China Travel Forum

[Ian]

We're travelling around China,and are at this very moment in Beihai,with plans on moving up to Kunming and then Dali next week,anyone with some good advice on places to go,stay and see? Or keen on getting together for a beer and some good travelstories to share,if you're in the area?

[Jasper]

Hi
I travelled between Kunming and Dali last week. The best place I stated in Kunming was the Camellia hotel, 200 yuan a night for a single with bath, dorm rooms are cheaper. I also checked out the Hump Hotel, 25 yuan a night for a dorm. The Camellia hotel was helpful in booking tickets for a bus to Dali. A free mini bus brought me, not only to the bus station but, to the bus. They do not offer these services at the Hump, but they at least speak a little english, the train from Kunming to Dali is faster and much cheaper. The taxi from the bus station in new Dali to old Dali, where I stayed, was 30 yuan. On the return trip I took the local bus for 1 yuan. Carrying a large packsack on a local bus is somewhat cumbersome.
In old Dali the #5 guesthouse seems better than most at 150 yuan for a single. Certainly nicer than #4 guesthouse where I stayed for the same price. Again dorms are cheaper. I booked a day tour from the #5 , not bad concidering the driving rain, the whipping wind, and the bitter cold.
On the way back through Kunming I tried to save some money by booking into a " non-foreigner" hotel. As I don't speak Mandarin this took 45 minutes. The room cost 100 yuan, smelled like an ash-tray and the hot water didn't work. The real trouble came the next morning when I tried to buy a bus ticket to Jinghong. The staff at the hotel were no help, we had no common language, same for the local travel agents. I ended up walking to the Hump where the staff wrote me a note explaining my destination. What they didn't tell me was there are many different bus stations offering many different kinds of busses with no signs in english. A local "good Samaritan" walked me through it.