Kunming: A Rough Guide

Long overdue for an update, I've decided to present my recent travels in Yunnan in the form of a rough guide that other travelers can emulate or at the very least use for insight in addition to the other guidebooks. 

Kunming is Yunnan's capital and largest city.  If you are a fan of Spring then you may want to move here, as the weather is pretty mild year round.  It is very much the modern city and those travelers missing their McDonald's and Starbucks will be happy to find these corporate giants here along with Walmart.  Many backpackers we spoke to hated Kunming and were in a rush to escape.  Daphne and I, however, found ourselves loving the place.  It was clean, quiet, people drove electric bikes, and food was was very good and cheap. 

Yunnan vs. Vietnam: A Comparison

When traveling in a new country for the first time one can't help drawing comparisons between their host country and the one they're coming from.  Crossing the border from my current home in Vietnam into China's southwestern-most province, Yunnan, here are just some of the ways the two differ.

Photos...Blogs Later

Back in Saigon!  It will take some time before I can post a blog about my trip in Yunnan, China.  However, check out my Flickr where I've posted tons of new pictures from my trip.  I should have a few more up later this week, too. 

Got My Visa

-First visit to the Chinese Consulate, closed.  Guard points at the hours of operation: 8:30-11:30, 2:00-5:00.  Noted.

-Second visit, 4:00, closed!  A closer look at the sign shows that only the general offices are open at that time, the visa office is only open 8:30-11:00.  Sigh.

Sergey Kahn, Tea Infusionist

The idea to do something with tea in Saigon has been festering in my head for the past two years.  Of course I have dreams of opening my own tea house, but needless to say, at 25 years old, I've yet to have that kind of financial flexibility.  I decided to start small and last Friday I led my first Tea Workshop at Soham Yoga Studio and Boutique.

Food and Film

Long time no post!
My apologies. I have been very busy the past couple months.  Between my internship and teaching, I only have one day off a week.

Rock The Cat Ba

Deciding to take advantage of the long holiday weekend (Reunification/Labor Days) Daphne headed for a village in Northern Thailand to do a Thai Yoga Massage training.  Since it wasn't really the kind of holiday I could join, I made my first solo trip in nearly two years to the same place where I did my last solo trip.  Rock climbing in Ha Long Bay.