Kunming, China

Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan province in the far South West of China, with a pop of 4 million. Its a very cosmopolitan city, loads of shopping malls and alot of western influence. Traffic lights that people obey and footpaths, I haven't seen a city like it on my travels through South East Asia apart from Singapore. Was a nice change. The public transport system is easy to use and is cheap and reliable.

Arrived on my bus from the border late at night and spit a taxi with a couple of Korean dudes who were on my bus. Got a room in dorm which I have not done much on my travels. Next day went for a wander around town, the caught a public bus out to the western hills that overlook the lake and the city. Hiked up the side of the hill, up to Dragon Gate, a maze of carved onto the side of a cliff face, that gives spectacular views of Kunming and the lake, lots of Chinese tourists there but I did not see any Westerners. Hiked down a different way and stopped off at a temple before catching a packed bus back into the city. Met a French guy and had a yarn with him over a few Tsing Tao beers.

Next day wandered around the city was going to go out to the stone forest but left it a bit late and found out that its quite expensive to get in. As many sights in China are. So did some shopping, getting ready for the cold. Booked a hard seat on the train to Dali (Xiaguan). Met a german dude that night and went for a wander around the city, fairly busy even at night.