Lights Optional, Horn Mandatory

There was a small earthquake at around 12:50pm today. Matthew thought I was pushing his couch but that doesn't explain why I felt it, too. The building seemed to move, which was strange. I felt like I could see it moving. At first I thought it was the washing machine but it wasn't. When we looked it up online it was about 60 miles north of Kunming and a 5 on the Richter scale.

Matthew and I went to Lake Dian today. We ended up going to the park called Daguang. It was more of an amusement park than a go-and-see-the-lake park. It was still nice to get out and walk around there. Matthew thought we should, or I should, ride the roller coaster as I've never been on one before. First he wanted me to go on the big one, then the baby one, then the baby baby one. I didn't go on any of them. I didn't really like the idea of being turned upside down. We saw a kite which had two strings so it could be directed and it was doing loops and diving and the going back up. It was really pretty amazing to watch and listen to as it was loud when it got going in loops. I think it was worth the 40 yuan we paid to get in. There were some nice walk ways along interior ponds and floating gardens.

When we got off the bus we went up to Wenlin street. We had read about Ginko Massage on Go Kunming and thought it might be fun to get one. We have an appointment for Sunday. I hope it is good. We also tried to find a new place called the Book Exchange where they have used English language books. I might like to try and find a book to read. There are a couple books about China I would like to read. We couldn't find it though so we spent a lot of time walking up and down trying to find it. We finally went and had dinner at the French Cafe. We are not very adventuresome. But it is hard when you can't read the menu at non-western restaraunts. After dinner we caught a bus back, but we had to transfer to another bus. Which, when we got to the stop, didn't come there. So we walked and walked some more. While we were walking we noticed that many cars do not use their lights even when it is dark. They are liberal with the horn, however. On the bus the driver flashed the lights and honked the horn every time he passed a bicycle or scooter, or when he thought that a car was too close or they weren't letting him in. I don't know why people here aren't deaf to the horn noise as it is so common. After walking about 30 minutes Matthew and I came to a stop that had our bus. We got on even though it was really crowded and we only had 2 stops to go before we got back to the apartment. It would have taken a long time to walk back the rest of the way, though.

Flower Sellers

A couple ofpeople have asked to know more about my roommates, so I thought that since I didn't really have anything that exciting to say about today that I would tell a little more about the two Chinese guys Matthew and I live with.

Jinpeng works for a non-governmental agency, called HANDA Rehabilitation and Welfare Association. The group works with individuals who have leprosy in Yunnan, China. They also do work in other countries. He has traveled in Africa and other parts of Southeast Asia while working for the group. Jinpeng graduated from high school but does not have a college education. He decided that to make himself more competitive he needed to learn English so he taught himself. He would go to English-only chat rooms and the library to learn. As a result his English is really very good as he learned to speak from native speakers. Jinpeng is not originally from Kunming but from a city in the north called Harbin. In Harbin he owned a coffee shop. He has only lived in Kunming for about 9 months. He is very involved in the couchsurfing community and is able to meet lots of people through it. Jinpeng seems to always being doing something, and he includes Matthew and I often which is nice since we are new here.

Philem works for Fed Ex. He is a manager here for the distributions. He has only been in Kunming since December. He has a wife who lives near the island of Macco. Matthew and I had no idea he had a wife to start with as there was nothing to indicate it. His wife is a teacher of biology and from what we could gather she does not want to move to Kunming. I had heard that it was common for spouses to live in different cities and only see each other over holidays but I didn't know that someone who was well off would be in the same situation. Philem works odd hours and often does not get back until after 10pm. He seems like a nice guy but Matthew and I have not spent as much time with him as he is not here in the evenings when we are here the most.

Okay, so that is about what I know about my roommates. Today Matthew and I went to the market and got some eggs. I really like shopping at the market as I can see all the fresh veggies. After we got eggs and a vegetable I like but don't know what it is named, we went to find some flowers. There is an area that has flowers which we finally found. I spent way to much time looking at flowers and then when I picked some out the guy had other customers so after watching them rejected about all of the dried flowers he had I decided with Matthew's encouragement to go to one of the other vendors. I did find some I liked. I was going to get tulips but the flowers still had the bulbs on them and I didn't know what to do with them and I didn't have a vase just a juice container so I thought it would be better to get cut flowers. I got some purple flowers. I'm not sure what they are. I'm including a picture of me with the flowers outside in the apartment complex.


Walking back from looking at the flowers we saw a puppy. It was attaching a mop. It wasn't growling or anything just biting the mop and shaking. It did such a good job killing the mop that it knocked it down from where it was hanging. The shop owner came out and hung the mop back up again. I think it was probably her dog. After she hung the mop the puppy went right back to killing it. I don't know how the Chinese can eat dog when they have puppies they watch play. Jinpeng says that dog is good. I'm not ready to try it yet, though.

I cooked a chicken, green onion, and red pepper stir fry and mashed potatoes. Mashing the potatoes was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated I used a ladle to squash them. then a fork to beat them smother. It was worth it though. Matthew and I watched Jeeves and Wooster while we ate and it was pretty funny.

Really Wednesday, Toothpaste

For those of you out there that just have to smoke and you don't want cigarett stains on your teeth China has the solution. A tooth paste just for you for $3.50.

More Trouble with Buses

Matthew and I have been having quite a bit of trouble with the buses recently. Normally Matthew and I look the address up and then put it into Google maps to see what buses will get us there. In the past we have not had any trouble doing this. We wanted to go to the post office because it is the only place to get postcards in Kunming as far as we can find. We made a list of the buses that were supposed to take us there and we got on A2 and it went right over the road we wanted to be on. Beijing Lu seems to be a bad place for Matthew and I to have as a destination. We ended up going to far on a different road and having to catch a different bus 26 to go back. We did get postcards, though, when we finally got to the post office. They are not the best by any means but they will work.

After the post office we went up to Wenlin Jie, by Green Lake and had lunch at a cafe called Prague. It was really pretty good. I had a pizza. They didn't have anything Chinese on the menu so I picked something that sounded good to me at the time. I have developed a taste for soda here. Sprite, to be exact. I like to get it when we go out. I think the main reason I get it is that I don't want to spend 15yuan on a juice or 20-30 on tea. Soda for some reason is cheap here.

