Kuching to Kunming... It has quite a ring to it, doesn't it?

OK, why Kunming? Well, it's a REALLY long time since we've been to China. We flew out of Chengdu in April, 2018, and we haven't been back since (largely because of nuisancy covid). We'd always enjoyed our China trips, and felt it was high time for another visit. And acting as an additional incentive was the fact that at the moment New Zealanders don't need a visa. This provision is valid until the end of the year, after which -- who knows? So it seemed a good time to scratch that China itch again.

We'd originally planned to go in July. But then Nigel's ears did their we're-not-flying-so-there thing, so we went to Indonesia on the bus instead. Once he was declared better, however, we thought we'd incorporate China into our trip to Europe, and -- not wanting to fly uselessly in one direction only to have to fly back again -- we decided on Yunnan Province, which is kind of straight up from Malaysia. And the capital of Yunnan Province is Kunming...

You see? It all makes sense...

So, having spent a very comfortable night at the Impiana, yesterday we headed from one K to another K via a third K.

With Air Asia. It's also a while since we've flown with these guys. We used to use them quite often, mostly successfully, but after covid, somehow they never quite seemed the best option for us. This time, however, they were the only viable game in town. True, you could go to Kunming via Singapore, but then you'd arrive at 0300 in the morning, which is less than ideal.

So Air Asia it was. They're a little hassly, with their constant barrage of emails, and their STRICT instructions about hand baggage, which worried the life out of us, but then didn't seem to be operationalized as far as we could see.

But the actual flights -- Kuching to KL, and then KL to Kunming -- were absolutely fine. No problems at all.


Not so fantastic was the bit in the middle (which is nothing to do with Air Asia). So here's one of PT's rare travel tips: If your onward gate at KL's Low Cost Terminal is in the "L" area, be aware that the L stands for Lacklustre and Lamentable, and do your utmost, therefore, to go through security at the last possible minute... Once through, you see, you're marooned in a cramped, airless, noisy area with few F&B options, an under-supply of seats, and a scandalously small number of toilets...

This uncomfortable transit space stands out all the more because it's so unrepresentative of Malaysia, which generally provides for its travellers really well.

Anyway, that too passed...

The flight to Kunming takes a little less than four hours. And then you're in China. We were a little nervous about two things. First, the entry procedures. We'd checked and rechecked on this, but diverging information was popping up until the very last minutes, which is always slightly disconcerting. No-one likes a border at the end of the day... They're tense kinds of places.

Anyway, it all went unproblematically. Immigration involves filling in a form (so don't forget your pen...), and then queueing up to submit it. The line was long, but moved along at a steady speed. We'd read that you might be asked to present evidence of your accommodation and onward flight, so we'd prepared copies of all that, but no-one asked for them. You get stamped by one official, passed briefly on to a second (between them, they ask things like which places you're going to, and how long you're staying, and whether you're tourists, and they take the answers at face value), and then you're good to go. Collect your bags; stuff them through the X-ray machines; and you're out.




And then you have to deal with your next source of anxiety: Getting into the city. There's a perfectly good metro, that would take us pretty close to our hotel. But you need to get on the thing...

Now, we'd worked on this. In the years since we last visited China, the country has gone all-in on the electronic payment front. We did bring some cash, for emergencies, but we were aware there would be few places to use it. Following the advice of a friend, we'd downloaded Alipay while we were still at home (that was a bit of a mission in my case, as the app seemed to decide there'd been a security breach even before I'd used it, which meant I had to faff around photographing my passport, and filming myself following a set of real-time instructions like tapping my left cheek with my left hand...).

So here we were, armed with our Alipay, and hoping it would get us through the barrier. We primed it, and yes, there's another bit of verification to do, as it's no longer sure we're the same people we were in Malaysia, but finally we're up and ready, and holding our breath as we approach the barrier. And hey presto, it works! Even better, it works for both of us! We're through! We're on the way to the train!

We have just five minutes to wait; it's not too crowded, so we don't feel too much of a nuisance with our big bags; and we're off. The journey into town on this super-classy metro takes about 30 minutes, and costs just CNY 6 per person (roughly GBP 0.60).

It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the hotel. And in that space of time, you're already thinking, yes, this is not familiar; this is different; this is why we bother; this door-to-something-new, most of which you don't understand, and will never understand, is the reason we travel.

Our hotel is in the labyrinthine old town (which is not for the most part, I think, actually old any more, but which has retained its convoluted, spiderweb character). To make things a little more interesting, our chosen home-from-home seems to have at least three names... We asked for directions at one point (always have your address in Chinese characters handy), and were sent the right way. Then, having walked right past the entrance, we were herded back in by a member of staff obviously trained to be on the lookout for bewildered Westerners.


And it's lovely... We have a beautiful big room, with a sitting area, a bedroom area, and a bathroom area (which includes a gigantic bath). Everything is nicely presented and good-quality. And -- I'm jumping ahead a bit now -- the breakfast, which you select the night before, and which comes served on a nice little tray -- was tasty and generous. There are washing machines for guests to use for free; and there's a pleasant little roof garden where you can take the air (the picture at the top is a view from here).








Yesterday evening, however, we just went out for a brief orientation. I was quite surprised at how efficiently things had gone since we landed. We hit the runway just before 1700, and at 1920 -- after immigration, the metro trip into town, the walk from the station, and the hotel check-in -- I'm taking my first photos of the room. Not bad at all.

The evening streets were full of colour and life:






So far, we have drawn a complete blank on anything resembling a supermarket, so that's a problem waiting for a solution. But I'm confident we're going to like it here.