Day 31 - Sleepily experiencing Kunming

We hopped off the train and found the bus to get us close to the hostel we planned to go to - however our guide doesn't always help us as it directed us to a hostel closed for renovations! After a typical wander in the wrong direction, we decided to go to Green Lake Park where we got to relax and people watch, in the wonderful temperature of Kunming - Kunming is nearly 2000m above sea level so it is very pleasant here. At the park hundreds of people gather at the early hour to partake in a variety of physical activities including Tai Chi, badmington, dancing, sword martial arts and other interesting techniques for keeping healthy. It was amazing to see a woman using a walking stick partake in both tai chi and the dancing class!! Adam was in his element here and could have hung around for hours - if we get up early enough tomorrow we might just go back!

Eventually the need for food and packs off our backs led to another zig zag though the city, asking numerous people for directions - the people are always willing to help lost tourists, like us, back on the right path. We are always thankful for the help but our 'xie xie' (thanks) is always met with a 'bu xie' (no need to thank me) or 'bu keqi' (no worries / don't be silly).

Upon making it to the Cloudlands Youth Hostel we were thankful the other place was closed as it is wonderful here - there is a very social environment with reading rooms, free internet, a huge tv with dvds to watch, a small bar and restaurant, clean facilties and clean rooms - ours even has a small living room off the bedroom with a comfy couch! All this for $15 a night. Here, Liv is standing in front of the wicked mural at the entrance of the hostel.

All over the walls of the hostel travellers leave their mark, writing small pieces of writing or drawings - we added our own piece outside our room! We think we'll stay here 3 days to allow us to relax and enjoy the many things to see and do around Kunming - Yunnan province is one we have been looking forwad to since before we left home, so we will definitely take the time to enjoy it! Tomorrow is a special day for us, so we want to celebrate it in style!

We headed out to breakfast/lunch where we had another stab at ordering in Chinese - and although we got a large vegetarian meal it wasn't the most tasty compared to what we're used to - we've gone from struggling to eat the food to loving it and expecting a delicious meal every time. Even Liv looks forward to meal times! We sat across from on old Chinese man who tried his best to communicate with us and marvelled at Adam pilling the chilli flakes on his rice - he told us it would make Adam big and strong and was impressed as most tourists don't go for the chilli (or so we think he said!). Adam now understands Stu's obsession of adding chilli to most meals!

Back at the hostel we had a deserved sleep after getting none last night, and then finally caught up on our blogging.

We had a quick dinner at the hostel, which of tomato and egg rice and tomato and egg noodles! But it filled the gap and Adam got to try a local beer, which went down well after the last 24 hours!

Travelling by backpack,
Hostelling International to hit the sack
Adlibing Asia 2007