Me at Prague Cafe in silhouette

Matthew has been wanting a haircut for a week now so we went to a barber. Part of the Chinese tradition of Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, is that you don't wash or cut your hair for the first three days of the new year as it is considered to be like washing or cutting away your good luck. They also don't clean the house during this time. As a result of this tradition all of the barbers were closed and have only just opened again. We walked into the barber and even though we couldn't really communicate Matthew was able to say he wanted his hair cut and he wanted the 19yuan cut. There were about 4 options with 19 being the cheapest. However, we don't know what the other options were as we couldn't read the sign except for the price. While Matthew had his hair cut I went and walked around. When I was sick I lost some weight (not my goal and I hope to gain it back), and now my pants are loose. I thought I might see if I could find a pair of jeans I liked but after wandering down a street I found a bookstore. I went there when I didn't see any clothing stores I liked. The bookstore was two floors and the second floor was dedicated to English books. I really like going to bookstores and just touching the books. I know this is strange but it is nice to know they are there if I want to read them. I looked around and headed back so that Matthew wouldn't be waiting for me after his haircut. When I got there they were just finishing. He got it cut short, which is what he wanted.

When we walked back down the alley near the bookstore we found a place with DVDs. We looked in and saw Jeeves and Wooster. It was only 40yuan for seasons 3 and 4 and we couldn't help ourselves so we looked around a little more and discovered that single DVDs are only 10yuan. I picked out about five movies I wanted to see and Matthew had about five too. We only got one, The Hurt Locker. I hope it isn't too hard to watch.

We went to Paul's and got some food. I found bagels. I was really excited. I miss bagels in the morning.

I had my first experience with the public toilets. I don't want to have to repeat it unless absolutely necessary. They were really dirty and I had to pay 3jiao (0.3 yuan) to pee. It was a good thing I did though as we had another adventure on the bus. We got 101 and it looked like it was going the right way and then it just went in the wrong direction. We trusted that it would turn and head back int he right direction but no, it dropped us off at its terminating stop somewhere. I really don't know where. At the stop we saw the A2 which we got on as we knew it went back to our apartment. However, we still felt like we were going in the wrong direction and sure enough, "This is the terminating stop all passengers must depart" so Matthew and I get off and look for the stop where we can get back on. It is across the road so we walk over and get the bus.

It gets dark really fast in Kunming, and by the time we got back it was about that time when the sun just seems to drop out of the sky and it is suddenly dark. Matthew and I ventured to Wal Mart yet again for more peach nectar. I think we might need to find a new juice or buy more at once so we don't have to go to Wal Mart as often. When we got back to the apartment it was dark and almost 8pm.

In case you thought the fireworks had ended, I would like to inform you that I saw some really nice ones walking back. There are not as many of them now but they are still going off every once in awhile.

Discovering the Music of China, Or I should say the Erhu

Today I decided it would be a good idea to avoid the buses so Matthew and I stayed near the apartment, planing a trip to lake Dian and reading the lonely planet for China's Southwest. I really like reading the history and little anecdotes which are included. For instance, legends about the places and information about different traditions and people. It is all very interesting as it explains much of what I see in Kunming and around the area.

Today when I went out to sit in the garden there was a man playing a traditional instrument. It sounded very nice. I'm considering maybe playing one of them instead of trying to get a violin. As it seems like it will be very expensive to try and get a violin or cello. They are more popular in the West so it might be easier to get a traditional instrument here and try and learn to play that. As both of them are bowed I'm thinking that maybe it would be fun to try and learn. Erhu is the name of the traditional instrument. What I'm not really sure about is if there is a big difference in what there is available. I have seen the Erhu with 2 strings and up to 4 strings so I'm not really sure what the difference is or if there is a big difference in what is played on the different versions. Jinpeng played some music for me of the Erhu. I like some of it but not all of it. I guess that is true of any instrument you find. The Erhu is part of the Huqin family of instruments and is the most popular from what I can gather on Wikipedia. There is also a sound clip on Wikipedia. It is not very long but I can't find anything longer because of the Great Firewall of China and disabilities of Tor the onion router.

Bus 57 and other interesting events

So today Matthew and I were taken out to lunch by our roommate. His English name is Phillm, I'm still not sure exactly of his Chinese name. He took us to a place near where we live. Matthew and I have wandered around some in the area but mostly it has been in the city center so we had never been to this area. Kunming is a really big city so it would be hard to really get to know all of the city. The restaurant had these small stools and low tables, it was very different from what we are used too. Phillum, unlike Jinpeng, speaks only a little English. He said he was taking us to a local style restaurant. He said, "I don't know if you will like, but you should try." So we tried it. We had pea sprouts in a really good sauce. Pea greens, not the pea pod part but the vine, are eaten here. Nuts, and fried anchovies. I tried one anchovy, it was not my favorite. We also had a beef dish which tasted like something I've had before, maybe when I was in Dubai, I'm not really sure. Then there was a tofu dish, which was really good as well. And last there was a bacon dish, it was a little strange and I didn't like it as much as the other dishes. Over all it was a really good meal. After lunch Phillum went to work and Matthew and I back to the apartment to get ready to go out.

We decided to go to Metro, a food store which has a bigger selection of more Western food, butter in particular, which I've been missing. Matthew looked it up on the Go Kunming web sight and copied the address into google and got directions. It told us to take bus 57 which we did. We got off at the stop on Beijing Lu where it said we should and there was no Metro so we walked a little and asked some people but no one spoke English and and we didn't know the Chinese name for Metro. We finally called Jinpeng, who had suggested we go there, and he said he normally took bus 67. We got back on bus 57 and took it until it turned off of Beijing lu, and then we got off and were going to turn around. At the stop I saw a 67 bus so we got on. 67 quickly left Beijing lu and I was thinking where the hell is this bus taking us. Then I hear over the speaker that the next stop is Beijing something lu and I think, 'we had better get off as this is a road I know,' but we stop and this is not the Beijing lu which I know. Matthew says we should stay on so we stay on and the next stop sounds like Beijing lu again to me and there is the bright blue Metro and I'm wondering how did we miss that. I mean, really, how could we have missed it. This is a really big store. The bus turns and we stop and get off. Then I see a street sign and I understand were all the confusion was. We are not on Beijing lu but on Beichen lu, in Mandarin when people are talking fast Beijing and Beichen can sound a lot alike. This still does not tell us why Google and Go Kunming sent us to the wrong location.

Matthew and I get butter and some cookies and other good things. However, we had to check our backpack at the front so we don't have our shopping bags. I go back to get them and the person behind the counter won't give me my backpack. Finally, just to get me to go away they give me the bag. Matthew has shown up by this time and we need to have a card to check out. But the person by this point is really ignoring us. I go over to the guard and point at the sign which says "please present your card." The guard understands and tells the person, who gives us a card. Then we give back the backpack and take the piece of magic paper and go to the check out. By the time we leave the store it is dark. I think it is like 7:30 but it is really 8pm. I'm really hungry so I open the Oreos. Matthew says not to eat too many as we will have dinner when we get back to the apartment. I only have two. Then we walk to the bus stop. I have some confusion about which side the buses come to so we go to the wrong one and end up walking in a big circle and missing the bus we wanted, number 57, as we have walked back to Beijing lu. While we wait for the bus to come I eat another Oreo, and I see a really big truck full of bananas. I don't even like bananas, but it is really interesting. I've also seen trucks with oranges.

