Kunming: Spring City
The plane landed smoothly at the Kunming International Airport. I quickly rushed to get out of the terminal to catch a taxi to my home in Kunming, the Cloudland International Youth Hostel. Kunming was a developing Chinese city. It wasn't like Shanghai or Guangzhou, but you could see it was experiencing a boom.
Construction was everywhere. Roads and flyovers were being built. Kunming is also known as the Spring City, because of its eternal spring like weather. And what a welcoming change of wind, after a chilly stay in Guilin. The taxis here looked weird, as the driver had a cage that separated him from the passenger side. I witnessed a sunset when I was headed to the hostel, something that I haven't seen in 3 days.
I arrived at the Cloudland Hostel at 6PM, again, tired. Fortunately, the hostel looked excellent and comfortable. It was a huge hostel, probably the biggest I have stayed in Asia. The hostel was 4 floors high, had a huge common area, a courtyard, and even a sun deck.
There were graffiti on the wall, made by travelers all over the world, who gave the hostel character. I checked-in, when TJ, the American I was with in the Li River cruise arrived. He was also in the same room that I was, so we sort of became buddies.
Kunming looked laid back, and the people were friendly. I walked the next day around Kunming and discovered these robotic looking policemen statues which were information kiosks found at the major intersections. It spoke Chinese, so I really didn't know its purpose.
I was off to Shilin Stone Forest, and the hostel instructed me to take a public bus to the train station, where a bus to Shilin could be taken. I also got the advice from a German girl who I drank with the night before. She told me the places I should see in Kunming and the surroundings. I decided to go to Shilin based on her recommendation.
So, I found myself in the train station, looking for a bus station to the left of the terminal. I matched the word Shilin written by the receptionist in my hostel to the sign marked on a bus. I mentioned Shilin, and the guy by the bus nodded. We exchanged more sign language to pay for a ticket. I boarded the bus after buying lunch to go at Dico's, a popular fast food chain in Kunming. Then, I was off to Shilin for the afternoon to spend.
Construction was everywhere. Roads and flyovers were being built. Kunming is also known as the Spring City, because of its eternal spring like weather. And what a welcoming change of wind, after a chilly stay in Guilin. The taxis here looked weird, as the driver had a cage that separated him from the passenger side. I witnessed a sunset when I was headed to the hostel, something that I haven't seen in 3 days.
I arrived at the Cloudland Hostel at 6PM, again, tired. Fortunately, the hostel looked excellent and comfortable. It was a huge hostel, probably the biggest I have stayed in Asia. The hostel was 4 floors high, had a huge common area, a courtyard, and even a sun deck.
There were graffiti on the wall, made by travelers all over the world, who gave the hostel character. I checked-in, when TJ, the American I was with in the Li River cruise arrived. He was also in the same room that I was, so we sort of became buddies.
Kunming looked laid back, and the people were friendly. I walked the next day around Kunming and discovered these robotic looking policemen statues which were information kiosks found at the major intersections. It spoke Chinese, so I really didn't know its purpose.
I was off to Shilin Stone Forest, and the hostel instructed me to take a public bus to the train station, where a bus to Shilin could be taken. I also got the advice from a German girl who I drank with the night before. She told me the places I should see in Kunming and the surroundings. I decided to go to Shilin based on her recommendation.
So, I found myself in the train station, looking for a bus station to the left of the terminal. I matched the word Shilin written by the receptionist in my hostel to the sign marked on a bus. I mentioned Shilin, and the guy by the bus nodded. We exchanged more sign language to pay for a ticket. I boarded the bus after buying lunch to go at Dico's, a popular fast food chain in Kunming. Then, I was off to Shilin for the afternoon to spend.
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