends from Alaska also living here came to visit with their daughter. As they like to hike about we took our first check out the neighborhood walk since arriving. As you can see from the pictures we are in an http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-327045.html Wersquove been in Kunming for 3 weeks now and I think that I can say that wersquove seen a lot.I thought Irsquod give you a quick over view of what wersquove seen before we leave for Guilin tomorrow. If you'd like to see 2 parents and 2 kids on the same moped driving at high speed across a crossing supposedly for humans then wersquove got it here or if you want to see a live chicken http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-325549.html HELLO AGAIN FROM KUNMINGAnother week has passed and due to Monday being a National Holiday for Mid Autumn Festival which actually falls on Sunday Sept 14 we are enjoying a 3 day weekend. Actually it is almost 4 days for us as I only have one class to teach on Friday which ends a bit before 10 am. As for my classes I am slowly beginning to get to know all my students which collectively equal http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-322948.html Kunming enjoys a pleasant climate and does its best to live up to its title of 'the City of Eternal Spring'. Whenever you are planning to go the temperature is always pleasant. With its convenient transport links in and out of the city Kunming welcomes and sees off tens of thousands of tourists every day. Kunming is the focal point of Yunnan minority culture. Some 26 ethnic minorities such as Yi http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-321836.html Kunming after life gifts and getting married 9 SeptemberOn Sunday whilst we were trying to find a public park on the map we discovered a small working temple in a very built up residential area by the side of the train track. The jewel of a temple was hidden by the surrounding area and the only give away sign from the outside was the front gate and temple name above the door written in tradi http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-321432.html We have finally made it to Kunming. Juneau seems like a very distant memory but our departure almost didn't happen. Luckily our friends Kathy and Tim helped get us out the door and to the airport with only moments to spare. I will forever be in their dept for making me buck up focus and get our suitcases packed.Our flights were on time and uneventful. Thankfully. It allowed us to sleep and re http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-320793.html 3oth August 08 Kunming Something to write home aboutI love Kunming. We arrived at 5am on the night sleeper coach from Lijiang just before the city began to wake. As our taxi drove across the city the roads were empty and dark. I like a city that sleeps. As daylight broke we could see our new surroundings in the dawning light from the window in our room which is on the 12th floor of the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-318973.html Kunming againPulled back from the brink.Many years ago in South Africa when I was still jogging regularly I experienced some chest pain every now and again. The doctor I consulted suggested I should visit a friend of his a specialist heart surgeon. I assume Xrays were taken although I canrsquot remember that and on the strength of what I told him it was decided to widen a narrow coronary a http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-317063.html Well I finally found out how much I'm going to be teaching and it's going to be really easy I teach 6 hours a week only on Thursday and Friday afternoons teaching oral English to PhD candidates. Then I have four or five twohour lectures over the whole semester on English essay writing for MA candidates. Overall I'm probably going to need lots more to do with my time so I'm thinking ab http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-314592.html Hey Everybody So I'm here in Kunming pretty much settled into my apartment. The apartments for foreign teachers are gigantic We get a huge living room which is completely empty of course...who'd have though I should have brought a rug and random wall hangings a nice bedroom with two beds So come visit me a bathroom currently suffering from a cockroach infestation and a silly kitch http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-313764.html So to alleviate the trials and travails that my brother has experienced while I email him my blog on word press I've decided to try travelblog.org because I think it is China friendly. We'll see. Anything with the word blog attached to it is very difficult to access...even if its a blog on espn.com about a particular football conference. So here's my reintroduction. I'm teaching English in Kunm http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-307485.html Ich verbrachte die letzten Tage in Kunming der Hauptstadt Yunnans. Diese moderne fr chinesische Verhltnisse wohl recht entspannte Grostadt hat Touristen nicht viel zu bieten aber es ist mit Sicherheit ein angenehmer Ort zum Leben dementsprechend gro ist die hiesige Expat Gemeinde und auch die meisten Traveller verbringen hier ein paar Tage da die Stadt strategisch gut liegt mit Verbindu http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-301713.html 22 hours on the train and a few instant noodlepots later Have instant noodles will travel as Karen called it I arrived in Kunming. I also managed to loose another hat on the train the 4th one since I set off for this trip perfect Ben. On the plus side the Lonely Planet had said the trip from Guilin to Kunming was 26 hours so I was positively surprised when the train pulled into Kunming s http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299878.html Saturday was our first real free day. I really took it as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep as well as school work. I took a trip to Walmart to buy a few things and watched a movie in my room. That evening we were to attend a performance called Yunnan Impression an artistic interpretation and reflection of Yunnanrsquos ethnic minority culture through dance and song. It was really well pu http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299577.html So Friday we had class in the morning. That afternoon was to be more relaxing than previous ones. It was raining pretty hard and we had a coffee group discussion scheduled. We met downstairs in the lobby and then walked to a local caf. We discussed some of our initial impressions of Chinese culture and society with Prof. Zhang. We talked