The bus finally comes but there is no place to sit so we stand. I am wearing the backpack which has all of the heavy food in it. It is about a 30 minute ride across town and I think there will be a seat soon. But one doesn't open and the bus just gets fuller and fuller. The backpack isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We finally get to the part of town which I recognize and I'm thinking just how nice it will be to get off of the really crowded bus. We stop at the stop before ours and pull back out into traffic. There is a red light and we stop. The windows in the bus are partly open and a car or truck near us has really bad diesel fumes. I think it will clear up soon and then I'll be fine. We start moving again and I'm starting to get really hot so I unzip my jacket. We go under the highway bridge and my hearing starts getting dim and I'm sweating. I know our stop is coming up and I think I'll be fine as soon as I get off the bus. Then my sight gets a little blurred. I think I just have to hold on. The bus stops and my knees get all wobbly, but I think the driver must have stopped slower as I didn't fall. I turn to go out and I can't see Matthew so I reach out and grab what I hope is his jacket. It feels like leather. He turns and I'm thinking I can't fall on the bus, I just have to get off and sit down. He asks if I'm okay and I say no. We get to the exit and the doors are closing. People yell and the doors open. I don't know how I get down the stairs as I think my legs aren't working that well. Somehow Matthew leads me over the bus stop and down across the bicycle lane. He says step down, I think I see a bicycle or scooter coming but he says it is okay so I follow him. I think I've told him I need to sit down as I'm dizzy and light headed but I don't really remember. We get to the side walk and there is a wall. He takes off the backpack and I sit down and lean against the wall. I'm feeling a little better already, but not up to walking to the apartment yet. So I sit on the dirty sidewalk, I thought it was 20 minutes but Matthew says it was more like 5 to 10 and my hearing comes back and my sight isn't blurred. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't gotten off of the bus.

We walked back to the apartment, me holding on to Matthew as I still feel weak. When we got back I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I felt much better, but I was pretty tired. It was funny how much I felt like I feel right after I've had blood drawn and I've seen my blood. I can't see my own blood, but if I don't look I'm fine. When I do look I pass out. This felt pretty close to what I've experienced when having blood drawn. After the sandwich I'm felt pretty much recovered. It was definitely something I don't care to repeat, even for some butter.

Observations of Different Norms

I have realized that many of the things which I am shocked by here are observations of different norms. For instance spitting. I don't mind it outside any more, but inside it's gross. When you look at the tradition of removing the phlegm from  the body as necessary, it makes since why China is so worried about H1N1 being introduced here. They would have a real problem if it became widespread here as the hygiene is very different. Because people spit in the street it would be hard to keep it from spreading really fast. Matthew and I asked Jinpeng about spitting and if they spit in the province he is from. We haven't seen him spit like the locals. He said that spiting is all over China, anywhere we go there would be spitting. He just doesn't like it so he doesn't do it. I find this interesting. He grew up with the tradition of removing the phlegm from the body yet he does not do so. It seems like many younger people in China do not spit but that it is mostly the population over 30 that spits. This is not to say that I haven't seen younger individuals spitting it is just the great majority of those that do spit are older.

Another thing I do a double take on is when I see is little kids being encourage by their parents to pee on the street. It seems rather common for kids under, I'd say, the age of 7 to just pull down their pants and go. At Green Lake I saw a mom take her daughter, pull down her pants, and tell her to pee right in the middle of the walkway. There was a little bit of dirt there but it was still on the sidewalk. Walking to the zoo I saw a little boy and girl peeing on one of the planted trees. They just whipped it out and went. Yesterday Matthew and I were reading in the gardens at our apartment complex. I thought it was really pretty clean here. I watched a mom take her daughter, probably a year or so old, who was still wearing the pants which are open crouched, and make peeing noises as she held her over a tree. The girl's sister, I assume, ran over pulled down her skirt and leggings and peed on the walkway, missing the dirt around the tree. I try to avoid stepping in puddles, but now I will definitely go out of my way to walk around them. Matthew and I seemed to be the only people fazed by it, although we pretended to not be. Everyone else acted as though it was normal.

I see little kids playing in the gravel around the trees on the sidewalks and I think "don't let your kid play there, please." Then the kid sticks some in their mouth. That always gets a reaction from the parents. Not only are these trees a place for kids to pee they are also a place where people who get motion sickness on the bus, drink too much, or get food poisoning are sick. I try not to look. But the number of trees around bus stops that get extra nutrients is pretty high. Matthew thinks that some of it may be spilled food. I think he is right sometimes. I wish he was right all the time.

For the most part Kunming is a clean city. There are lots and lots of workers with bamboo leaf brooms sweeping the streets and sidewalks. This keeps the city pretty clean. It is amazing the number of workers. They sweep up the leaves and the things people just throw on the street as they know it will be cleaned up. I don't think I would want to see the city if there weren't all the workers cleaning. It would be a huge mess as no one really seems to think about what they do with their trash. If it is large it goes in the trash receptacle but if it isn't and their isn't a receptacle close they don't go out of their way to get to one.

Shopping

This morning I looked at my leg and I have a really bright bruise from where I whacked myself bowling yesterday. Pictures just don't do it justice. It is really painful and I have to be careful. When walking today I was getting a cramp in my calf muscle which was part of whacking myself. I would strongly recommend caution when wielding a bowling ball.

Matthew and I went shopping at the market today. We wandered around and got veggies and eggs. Much of the market was closed for the new year. We couldn't get potatoes at the market as they didn't have any at the stalls that were open. Matthew and I try and speak mandarin with the people in the stalls but many of them speak a local dialect so it is hard for us to understand them. We do understand numbers but sometimes even that is hard to understand if they don't say it slowly enough. One of the venders got frustrated with us not understanding that it was 1 quai 3 jiao. She just took the money out of my hand when I was trying to figure out how much it was. I understood the 1 quia but I got confused when she said 3 after the 1. Jiao are a fraction of a yuan. 1 Jiao is like 1 1/2 pennies. We were able to get everything we needed. Oranges were really expensive so we didn't get them at the market but decided to get them at the store.

We took our eggs and vegetables back to the apartment. leg was all cramped by the time we got there so we rested a while. Then we walked to Wal Mart. By the time we got there I was ready to get in the cart and be pushed around the store. At Wal Mart we got stuff we couldn't get at the Market. I got a small notebook for other than journaling. I also got some really cheap pens. They had a pretty picture on them, well, more cute than pretty. My current pen is on its way out. Most importantly, we got some more peach nectar.

