I took the bus from Dali to Kunming yesterday. I passed through Dinosaur Valley and The Wild Edible Mushroom County. They must like mushrooms more than I do because some of their buildings are shaped as such!
When I arrived I got into an unmarked taxi to go to The Hump Hostel. I was bombarded by people esking to take me there on their motor bikes and so I went to the first guy who had a car. It was a split decision and I had some scary thoughts but actually everything was fine. (Taxi's in Kunming also have metal cages around the driver which was shocking and made me think of Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof")
My first impression of Kunming is that it must be the hospital and pregnancy captital of China. I've seen so many ads for pregnancy clinics and passed by a lot of hospitals. I know Kunming is huge but this is a surprise.
I spent my evening getting travel info and booking tickets for my sleeper train and for a show called "dynamic Yunnan". I had planned to go to the stone forest today before dynamic Yunnan but I slept through my alarm and couldn't find my bus. So even though I won't see the stone forest (which is a real shame) I was able to eat real Indian food instead.
The restaurant is called CaCaJa and has awesome Palak Paneer! Not as good as Spice 11 though. Also, when the waitress went to get someone who spoke more English the guy she brought called me full out "madamme". That's a first! Miss or ma'am, sure.... But he just took it to a new level and I'm dressed so casual. But it was great to have Indian Food for a change. Chinese and (Chinese)Western food was getting a bit bland. And no matter how "French" the bakery tries to be, it's a Chinese style Croisant. ((Cassy and Vicky... I really need some Quebec Cheese over here! Also, I had a whole conversation about poutine with another Canadian from Montreal last week!))
I also went to the Bird and Flower Market. I found more birds than flowers; as well as squirells, hamsters, chincillas, puppies and kittens, and turtles, etc. Basically you can find any pet you want on the street side; which explains a lack of pet stores. However, as with all things animal related in China, it doesn't meet my standards and I really wish I could buy the two puppies I saw today. They would have been around $10 each and they actually looked healthy! Sooon.... soooooon I will have a puppy! Or Kitten.
Update: I've come back from Dynamic Yunnan, choreographed by Yang Liping and about the ethnic minorities of Yunnan Province. It was amazing! I'm glad I spent Y360 because it was soooo well done, beautiful, and better than all the other shows I've seen! I also had the best seat. I learned a lot about Chinese Native People and actually there was an abundant of similarity with North American Native people with respect to drumming and creation stories. I really wish they had a soundtrack for sale too because the music and singing was the best! So even though I didn't see the stone forest, I got to experience some more Chinese culture.
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Potato Squad, if you are reading this here are some tips.
The Hump hostel has a great location downtown with a good atmosphere but the rooms are lacking but still good. Also try to book ahead because when I arrived the cheapest rooms were full. Stay two nights. 17 hours to Guilin from here. Miss you guys already!
