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Day 70
We arrived into Kunming at around 6am and got a cab between us to the hostel Mama had recommended. Dumping our bags in the dorm but deciding against the kip we had planned so we didn't wake up others in the dorm, we sat in the courtyard with Anya and played some cards.
A lazy morining of movies later we went out with Anya and Paul to visit the local park which we'd heard was quite lively on a Sunday afternoon. Green Lake Park was filled with local people, most of them dressed in their Sunday best. All around the park were groups of friends who it seems get together every week to play their traditional instruments, sing and dance together and the rest of the locals turned out to watch this spectacle. We were well entertained for the afternoon and it was nice to see that they were all just doing it for fun and not wanting anything in return.
After dinner we waved Anya off on her way towards Vietnam and are hoping to meet up with her again over the next few days when we make it that way ourselves.
Day
71
We were on a mission to prepare ourselves for getting to Vietnam. Our first stop was to get to the Vietnamese Consulate and apply for our visas. This was quickly sorted and we have to return in a couple of days to collect them.
Next we headed to the bus station and tried to book our tickets to the Chinese border. A few language problems later and we were pretty sure we had them sorted, thankfully we were able to get the tickets checked at our hostel to confirm we were going to the right place.
The major things sorted we went back to the hostel where we met up with Paul and went out to the local Walmart to restock on some essentials such as sunscreen, toothpaste etc. which had all seemed to run out at the same time.
A few hours later and we were saying goodbye to the last memebr of the Tiger Leaping Team as Paul set off for Guilin and the rest of his trip with our rather battered copy of the China Lonely Planet in his bag. If any of the team are reading - cheers, we had a
great time over the last few days and promise to keep in tocuh.
The movies at this hostel are pretty good quality so we spent the rest of the evening catching up with some films we didn't have time to watch before leaving the UK.
Day 72
With free internet and comfy seats here it is the perfect place to catch up on stuff so we spent the day doing just that and chatting to some fellow travellers about past and future experiences.
Day 73
Last day in China today! We packed up and went out to prepare the last bits and pieces for our move into Vietnam.
We had been taking Malaria tablets as recommended for the Yunnan province and although we had a couple of weeks worth left we wanted to be prepared and get some more before heading out to a new country. Finding a large pharmacy we gave them the name of the drug we required, Doxycyclin. Some time later a man came back and proudly presented us with a packet of pills named Minocycline. A quick perusal of the facts on the back told us that this was in
fact not an anti-malaria product but a treatment for gonorrhea! Politely saying to the man that this was not quite what we were after we then tried, with a mixture of charades and pictionary, to explain what the drug we needed was for. We obviously weren't very talented at this method of communication as we had about 10 staff members crowded around us laughing. After finding it in a book they did come up with something that they said was "similar" to Doxycycline, but we decided not to take any risks, opting to get some more in Vietnam at a later date.
The afternoon was spent sorting a few more things out and, seeing as we arrive in Vietnam tomorrow, making some basic plans as to how we'll fill out our 30 days. Later we will collect our passports and board another sleeper bus to the border arriving at approx 4.30am - nice!
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Greetings!
Hi Guys! How much does Mama remind you of Lil' Neen's?! It must be something about little south east asian women and the need to look after fittys our age!! Anyway, best news first - I'M COMING TO MEET YOU IN NEW ZEALAND! I couldn't get the time off work for the family trip to the US so my mum has amazingly said she'd buy my ticket to New Zealand! I'm hoping to come for a month so hope I can 'do' N.Z with y'all. I got your itinery with where you're at, but if you can let me know a rough idea of when you'll be there that'll be great. I'm hoping sometime between Feb-Easter 2008? I'm in Edinburgh with t'show at the mo, been a really nice few weeks. Back (finally) in Manchester next week though at the Opera House. Glad to see you're still having an amazing time, can't wait to see you both. Stay safe and Gonorrhea free (don't try to play innocent with me lol!) All My Love Si (PRB) xxx ps - there's a film coming out called 'Paradise Lost' I suggest you DON'T go see it! lol xx