Kunming in 36 hours

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I arrived in Kunming early on the 26th. Kunming is the first stop on my trip that I visited previously in 1992. What a change - I didn't recognize anything. In 1992, Kunming was a small provincial city with two broad main roads that crossed each other. Now it is a major city with all the attendant tall skyscrapers and busy traffic.
I tried to follow the hostel's brochure on how to get to the hostel - trying to take a bus. I waited for more than an hour for a certain bus that never showed. Then I tried to catch a cab, and two of them refused to even consider taking me! They just looked at my skin colour and decided it was too much trouble.
I finally found a cab that would take me - for 12 RMB. When I got to the hostel I complained about the brochure mis-information. They advised that the brochure was out of date, the bus did not run anymore. Yet they had not told me this when I called from Chengdu to book the room!
I decided to buy a ticket onward right away and selected an overnight sleeper bus going to Jinghong the next night.

I visited the square near the hostel - it was enjoyable to sit and peoplewatch. The square was 4 cornered by large shopping malls, all selling the same sorts of consumer goods. A number of shops had callers out front advertising their sales - there doesn't seem to be any bans on noise pollution - they were all using mics. I watched a fashion show put on by a bridal dress shop. The model's gowns and make-up were horrendous! The gowns were sort of 50's fruitcake creations, taffeta and toille (sp) everywhere, and the make-up was so heavy and garrish.

I enjoyed a tea ceremony at the Hostel put on by one of the staff, Lori. She was teased that her name was the name of a small transport truck in England. She changed it to Amelia - nice to be able to change your name on the spot.

We tried several teas, including a local tea, pu'er cha, where the tea leaves are made into a cake and buried underground for a year or more. It was actually quite good.

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