In the Wal Mart I watched a woman spit on the floor. I had previously thought that the Wal Mart was pretty clean. There is no smoking allowed, so it is pleasant to be inside. After the woman spit she walked right over it. I think if I spit I would at least not step in it right after I spit.

Jinpeng cooked dinner for us tonight. We had a tomato and cabbage dish with rice. It was really good. We ate all of it without any trouble. Our other roommate that went home over Spring Festival came back. I still don't know his name, neither does Matthew. He brought back some candy, and traditional food like chestnuts. He doesn't speak as much English as Jinpeng but he was nice to share with us. The candies were really good, and I thought China wasn't catering to my sweet tooth.

Bowling

Matthew and I were going to have a quiet day and go out for dinner, but Jinpeng asked us to go bowling. He pretty much insisted that we go bowling with him. So we got all ready and set out for bowling around 4 pm. I had been researching alternate Universities in case I don't get into Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. I think I spent about 4 hours looking at Universities in Europe and only found one that I liked and was taught in English. It was in Estonia. I'm not even sure that it is really what I'm looking for but at least it is a start.

Bowling is on the third floor of Kunming Hotel. Why you would put a bowling ally on the third floor is beyond me. It didn't look like there was much on the lower floors. We paid 30 Yuan for three games and got started. It took me awhile to find a light ball that didn't have a small thumb hole. Most of the small balls were too small for my thumb. I finally found a ball I liked but I still wasn't any good. I didn't get a score above 54 all three games. I did get a strike the first game and that was exciting but for the most part I was just bad. I went to throw the ball one time and when I brought the ball forward I whacked it on the backside of my right leg just below the knee. It hurt like hell. It was a gutter ball just to make matters even worse. I think I'm going to get a really ugly bruise from it.

After bowling Jinpeng took us to a food court area and we got some food. It was a wheat noodle soup. The noodles were a little soggy for my liking and it was too spicy for me to really eat. Jinpeng was cold so he headed back to the apartment and Matthew and I went to go get crepes for dessert. We wanted to do something special as it was his birthday. We went back to the French Cafe and got dessert crepes there. They were pretty good. We didn't stay out after crepes but just went back to the apartment as we were cold. There isn't any heat in the building so it gets cold when it is cold out. It really wouldn't feel as cold as it is if there was heat. I had a peanut butter and honey sandwich for a snack. We were going to go to the store and get some more peach nectar, the best juice, but didn't stop so I made do with our fake orange juice.

The First Cloudy Day

Now that I have found a way to get to my blog, my posts will be more organized and the pictures will be incorporated into the text more. Also, I will posting more pictures on Picasa Web Albums. That is if I can figure out how to take a large number of pictures and shrink them all at once. If I post them as they are now I will run out of storage space pretty quickly. And I don't want to spend the time to shrink each picture individually. However, if it is rainy and cold tomorrow that may be what I end up doing as I will need something to do.

Today was the first cloudy day. It was a little depressing. I didn't know what to do with myself. Not only is it cloudy it is also cool. In the 50's and tonight there is a chance it will get below freezing. Brr.. particularly when you don't have heat. It is warm here most of the year so the apartment we are living in doesn't have heat. The hostel and hotel did not have heat either. That means when it is cold here you are cold, too.

I was going to go to the market and get some veggies but it started raining right when I was leaving. I put on my rain jacket and headed out but it was really cold so I just walked around in our complex. I think that some of the trees growing in the complex may be olive trees. I'm not really sure. The birds like them, though. I like walking around and looking at peoples' balconies, as many of them have really amazing plants. Some of the ground floor residents have their plants outside and I can look at all the different flowers. There are many orchids, some of which are about waist high. I wish we could grow orchids like these back in NC as they are really beautiful. I haven't been to the flower market yet, but I really would like to go. I think it would be hard to go as I would want all of the flowers. Just walking around looking at people's potted plants makes me want to live somewhere where I could have flowers like these. Yunnan Provence is not the place, though, as I'm not too fond of the cuisine here.

Since I didn't go out and get stuff from the market Matthew and I made do with what we had here for dinner. I cooked a stir fry from the veggies we had: carrots, red pepper, green onion, and nappy cabbage, with tuna. It turned out pretty good. And if it wasn't good I was too hungry to care. It is getting colder here every minute and as my nose gets colder and colder I'm wondering if I would be better served showering tonight or in the morning? I'm thinking that if I don't brave the cold now I might not shower until it gets warm again, as I don't like wet hair when it is cold. Okay, so there is hot water. Like really hot water, that will burn you if you have it on all the way. So I really should stop contemplating and start doing.

Really Wednesday, French Cafe

The French Cafe is a bar and restaurant. After looking at their squatting toilet I agree with the sign. The wording of the sign is what gains it a place as my first official "Really Wednesday" post.

Really Wednesday

So I have decided to try something. I don't know if I will be able to keep it going but my plan is that every Wednesday I will post a picture that makes me go "Really?" I already have posted three, the guy spying on the girl for the Hump bathroom sign, the Smoking Allowed sign and the billboard of the little kid peeing. As I keep seeing things that make me go Really? I thought maybe I would dedicated a day of the week to this. Wednesday seems like as good a day as any and I like the way "Really Wednesday" sounds so that is the day I choose. Some of the things I post may not make you feel the same way, but they are things that interest me.

So from now on I will save these pictures for "Really Wednesday."

Relaxing

Today Matthew and I took it easy. As I am feeling fully recovered, I did some cleaning in our room. Mostly this means putting clean clothes in the closet/cupboard and dirty clothes in a pile to be washed. We still have our suitcases out and I'm not sure if they will stay on the floor or be put somewhere. Right now they are serving as a decoration. The room would be bare without them. Okay, so that's pushing it a bit far.

I went and read a book in the gardens at the apartment complex. It was really sunny and warm today. There was a breeze so it wasn't too hot. I liked sitting out by the pools of water and reading. I think the security guard thought it was a little strange to have a westerner sitting there but he didn't say anything to me, just kept walking by and looking. I think it was his job to watch the pools.

Matthew and I went out to The Brother's Jiang restaraunt again tonight. This time we shared a bowl of noodle soup as they are really large. Jinpeng tells us that because they are a chain they aren't as good as some of the other restaurants. The only thing is, Matthew and I can't order at the other restaurants. We sort of know how the menu works at The Brother's Jiang so we can pay the amount for what we want and we don't really have to talk. At a different place we would have to be able to read the menu. Jinpeng says he is going to start teaching us more Chinese. That would be a really big help for us. As we came during the celebration of the New Year we don't have that many opportunities to take classes in Mandarin or for that matter teach English. It looks like things will pick back up in March. So until then Matthew and I struggle with what we can say and try and get by.

