Kunming 24-27 May

Kunming was our best choice of first stop in China from Laos. First impressions were like any other airport i.e.queue for the official taxi rank while being approached by touts . We got a metered cab which took some 50 minutes to reach our hotel in the centre including 25 mins sat in rush hour traffict but only cost 3.50 pounds ! After having booked in it was too late to explore so we opted for the hotel restaurant . It only took 3 people to take our order -1 being summoned from reception by waiting staff seemingly frightened by our lack of local language. Ordering beer was marginally easier but only just. Anyway dinner was not Riverview but was OK & served its purpose.

Day 2 was spent wandering around the environs of the hotel & we visited 3 of the ancient gateways in town one via the quote "walking street" recommended by the free hotel map. This was actually a newish pedestrian shopping area next door to the somewhat more mature flower & bird markets ( flowers yes , birds no ). Although not particularly special from a historical/architectural viewpoint it was very interesting just to watch people going about their lives. We were virtually ignored apart from the odd child saying hello or staring. There very few if any other westerners. Dinner was a vegetarian noodle soup with all sorts of veg/fungi to add + herbs/spices to taste. 12 pounds for 2 with lge beer each !

 

Day 3 we decided to head down to see another historical site ( Jinri  Tower) a buddhist pagoda & by chance stumbled across another local market for food between that & one of the other city towers. The choice of fresh & mainly dried fungi was amazing. Our evening meal was japanese & fantastic for similar price to previous night.

 

Day 4 Just time enough to visit the Yunnan Historical Museum (free entry). This was comprised of a large exhibition of bronze age artefacts beautifully preserved & presented with good translation into english of their history. The other floor comprised artwork （much of which looked very tibetan to me） and local ethnic costumes which highly decorative and colourful。