Category Archives: Kunming

Cool Places in Kunming, Notes

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We have been hanging out in Kunming for the last few days and I found a few places that most people already know about.

Salvador’s Coffee House is an American-owned coffee house/internet hangout/restaurant and was featured in a CNN article last year. The staff is cool and the coffee is great.

The Prague Cafe has two locations, one in Lijiang and one in Kunming. Both have the same atmosphere and have an excellent menu. Rumor has it that all the coffees listed on the menu are the same, that is, Yunnan Coffee. Whether this is true or not, Yunnan Coffee tastes good and is the cheapest, so I just avoid ordering the “Brazil or African” 30 RMB-a-cup versions. Oh, and they play Gotan, which is always all-good.

Both places are located next to Yunnan University, meaning there are a lot of Chinese and foreign students hanging out, studying English, talking about politics, using QQ (the most popular Chinese instant messaging program), and unfortunately, smoking up a storm.

Other news, I visited the official Panasonic repair center in Kunming and got my 3CCD camera fixed for $60 USD in one day. (They couldn’t get rid of the sticky buttons, thought, from that Diet Coke spill.) I also got a few BP-511 batteries for my Canon 300D, $13 each, at the Canon camera shop next to Bai Sheng (big mall in the center of downtown.)

In Kunming Traffic

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Kunming [wiki page] has a grievous traffic problem. Don’t get me wrong, we always have a great time here, but the other day I left our house to meet up with some friends for dinner. Downtown is about 2 miles away. It took an hour to get there. Granted, it’s the biggest holiday in China, but this is insane. Prime candidate for a subway system…

Is it just me, or is Alias the most predictable show.. ever? And who else is in favor of renaming the show to Plot Twist? I mean, they f’in killed Sloane with lethal injection and his heart rate flatlined for like 8 minutes, but because he drank the wine elixir he never actually died and was brought back to life.

In about 36 hours we’re off to E Jia. I got my GPS, cameras, video camera, and a bag full of cables and power cords for this trip. Look for a little Flash Video doc when I get back. There is also a chance that we will interview the Su family (from the water buffalo movie) on the way back.