We took another shopping trip to Wal Mart, so that we would have some food to cook. Some of the big differences between a Wal Mart in the US and the Wal Mart in China is that there are lots and lots of dried fish laying out. Also dried ducks and chickens. Also f\ish tanks where one can chose the fish they want for dinner. They also have many many workers. During the New Year rush there seemed to be a worker for about every row in the store. Now there are less but still many more than you would see in a store in the States. We ended up getting lots of bread. Not the sweet kind but the kind you would use for sandwiches. Now we can have tuna sandwiches. They will be good for if we go on a day trip out hiking. I'm thinking of planing a trip to hike in the Stone Forest or around Lake Dianchi.

Recovery

I'm finally feeling better.

Today I took it easy doing some laundry and just hanging out at the apartment. Matthew and I went out at around 4pm to go to 'Paul's Shop'. They have imported food and we thought that maybe it would be good to have some Western food as backup for when we just can't handle going out to find something. I was still pretty tired and had to keep asking Matthew to slow down. I didn't want to get to worn out. We went to Paul's and they didn't have that big a selection but it was good to see things like mac and cheese. I know you are thinking that I haven't been here that long and that I should be enjoying the local cuisine. I just have to tell you that they use soy oil in everything. I found that out from a couple in the restaurant we went to. I don't like soy oil. Not the way it smells or tastes. It just really makes things gross to me. So when I find some dishes that don't use excessive amounts of soy oil I will again eat lots of the local cuisine.

We asked how late Paul's was open (10pm) and we headed out to get some dinner before we bought the supplies. We ended up eating at the 'French Cafe'. We got a salad to share, and Matthew got a Chicken and cheese sandwich, while I had a veggie soup. It was good and didn't have any soy oil in it. We thought we might get a desert crepe but we where full by the time we were done with the food. I guess we will have to go back to try the crepes. There was a couple sitting at the table behind us and they said they pegged me as American because I was wearing my Chacos. They were very nice and suggested we look for work at a training center as they don't require contracts. I'm wondering if maybe Matthew and I will want to move to a different city or if we will want to stay in Kunming for the rest of the time we are here. Like the United States China also has a lot of variation in its food and we think we would like some of the other provinces' food better. We don't really know what we are doing yet but if there aren't any training schools in Kunming and we could find one somewhere else it might be worth moving there.

After dinner we headed back to Paul's and got a 56 Yuan box of cereal. That is about $8.50 US dollars, but I think Matthew and I are getting pretty tired of oatmeal for breakfast. On the way back to the apartment on the bus I saw some people in an apartment on about the 10 floor open their window and set off some fireworks. They didn't go up, but fell down. Luckily they exploded before they fell on the movie goers below. I thought the fireworks would have stopped by now but no they just keep going and going. And the car alarms don't seem to wear out either.

The Year of the Tiger

Note to my readers, I'm still feeling sick. If you want a more positive out look go to Matthew's blog at eastwest-mm.blogspot.com. There is only one problem: he is not as dedicated at posting and will refer you back to my blog. You can try, though.

Okay, so the year of the tiger makes me think of that song "it's the eye of the tiger". I used to hear it when I was in high school and was playing soccer. We would listen to it when we were warming up. I'm not sure who came up with the music. But now every time someone says it is the year of the tiger I think of the song. Thanks.

Last night was a long night between the fireworks and my needing the bathroom. Okay, that is all I will say.

Today I am feeling quite spent. I have no energy. I feel frail as though the slightest wind would knock me over. It hurts my body to try and stand up straight. I think I may be starving in China. Okay, well not really. I just can't find any food that tastes good to me today. I've been eating a fruit that looks like a really large grape fruit but is sweeter and has a very different flavor. It is a citrus though, so I don't want to eat too much. It does taste good to me. I made a noodle soup we got from Wal Mart but I couldn't eat it. I tried adding the spices one at a time but I just didn't like the flavor. I had a granola bar instead. I need to get some food that doesn't upset my stomach, but I don't feel well enough to venture out to get it.

After the granola bar I took a shower in hopes that it would revive me but no. I took a nap and woke up feeling crumpled and frustrated. I need food but can't go get it myself or really say what I want. I just know I don't want something Chinese. It hasn't been good to my stomach.I

Matthew has ventured out into the great city of Kunming to hunt up some food. I'm so grateful as I couldn't do so myself. I'm sitting and watching the fireworks from the window. I can see them over the roof of the apartment next to ours. They are the big kind and so with the bang of the fireworks the car alarms get going. It is a rather loud process. Yesterday it was annoying to me but I am starting to get used to it as strange as that seems. The alarms are in the distance, though, and not right outside the window. If they were I probably wouldn't be so calm about it. However, right now I can enjoy them from the window in the living room.

The Chinese New Year's Eve

Note on this entry. I am not feeling the best so post will reflect my condition: Sick. I will try and leave out all "thanks, I didn't want to know" details, but some might accidentally end up in here.

This morning I thought I was feeling much better. I had some oatmeal and off we went to the market to get veggies and meat for the New Year's Eve meal with Jinpeng. I apparently wasn't feeling better and had to head back to the apartment early. I spent most of the day sitting on one of the chairs in the living room with an upset stomach. I didn't feel the need to be running to the bathroom, I just didn't feel good. When Matthew and Jinpeng got back I realized I had missed out on the killing of our fish. I can't say I'm upset to have missed it. Just seeing all the meat was enough for me.

I was able to enjoy the meal Jinpeng cooked us. We had four dishes. Eggs for luck. I really liked the eggs and ate lots of them. Fish for wealth. I only had a little fish, so my wealth will be small. Uh oh. The fish was a river fish and tasted a bit muddy to me. I guess it is a developed taste. Potato noodles for a long life. They are really long noodles. I liked the way they were prepared, it was my favorite dish. They had tuna, onions, and red pepper mixed in with them. At first I was thinking "not another noodle," but it was good. Last there were mushrooms, to cleanse the past and make for a new and fresh future. Those of you that know me well will know that I did not eat this dish.

After lunch I went to bed. I didn't think I would be able to sleep with all the firecrackers going off but I did. When we got up Jinpeng was preparing the dumplings we were going to have for dinner. Matthew and he made the dumplings. I was still feeling poorly and didn't really want to be dealing with raw meat. I did part take in the eating though. I was only able to eat about three. It wasn't the taste, though, it was just that I was not feeling well. I normally don't like dumplings, but these were good and if I had been feeling better I would have really enjoyed eating them. It was fun to watch Matthew learn to make them. You could definitely tell which were his. He did get much better as he made them though. It didn't change the taste though. They were just harder to eat with the chopsticks. Jinpeng told us that he would leave one in the pan for the kitchen god and put two on the floor, one for the Heaven god and one for the Earth god. I found that interesting. I guess at some point you sweep them up.

The fireworks were really going by 11:30pm. But I was just to wiped out to try and stay awake. I don't know how but I guess like rain the fireworks stopped being really annoying and I didn't notice them anymore.

