Kunming, China

Up to this point, I'd spent more time in a bus in China than actually walking around, mostly because it takes so long to get anywhere. But the countryside is quite nice, full of rice paddies and red soil contrasting with the green vegetation. I've figured out how to write these posts on the bus, as well, by typing them into my email application on my iPod and sending them to myself when I have wifi access. The one place I did stop before getting somewhere I wanted to go was Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. It is the place that lots of Chinese go for their holidays if they want nightlife. Apparently, the bars have "foreigners drink for free" policies, but I didn't test out the truth in that, using my stop there mostly as a R&R stop after traveling for 24 hours to get there from Hanoi. I thought about staying to see the Stone Forest just outside of Kunming, but at $40 to do something I didn't really care about seeing, I just moved on. Just outside my hostel was the classic sight in the city, the Golden Horse Arches (below, left). The city is surprisingly modern as well as being giant, though I think it is counted among one of the smaller Chinese cities. Below (right) is some country side on the way to Lijiang.

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Details:

From Hanoi, take the sleeper train to Lao Cai, the border town at the Chinese border (19:50 departure, 6:30 arrival, $11/210,000D for hard sleeper). Though I took the hard sleeper, I would recommend getting the soft sleeper as a general rule in Vietnam, it is only about 20% more for much more comfort. If you do get the hard sleeper though, get the middle bunk, as the top is incredibly cramped and the bottom gets used as a couch by the rest of the people in the car. Once you arrive at Lao Cai, go outside the train station and you'll find plenty of moto drivers and taxis. If you take a taxi, make sure they use the meter or you will end up paying four or five times the cost. My motorcycle ride cost $0.75/10,000D. The border opens at 7:30 Vietnamese time, 8:30 Chinese time. Just go through customs, walk across the bridge to Hekou, the town on the Chinese side, go through their customs, and you are in China. You must get a Chinese visa in advance, and they are expensive and often a pain to get. When you get through customs, look for a little map of Hekou by the left side of the building. This indicates where both the ATM and the bus station are. Both are within walking distance, though the ATM is a little bit of a walk. Just in case you can't find the map, turn left when you leave the immigration building, then right at the next block, and the station is a few blocks down on the left, just enter through the driveway. The bus service I got was $12.5/87¥ to Kunming and they depart frequently, though I would strongly encourage paying the extra few dollars for a more expensive fare to avoid the miserable and crowded bus ride I had with some rather dirty people. It takes about 10 hours. When you get in to Kunming, they will drop you off somewhere near the bus station. Walk in the direction of a major intersection and you should see street signs for the train station. From here it is fairly easy to orient and the stuff following is how to get to the hostel I stayed at, The Hump, which I would highly recommend. Opposite the train station is the bus stop for Bus 3 ($.20/1¥), which heads to the very center of town, at Golden Horse Arches (Jin Ma Fang). Count 6 stops and you'll be there, though a ticker and a speaker will announce it as well. Look for the sign that says The Hump and walk around to a side entrance and up the stairs. The Hump is clean, new, and seems like a good place to meet people, though I just crashed for the night ($3.5/25¥ for dorm). The hostel, though the rooms are quiet, is at the center of nightlife in the city. Free wifi. Below is the Lao Cai/Hekou border bridge between immigration buildings (left) and a map of Hekou (right).