for about thirty minutes and then Prof. Zhang introduced u http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299576.html Thursday July 10th was our most intense day so far. Today we were to be downstairs ready to go by 900 am for our trip to the Stone Forest a one and a half hour drive outside of Kunming. The drive was very nice with plenty of lovely scenery. Arriving at the park we had an early lunch at a fairly tasty restaurant where we were treated to a serving of roast duck Kunming style. It is very differen http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299575.html Wednesday morning class as usual. That afternoon we were to visit the Provincial Museum and the Flower Market. The museum was in some old soviet style building. It was cold and dreary inside. Yet when we actually got to the second floor where the exhibits were house it was very modern and stylish nothing like the buildings exterior would reflect. The first exhibit we visited contained more anci http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299572.html Tuesday July 8th we had class in the morning. We had a short break in the afternoon and then had a tour of the university campus scheduled. We met at the front gates to the University and were met by Prof. Zhangrsquos sister and one of her colleagues. The gentlemen whom she was with gave us an in depth tour of the campuses most notable buildings. This university has a very rich history and the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299571.html Monday morning we had class. That afternoon we had a trip scheduled to the Bird and Flower market and to a traditional neighborhood. It was a very nice day the first full sunny day I have had in China Here in Kunming the rainy weather is a lot like a cold and wet spring day in Davis but when the sun comes out it really warms up and everyone is out to take advantage. The streets were packed We http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299569.html Saturday was a free day for us. Unfortunately it was raining all day. We went to bakery to get some breakfast and from there some people went to the movie theater while a few of us went to Walmart to get some things we needed. On our way back we stopped and ate some fried chicken at Dicos a KFC like place. It was raining pretty hard and we headed back to the hotel. We just kind of bummed around w http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299567.html Friday July 4th was my first day of class. It also happens to be America lsquoMerica day but technically it isnrsquot really until Saturday so I get to celebrate twice Anyways we had a quick introduction session and then a brief introduction on the importance of studying Chinese society and culture and why we chose to enroll in this specific program. Class was about two and a half hours l http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-299558.html So it was my second day in Kunming July 2nd and I woke up to a downpour. While in Beijing the rain is sporadic and brief in Kunming it comes down I woke up pretty early and had a quick shower in the shady bathroom and met up with Matt. We had some breakfast checked out and headed out to catch a cab to the program accommodations. Catching a cab in pouring rain while holding over 50 lbs of cra http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-297501.html So in my last post I had informed everybody of my last days in Beijing. I made it to the airport no problem and very very early. I walked in and all the lights were off and it was so hot. The Chinese seem to not understand the whole concept of air conditioning. Cold drinks are also hard to come by. I would walk up to a fridge to garb a bottle of water or can of soda and the stuff is just warm. I http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-297498.html Kicked around here for a day or two but didn't find it to be a particularly interesting place. Met a few people and one evening three of us went to have the local specialty OverTheBridge Noodles. It's noodle soup with a bit of chicken and vegetables sonamed because the wife of the man who ate it had to carry it over a bridge in Kunming daily to where he worked. In the restaurant we me a loca http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-290535.html From Mohan on the border with Laos it was an easy bus ride of about 4 hours to Jinghong the capital city of what is called the Xishuangbanna region of southern Yunnan province.The name actually comes from Thai language Sip Sawng Panna meaning 12 rice growing districts.Remarkably for Chinese standards only one third of Xishuangbanna's population consists of Han Chinese splitting up the rest in http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-287915.html Well I think it's fair to say that just over a week with Greer when I haven't seen her for three months isn't enough but what with work holiday allowances we couldn't have anymore but we made the most of what we had.We decided to stay in Yunnan province to avoid too much travel which would likely leave us too tired to enjoy the trip. And in any case if you want to avoid big cities and pollution http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-285028.html With our visas in hand we returned to the aiport for a second attempt at getting our flight to Kunming this time it went without incident and we were on our way Both very imprssed with Thia airways as we seemed to be getting drinks and food constantly unfortunately the meal did consist of more cold chicken still traumatised from bangkok chicken experience but beggars can't be choosers so we g http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-284069.html Got up at 9am. The night before met Mikk this is Estonian guy who i managed to wake when i arrived at the hump hostel. In the morning me and Mikk decided to go to Stone Forest. After the shower I met Ophelie a French girl who had being studying in Chengdu Sichaun province. I offered her to come with us. We had some breakfast and met Sophie from England Hugh from England and Sanjay from Seat http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-282911.html Kunming is known as the city of eternal spring. And what a relief from Beijing. Visable mountains fresh air flowers in windows and on tables bouganvilla cascading everywhere a city that seems lived in as opposed to just inhabited. I arrived at midnight amid rain but by morning it was gone and it was a great pleasure to walk around in the city of about a million and half.The bird mar http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-282040.html