A Short Day for Me

I didn't do that much, I ate some oatmeal. Even with the sugar it wasn't as good as the little packets of instant oatmeal I'm used to. Still it was better than some of the other things I've been eating recently. Okay, so I'm breaking from trying to be positive again. If I said it was a great day for me I would be lying. I was taking it easy doing laundry and such for most of the morning. Before going to take the pictures to the police I decided to take a shower. I ran out of hot water, thanks to all the laundry I had done. I got in bed to get warm and when I woke up I had a fever, not that high just 100. Shh..don't tell on me. A long with the low fever came muscle aches. Mostly in my right leg and butt. Might have something to do with the bed, although with the extra layer of mattress it is much better than it was.

After my nap I was still feeling pretty crummy, but Matthew and I walked out to the police station and dropped off our pictures. When we got back I went back to bed. However, I couldn't sleep because I was uncomfortable. I read short stories in my "China a Traveler's Literary Companion". Matthew cooked for me. We had rice and broccoli and nappy cabbage. It was pretty good. By the time I was going to bed, though, my stomach was starting to grumble.

The Chinese New Year's Eve is tomorrow and the fireworks have started already.

Registering with the Police

2-11-10

Matthew and I went to the police station just down the road to register with them. All foreigners have to register with the police if they are not staying in a hotel. When we went in they didn't speak English so we showed them what Jinpeng wrote for us. They then took us back to our apartment complex, thinking that we were asking for directions. It was a really hard as our phrase books had nothing like "accommodation registration form" in them. Finally I called Longtian and she was able to tell them enough that they understood what we needed to do. The three police that had walked us to the apartment then walked us back to the police station. One of them spoke some English and he told us to wait, that an officer who spoke better English was coming. When she got there she gave him a look like why wasn't he dealing with it. Turns out her English wasn't that much better than his but at least we were getting the paper work filled out. It took about an hour and a half to get everything filled out and then we had forgotten to bring our pictures so they told us to come back the next day. At least now we are registered to live here and don't have to worry about that anymore.

After the escapade with the police we went downtown to get money from an ATM, as we were nearly out of cash. On our way to the bank we saw a woman getting a massage and she was holding her rather large puppy in her lap. Definitely picture worthy.

We went to a small Western style restaurant. Aomai's Kitchen had just opened at the new location so everything was discounted, otherwise it would have been pretty expensive. We got a pizza, pretty good as I was starting to get tired of the food here. I also got a watermelon juice, really good, until I started comparing it to what I had in Costa Rica. Comparison aside it was good and I would get it again. It was a nice little place and was great before a bunch of Chinese men came and sat down and were smoking. Even then it was much better than a lot of other places we have been to. Not as smokey.

After dinner we went to the grocery store in the Mall. I think it is more like a fresh market of sorts. Things were pretty expensive. Matthew and I could have gotten a $10 box of cereal. Trust me it was tempting. Instead we got oatmeal and sugar. We also got fruit as we didn't seem to know how to buy it at Wal Mart.

On the way back we stopped at Wal Mart and got an extra mattress pad for the bed and another pillow. We got the thickest pad we found but it was still pretty thin. My hope is that it will at least take away from the bone hurting of the thin, hard mattress we have.

Three Flights of Stairs

2-10-10

Matthew and I hung out at our place under the guise that we were going to get stuff done, but we didn't really. At around 1pm we finally headed out. We took the bus past the city center and into the northeast part of town. We got off and looked for a place to get lunch. We ended up going to the local bread place. These stores have an interesting smell, it is sweet, not like a normal bread place. We got some concoctions that looked like they would be a good lunch for us. We took them to Green Lake and ate there. Matthew is not very fond of birds so all the sea gulls don't seem to appeal to him. I think he would be just as happy if they went back to Siberia. After lunch we didn't really know what to do so we decided to check out the zoo. Our guide book told us that the zoo had some of the best treated animals in China, but that their condition was still going to seem horrible to us. The real reason to go to the zoo was to see the old architecture and the views of the city. The zoo sits on top of a hill so you get some pretty good views of the city and surrounding area.

We had a hard time finding the entrance to the zoo at first. The first place we ended up was in a peacock garden, you could walk on the paths in and around the area. It was a big area with lots of peacocks. Again, Matthew doesn't like birds. The picture on the bridge of me was taken here. I'm practicing my new poses I'm learning from the Chinese. They always pose when they are having their picture taken. It is quit fun to watch them.

Next we walked by the elephants. They had very small dirt enclosures. Some of them had larger areas but then they would have a chain around their leg so they couldn't move. The chained elephants didn't look that upset but then again they did have food at there feet. Some of them did look as though their eyes where sad or had cried. Can elephants cry? I was really hard for me to see. All of the animals where quite sad. The only one I saw that wasn't sad was a squirrel which was free to run around. Just goes to prove that squirrels are everywhere.

After we got away from the animals and up into the grounds it was really pretty with old gates and pavilions. This area was nice to walk through. I'm sure Matthew and I didn't see that much of the actual zoo. There was an amusement park area we didn't even go to. It was a nice walk. I don't think we would really recommend going there as it was really hard to look at the animals, it made me want to cry.

We went back to the Camellia Hotel one last time to pick up our big bags. We decided to take a taxi instead of trying to get them onto a bus. We saw a taxi at the hotel, but when we showed him the address he said no, he couldn't go there. We realized that we would have to go to another street if we wanted to get a taxi to take us so we walked up the street to the pedestrian bridge over the road. It was a big road so there weren't any cross walks. We lugged our bags up the stairs, then rolled them over the bridge and then lugged them back down the stairs on the other side. The funny thing was if we had been on one of the other two corners we would have had a walk way ramp instead of stairs. I guess it was just bad luck for us. Once we got to the road we waited for a taxi at a taxi stop. All the cabs we saw going by were full and we were about to give up and take the bus when one came. He took us where we wanted to go, unlike our other drivers who have just dropped us and left us standing there wondering where we were and if it was the right place, or how to get to the right place. They have a gas tax which they do not include in the price on the meter so I always get confused. But we got him paid, didn't get overcharged, and walked through the apartment complex to our building. Once we got to the apartment we had to haul our bags up three flights of stairs. By the time we got to the door, I was sweating and ready for a nap. Luckily we had a snack at Camellia before we left.

I thought maybe a nap would be good but we didn't have any sheets so out we went again to the Wal Mart. It is pretty close to here and so we walked. We got sheets, some food (we didn't really know what it was, it looked like Ramen), a light bulb for the bathroom which seemed like it was too much trouble for the two guys that live here to replace, and toilet paper. It took us a long time and by the time we left I was wiped out. We had picked out some oranges but they didn't let us buy them as they didn't have a bar code on them. That made me sad as they were going to be my breakfast.

