Kunming, the city like Genting
November 4, 2008
Week 1: Training (it’s all about being responsible!)
Got to Kunming on Sunday, 16 Oct after a hectic week of finishing workloads & attending Raya open houses. Got paired into a room with an unknown woman in a different dept from one of the branches who turned out to be my ex-uni mate. Amazing the type of chemistry one has with other people who shared similar 5 years of torture :p hahahahhahaha… So the trip became more fun than I could imagine, all with the Kongstar gang being developed very early on. There’s tomvoo (my roomie), top (dude’s an overachiever haha), Pidot (sometimes referred to as Pee Dot Prem) and.. Ku MF (strange why he doesnt have a nick.. hmmmm)
Anyways.. we had a few exploration trips to the city, traffic jams were exactly like in Malaysia only made worse by the donkey carts, horse carriages, bicycles, build-it-yourself cars, lorries, motobikes, you name it and they have it on the road! So maneuvering becomes somewhat a creative skill (although I have to say, the Vietnamese still win hands down in the traffic horrors department hahaha) Plus I have to say, people who say Malaysia has the worst drivers really should travel more! :p
Some immediate observations I’ve had since I’ve been here:
- The pollution is very, very real. I got off the plane and could not speak because not only the air was thinner (Kunming is elevated) but there was so much dust particles in the air! Very reminiscent of our 97 haze horror where the school made us wear masks all day long in KL.
- Because of the pollution in the air… the people constantly suffer from an itchy throat, which they need to clear out ever so often. So hearing the kkkkkkhhhhhrrrrr aaaakkhhhhh tttuiiiii! sound is all too common here, and seeing people spit on the streets while walking, running, cycling is no longer bothering me. It’s not really their fault, it’s the pollution you see..
- Ever heard of people telling you there are no doors in the public toilets out here? Well I’ve yet to verify that, as all my public toilet adventures have had doors. Only thing is.. people don’t seem to know how to use them doors! Maybe they get a little claustrophobic, I don’t know.. Or maybe they enjoy the breeze? Hahahaha.. so I think it’s pretty clear that the doors are recent additions to make Kunming more tourist friendly, and I’m bound to run into more ‘interesting’ public toilet adventures in Dali and Lijiang.
- The buildings here are devoid of any colour. It’s all dreary stones, very 1970 old picture feel. Nippon should seriously consider brightening it up :p
- Things are cheap here.. Had a hair wash, cut, blow dry and a massage to boot all for 20 yuan! (RM10!) Not the best job in the world, but hey, it’s better than the RM10 barber equivalent back home hahahaha.. Massages were RM25 for 90 mins, food was cheap (we’d order 8 dishes and it’ll turn out to cost each of us RM15) and cabs were more reasonable than back home.
- English is.. mostly unknown. If you’re heading to China it’s a good idea to bring along the Chinese Msians (Malaysian Mandarin is very much understandable– contrary to what my Chinese friends believe hahaha) just roll out the R’s more hahahaha (or do what I do– carry a dual language mandarin dictionary– it’s a bit slow process but it’s much better than sign language)
- With the travel hype the world is caught up with, this part of China can do more to be tourist friendly– from the buses they provide, to the itinerary they plan, to the food they serve, all could seriously be made better. Although I have to say, perhaps it’s such poor quality because I’m joining the tours meant for China people, and they’re perhaps not as fussy.. Maybe the white man’s tours are a lil better.. I don’t know..
- Kunming is famous for Pu- Erh- Tea– don’t leave here without giving it a try!
- The internet cafe is awesome! Huge screens! Just no English words hahahahaha.. 3 yuan an hour! 20 yuan upfront as an advance! (i know all that from pointing in the dictionaty hhahahahaha) The speed makes me embarrassed on behalf of streamyx!
- 3 years ago this whole area was nothing but plantation fields– they really are growing fast!!
So there you go, a week’s update.. will do more on the official holiday soon! (The unofficial holiday was already fun– it can only get better!)
November 7th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Hey, I think it is great you make the time to do these. They are very helpful. Hope you are having fun.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Awesome site, I am going to read more of your posts soon.