| Travelling in Kunming | |
|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2009 22:04 |   |
| guest22852 | Hello forum I want to visit Kunming because I have never been there but have heard many wonderful things. I have a few questions on my mind before deciding whether to go or not as I have 2 weeks free time and have a limited budget. Do people speak English in Kunming, I am afraid I don't speak Mandarin at all (I am not a very clever person) Are there many places of interest in Kunming? Do hotels provide a tour and travel desk where they can book day trips or are there travel agents in Kunming who can do the same thing? Would anyone recommend any good hotels in central Kunming who provide a great overall service for English speaking tourists? Is Kunming a costly city and is it a good place to buy clothes, shoes or traditional gifts? Also is there a guide available or does anyone know of a guide who can show you around the Kunming area and answer any questions? A lot of questions I know but as a solo traveller I like to be prepared because I was planning to travel around Asia with my friends but they had the finances and all of a sudden went without giving me much notice so that I couldn't make travel arrangements on time. So at first I thought of not travelling at all but I feel that I am in great China and want to make the most of it and even seeing Kunming would be amazing as I haven't been anywhere and start my job in 2 weeks time and would like to enjoy time in another city before doing so. Thanks for reading and I hope someone can provide information on the above. Miss Des |
| Jan 30, 2009 02:00 | #1 |
 | Do people speak English in Kunming, I am afraid I don't speak Mandarin at all (I am not a very clever person) -- Not really, unless you go to the hostels. Are there many places of interest in Kunming? -- Not very much, but if you have 2 weeks, you could easily visit the rest of Yunnan province as well. Do hotels provide a tour and travel desk where they can book day trips or are there travel agents in Kunming who can do the same thing? -- Plenty, but most would be Chinese-speaking. Just bring a good guidebook and Mandarin phrasebook, do your research beforehand and DIY. Would anyone recommend any good hotels in central Kunming who provide a great overall service for English speaking tourists? -- Well, what price range are you looking at? Is Kunming a costly city and is it a good place to buy clothes, shoes or traditional gifts? -- Not really, compared to other provincial capitals in mainland China. Not as good for clothes and shoe shopping compared to Guangdong province or perhaps Shanghai. Also is there a guide available or does anyone know of a guide who can show you around the Kunming area and answer any questions? -- Refer to answer above about guidebooks and DIY. I would recommend (for Yunnan province in general) Lonely Planet's Southwest China, or Bradt's Yunnan Province. |
| Jan 31, 2009 02:30 | #2 |
| GUEST22429 | Hi, I have been to Kunming a few years ago. I really liked it, there are a number of places to visit (check out the city information at this site to get all the information you need). Most people didn't speak English but we managed to eat in restaurants (they always found someone to help us), go by taxis (have the hotel write down the places in Chinese or bring a guide book with Chinese place names for example Lonely Planet), visit the temples etc. There are lot's of shops, all the Chinese brand names with good quality shopping, there are shopping malls, even a Walmart. It is fairly big city so you can find everything you need. However, I don't think you want to spend two weeks in Kunming, I would suggest at most 3-4 days, one day trip to Stone Forest, which is far. If you stay in a midrange hotel (we stayed in Kunming hotel - which was fine) they can arrange tours, probably in Chinese as I don't think many foreigners visit Kunming. But you can visit most places by taxi on your own. We found people to be very friendly and helpful. The rest of the time I suggest you go to Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. We did that as a tour that we booked over the net (there are many such sites but this site also offers various tours) with excellent English speaking guides. That was a fantastic journey. You can also do it on your own by overland bus and/or by airplane, but it will require some adventure spirit, if you are not used to travelling alone I would go for a tour, as it is a bit complicated when you don't know the language. Having said that, I have travelled around China on buses/trains/motorcycl taxis/airplanes and I know very little Chinese, BUT I do plan my trips very carefully and try to get as much information as possible from the English speaking people I meet in hotels etc. Yunnan is a lovely area to visit so enjoy yourself. |
Post a Reply to: Travelling in Kunming
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.