When we got back we ate one of the soups. It was okay but a little on the spicy side for me. Maybe the reason I didn't dislike it was that it was so spicy that I couldn't really taste it.

New Camera and Phone

Today Matthew and I ate breakfast at the Camellia. They have a really good selection of food which makes Matthew and I happy. I can eat fruit, rice, veggies, bread and rice noodle soup which is nice. After breakfast Matthew and I checked out of the room and caught a number 5 bus into the city. What we didn't realize was where the bus stopped we took it one to far and had to walk back to meet LongTian. Lucky for us even though we were late she had waited for us. She helped us look at cameras and took us to the stores. We got a phone card at China Mobile but didn't see a phone we liked there as much. We had gone into a store for electronics that had one we liked. We wanted to get it in blue but they didn't have blue so we went to the same store in the Mall where we had started to see if they had blue. For some reason the camera was cheaper at the store on the Mall than the store out by the library.

She also helped us get bus cards that way we don't have to be paying 1 yuan every time we get on a bus. This way we get free transfers within an hour. Matthew and I really need bus cards as we are always taking the wrong bus or something as we still don't really know where things are and which buses go where. We took LongTian to lunch at a Latin American Restaurant. I was beginning to miss beans so it was nice to have them again. It was a nice little place and we had smoothies too. Well Matthew and LongTian had smoothies and I had a little ice cream. It is funny here I see people in their winter jackets and they are eating ice cream. It seems rather contradictory to me but I guess they like ice cream and maybe they get hot in the jackets so they need to cool down with ice cream. That is my theory anyway.

After lunch we went back to the Mall. I thought that because it was a big store I would be able to use my debit card but they said only credit cards from China were aloud so we had to go and get money from an ATM to buy the Camera. LongTian helped us buy the phone we had enough to get it without going to an ATM. They have an interesting procedure for buy something. First you go to the counter where the thing you want is and look at a model. Then you say you want this one and they go and see if they have it if they don't the come back and tell you we don't have this one but we have it in this color instead. No one had a blue phone for me so we got black and red. Then they give you a card which electronically says how much it is. Then you go and pay for it. After you pay you go back to the display area and give them the receipt. Then the go and get the phone and they show you how it works and let you try it so that you know that it works. It is so different from the way it works in the states. Matthew and I got the cheapest phone it is a little LG phone. I'm hoping that maybe Singapore has a similar system and we get use the phone there as well by just getting a chip and putting it in the phone.

LongTian had to leave by 4 so after we got the phone she got on a bus to go home and Matthew and I went and got money to get the camera. We got a Casio. I think it might actually be nicer than the camera I had. However, that wouldn't be hard as my camera was 6 years old. So far I like it but I've only had in 16 hours so I haven't used it much yet. Here is a picture of me by a lion in the Mall. Matthew and I decided to go out exploring a little and walked back to our hotel. On the way back there are these cartoon like tigers, as 2010 is the year of the tiger. They are pretty cute. However, I think they look a lot like mice.

When we got back to the hotel we got out our computers and waited until we could head out to our new apartment. We are renting the room we looked at on Thursday. We ate some dinner at the Camellia and then headed over to Jinpeng's. We have a nice room with a really hard matrices. Not sure how that will work out. I think it may make up bones hurt but may be I'll get used to it after a while. At least now I'm not going to be wondering where I'm staying each day. That will feel nice.

A trying day in Kunming

Okay, so I told my mom I would try and be more positive. So after this post I will try really hard. Even if something bad happens. However, today I just need to rant a little, a very little.

This is the last picture I will be posting. For once this had nothing to do with the internet here. Yesterday at a bus stop Matthew and I had both of our cameras stolen. Let me say that again: BOTH.

To start the day Matthew and I ate a nice breakfast at the hotel. They have a buffet with lots of options. The table we sit at is next to the little goldfish pool. They all come and swarm around the edge near us as I think they want us to feed them. This is the last picture I will be posting until I get a new camera. This expense means that I will not be buy a violin. I'm pretty upset about that.

We  went out to look at the apartment we had seen on Thursday. As it was dark when we first visited we wanted to get a look at the neighborhood. We walked around a little and it was pretty nice. We noticed that there weren't any power lines. We think they are under the sidewalk. There are little lightning bolts sometimes so it makes sense for them to be. After we finished in the neighborhood we walked over to the Wal Mart to get some lunch. It is easy to point at food in a counter. Also, we are still looking for a converter for our some of the electronics. They didn't have one. We ate our lunch and it was pretty good. It was noodles and veggies but it had a sauce I liked. On the way back to the bus we saw people flying kites. One of the kites was having a really hard time. When we got to the bus stop we got in line for the bus number 52 and that is when we got separated in the line. Matthew was in front and I couldn't get to him. By the time I got to him and got on the bus the bag was unzipped and our cameras were gone. The biggest bummer is that Matthew hadn't loaded any of his pictures on the computer yet. I had all of mine on my computer. So this means no fish head soup, eating bugs, or food pictures in general as they were mostly on his camera. I did a quick look and saw our passports were still there. When we got back to the hotel we saw it was just the cameras. I guess we need to stay closer together in the future.

At the hotel we tried to find a place to stay but it was getting later and later and we still didn't have a place so we booked another night at the Camellia. We were really hoping to be settled by now.

You don't see this in the States

Read this twice. You defiantly wouldn't see a sign like this in the United States. Kind of shows you the attitude here.

Red Lanterns

These lanterns are everywhere. They seem to be very typical of China. Particularly around the New Year.

Across the Road

They have pansy trees here. I'm not sure how they keep them alive as it seems like it doesn't rain during the winter here. I haven't seen a cloud since I've been here. Other pictures of the city from a bridge. A random picture of a tree it has rope around it, I'm not sure why.

Kunming City Center

The small gate had doors in it which people seemed to walk through and tough the top of. I think maybe for luck but can't be sure. The glass roofed structure is a little area with benches where one could sit and watch the gold fish. I think that maybe gold fish are good luck in the new year. I'm not sure of this but we saw people fishing is a different pool for the gold fish they had buckets they put the fish in after the caught it.I really wanted one. Then again we are walking down some smaller streets and see bird, rabbits, turtles, mice, hamsters, squirrels, some strange bug, and many other little animals and I find that they are all really cute and I wish I had one. Well not all of them just the rabbits and hamsters. Then we walk even further down, and I'm sure I need a puppy. I'm not sure if they are being sold for food or pets.These ones were like little lab puppies. I want them, both. Okay well I don't really but I would for about a week. The part of town with the animals seems to be older. Sorry started rambling about animals and got ahead of myself.

Advertisement

Is this a good way to advertise a toilet? I'm not sure but it does catch your attention. It sure got mine.

After Leaving the Hump Hostel

After leaving the Hump hostel on Thursday Matthew and I stayed at a couch surfer's. A couple JuJu and her husband Bravo. They were extremely nice to us and the next morning took us to find a place to stay. On Thursday we had wanted to extend our stay at the Hump but were unable to as they didn't have any rooms available. We looked at a room in an apartment but didn't take right away as it wasn't exactly in the part of town which we wanted to stay in. Which is why we ended up couchsurfing. For a while on Friday I thought we were going to be homeless. But we weren't. Friday was a good day. JuJu and Bravo helped us out a lot. After they helped us with the hotel they took us to Green Lake where all the sea gulls come from Siberia in the winter. It was really nice to walk around that part of town. We walked around at the lake for a while they have walk ways through the lake. It is really pleasant after all the people in the Pedestrian Mall. I had an interview at 2 at Haina training school. They are looking for someone more long term than Matthew and I. It looks like we may have a hard time finding work here. After the interview we went back to the Hump to collect our luggage and take it to Camellia Hotel. We got a taxi and he took us a little ways and then dropped us saying we needed to go in the opposite direction from our hotel. We ended up having to take a bus which is what we were trying to avoid. We did make it to Camellia without to much trouble. I didn't stay awake to much longer as I was really tired. I don't think I'm quite used to the time here yet. Saturday Matthew and I met with LongTian a couchsurfer in the center of town. She showed us the two pagodas and took us to dinner at 'The Brother's Jain' an Over the bridge noodle shop. The story of over the bridge noodles is that a husband was studying for exams on an island and everyday his wife would walk across the bridge and take him his noodles and chicken broth. One day she lost her balance and the noodles and soup combined. This according to LongTian is how over the bridge noodles came about. They were good but some of the stuff we added seemed strange to me. I ate a bug. It took a long time for me to work up the nerve to do so. I think I thought about it way to much. It didn't really taste that good to me. It was fried so I think I tasted mostly the oil which I don't like. All of the food here has lots of oil on it which I don't like that much. LongTian was very helpful and for once Matthew and I relaxed and had a good time out in the city. We didn't have to worry about getting food or anything like that as she was with us and we wouldn't get lost and she could help us with food. It was nice to have that sort of security. After dinner we went back to the Mall and found another couchsurfer who was performing with fire. She was easy to find as she was a white girl dressed scantily swinging fire around and so she drew quit a bit of attention. After we talked with her for a bit LongTian's father came and gave us a ride to the hotel. They were both so nice to us. They kept offering to help us if we needed it. I felt like I didn't want to take advantage of her but she really is nice and I'd like to get to know her more. Sunday Matthew and I were going to meet another couchsurfer but she didn't show up. We aren't sure what happened. In the end we went and looked at some Chinese style apartments which were really expensive for what they were. Also, they were a bit grubby. After we looked at the apartments we walked back to the city center and looked for postcards in the bookstore. They didn't have any. No one here seems to have postcards. I'm not sure why it is strange to me as I see lots of people who aren't from here. Even with LongTian's help I couldn't find postcards. In the mall at night they have these helicopters which have lights and you pull and they fly. I really wanted one as it looks fun. I didn't get one though. During the day there are kites. They look really high and it is hard to see them. I really think it would be fun to have a kite. I haven't seen any for sale though so that stops me from buying one. Matthew and I are trying to be thrifty until we get jobs. I am really considering getting a violin. I really miss being able to play. I looked at some on the way back to the city center. I found one I liked but they wouldn't sell it as it was cracked. It looked like it was hand made to me. I also liked the way it felt better than the one they wanted to sell to me. It was 800yuan. That is about $120. It was factory made and I didn't like it nearly as much. It didn't sound horrible but it wasn't great. I would have been happy with it but I would have wanted to see if I could talk them down a little. I was silly and didn't look to see the maker. Not that I would have been able to read it if I could have seen it. For dinner Matthew and I went back to 'My Favor Restaurant'. I wanted to get veggies but they said no they didn't have them in limited English. In desperation so that I would not have to eat a generic :"meat" which the menu said I opened the phrase book and pointed at "I'm a vegetarian". This did get a result as she pointed to a meal. I ordered it even though there was a "meat" there but when it came there was no meat. It wasn't great. I'm so tired of rice noodles. So far I haven't found a rice noodle which I really like. I think they are kind of bland. I shouldn't be saying this as it is bad, I'm in Yunnan and I should love rice noodles, they do. When we were leaving my stomach started hurting. I was hoping by the time we got to the hotel it would feel better. It didn't really get any worse but I think that the oil on the food bothers my stomach sometimes. Back at the Hotel I read a short story about China and going back to your home town. It was a good story and I enjoyed reading it. I might try and find more translations of the author later.

More pictures around Kunming

A marble picture of farming in the city center.

And Last the military school which is now a museum

I feel that I may be doing a poor job labeling the photos but as I can't get into my blog and look at what I've done I won't know until much later what I have created here. For all I know it could be the biggest mess you have ever seen. I'm hoping it isn't to bad.

Small Park on side road.

Soldiers in a small park. There are lots of little bronze, iron, copper, not sure, statues around the city. This one was interesting as it had a flag in it. It was actually rather striking. Kunming used to have a really famous, in China military school. The yellow building behind the gate. It is now a museum. Then of course there are the puppies for sale on the back of the bike. An old man in a park area that looked like it was ready to be demolished. The area around was being torn down. Some shops that where in the same area as the old man in the park.

East and West Tower

We met a couch surfer, LongTian,  and she showed us around the area took us to see the two towers. Pagodas in Kunming. They were built during the Tang dynasty. The one tower was destroyed in an earth quack and rebuilt a couple of times. It was good to have LongTian with us as she was able to tell us about the tower's history from the sign where as we would have just been able to look at it but not have known anything as it was all in Chinese. Having a guide made all the difference. Matthew and I really had a good time, where as in the past we wandered around and saw but didn't really understand what we were seeing. She told us all about the areas we went to and offered to help us barter for anything we needed. She really made it possible for us to see different things we hadn't in the past. The pagodas were in a line with each other. The had thirteen tears and rosters on the roof. Now I have no idea what there were rosters on the top so no point in asking. The Western Pagoda had quite a history and was badly damage during an earth quake and rebuilt, it was destroyed again during world war II and was rebuilt again after that. If you look on wikipedia it will tell you different. That the Eastern was the one that was rebuilt, however after seeing them both it was the Western that had a rebuilt base. It didn't have the same construction. They were both pretty amazing. The Eastern one you could climb and walk around more. It had a really pretty garden around it. Some pictures included here are from the garden. It had paths the went in among the flowers. I really like all the gardens here. It makes it feel a little less like a really big city.