Yunnan, China

[bgtp]

I'm planning on visiting Yunnan later in the year and any info about the scene or links anyone cares to share would be greatly appreciated. I'll be visiting Kunming, Lijiang and Jinghong/Xishuangbanna.

 

regards, bgtp

[Guest]

I am going to Yunnan in Oct too. I understand that there is some lively night life in Ruli.

[gobbledonk]

norgatus,

 

 

 

Cant add anything on Yunnan, but I will also be in China in early October. Not sure if going to Guilin durng the National Holidays (Oct 01-06) is the brightest move I've ever made, but I'm looking forward to it anyway

 

 

 

Happy Trails in Yunnan.

[bgtp]

norgatus, I also plan on visiting Ruli in addition to the other cities I mentioned. I'll be going in late November, so any tips you could post after your October visit would be greatly appreciated. Have great trip!

[Guest]

OK guys, I lived in Kunmong for 1 1/2 years. The scene in China is quite different from SE Asia. Primarily it is for locals only and ALWAYS out of site.

 

 

 

For quikie HJ and BJ try any "barber shop" with too many ladies standing at the entrance. 200 - 400 RMB

 

 

 

Ask around for karioke clubs, most have progressively dimming lights, slow dancing and willing ladies for take out.

 

 

 

Western Hotels, notably Holiday Inn and all those in a couple of blocks of there. Either the lounges or discos. Asking price is $100 US.

 

 

 

Find a Chinese friend who will take you about. Have been to private clubs there with over 600 working girls. Most are fish bowls but some upsclae ones are really quite nice.

 

 

 

Best time is aboout 10 PM when the girls have to decide if they are out to play tonight or going home to beat the 11 PM curfew. Be careful about your hotel as "entertaining" guest is illegal in China. (Actually so is being on the street after 10 PM for aliens in most areas. Just be cool and you can have a great time. I sure did.)

 

 

 

Make sure you have LOTS of disposible cash with you...China is not cheap!

 

 

 

Have fun!!

[bgtp]

I'm back from my LOS/Yunnan/Cambodia trip and thought I'd report a little on my Yunnan experience. I really had an enjoyable trip here, but not really for the sex scence which was just an added plus when available. Also, I don't know any Chinese and I probably missed some P4P opportunities because of this. Still, great scenery here, nice people and the various ethnic minorites I saw/met were fascinating. Hardly saw any other Westerners the whole time, although I ran into several tour groups, both Chinese and Thai in Kunming and Xishuangbanna.

 

Flew to Jinghong from Chiang Mai on Bangkok Airways. Only 3 of us got on the plane in Chiang Mai, but the rest of the plane was full with people who started in BKK, most of them part of a tour group. Had a nice time in Xishuangbanna, particlularly the surrounding countryside. Got up early Sunday morning and went to the market in Menghun. Quite a sight, seeing all the different ethnic minorities. The Dai women were absolutely gorgeous. Spent another day in Manghan (Ganlanba). Pleasant scenery along the Mekong during the bus ride there. I enjoyed taking these day trips using public buses and didn't have any problems finding my way around. I was generally the only white boy around except for a few backpackers in Jinghong. Struck out completely looking for paid female companionship in the evenings. I'm pretty sure I saw some street-walkers at Peacock Lake Park at night, but language difficulties prevented me from pursuing things further.

 

Flew from Jinghong to Kunming, again the only non-Asian on the plane. Again, did a lot of sightseeing during the day. Hit the hotel disco and hostess bar in the evenings. Nothing special, but friendly people and one gal in the disco wanted to go with me. Not sure if she was a working girl or just looking to get picked up. I didn't find her too attractive, so I passed. I found Kunming to be a very clean, modern and friendly city.

 

Flew from Kunming to Mangshi and then a 90 minute ride to Ruili. Spectacular scenery on this ride. Get into Ruili late afternoon. Check into the New Century Hotel (80 Y/night). Go out for dinner and wonder where all the action is supposed to be. Finish dinner, leave the restaurant and there it is. All these shops around town with pink neon lights and 2-6 girls inside. Again, not many people speaking English, but some knew a little and some girls would yell 'I love you!' to me. When entering a shop, some girls would definitely shy away from me, obviously not wanting to be chosen. I avoided these. On the other hand, there were others who appeared genuinely interested in a Westerner. I was paying 100 Y short time for these girls. I took them back to the hotel (no guest hassles) but could have opted for on-site facilities. I took some pretty girls but their performance was not as good as the Viets or even some Thais. The shops themselves did not offer drinks, etc. and most of the locals stopped by, made their choice and did the deed. These weren't places to hang out. In fact, it reminded me more of a European RLD with people walking up and down the street checking things out from the sidewalk. Locals were suprised to see me out whoring alongside them, but always gave me a smile, laugh or the universal 'thumbs up'.

 

Took a day trip to Jiegao on the border. In the late afternoon the knock shops here started opening. Again, they were shopfronts with a handful of girls inside. Asking price was 80 Y, perhaps I should have bargained harder. Took a day trip to Nongdao about 25km away from Ruili. Nice little town, lots of friendly locals. Ate and drank at a small Dai place most of the afternoon waiting for the rain to subside. Took a walk from the center of town over to the border, very interesting. I did have a real affectionate girl my last night in Ruili. Even got her to shower with me. Overall, I really liked Ruili, but I don't know if I'd recommend coming here soley for the sex as cheaper/better is available elsewhere like Cambodia. However, if you'd like to get away from all the other tourists (sex, backpacker, packaged tour or otherwise), see some interesting sights and people, with a little R&R thrown in for good measure, then go check it out, especially if you are already in Yunnan. I found the scenery and presence of minorites here just as good as Xishuangbanna without all the other tourists. So, I guess one could pass on Jinghong and get a more authentic experience here with the added plus of an easily accessible P4P scene. However, you really need to get out of Ruili during the day (the local buses are great for this) to experience the local culture to its fullest.

 

Went back to Kunming for one night before flying on to Phnom Penh. Decided to try a massage from the hotel massage parlour. I was actually looking for a massage, so I select a girl, we go to my room and the first thing she does is offer me sex, but for 600 Y! Well, this is a lot more than I'd been paying in Ruili. I could only get her down to 400 Y and I should have passed at that point, but she was pretty and I was weak, so I gave in. To be fair to the girl, she was enthusiastic (maybe she couldn't believe I was dumb enough to pay that much, but I really had no clue what Kunming prices were) and easily the best session I had in Yunnan. In the evening, I was walking around outside the hotel (The King World) and was getting propositioned left and right. Same thing coming out of the hotel disco that night. I passed on all of them after my session with the massage girl, as well as being secure in the fact I would be in Phnom Penh the following day.

 

For anyone wondering about language difficulties, I did all this with zero knowledge of Chinese, but armed with a pocket dictionary/phrasebook wich was well used.

 

One more side note. All through my trip, in Kunming, Jinghong, Ruili and the neighboring towns, were these wonderful bakeries with amazing pastries costing next to nothing. Simply delicious.

 

 

[jp1]

bgtp,

 

thanks for your short trip report. Nice read, you gave me some ideas about my next vacation.

 

Merry X-mas

[pattaya127]

thanks a lot. SW China is definitely high on my list of destinations. Can you give us an idea of the average spending (after airfare) daily, transport, accom.....?

Thanks

[bgtp]

Domestic flights between Kunming-Mangshi and Kunming-Jinghong were about 500 Y one-way. Most of the local bus trips I took were 10 Y or less. The bus from Mangshi airport to Ruili is 30 Y, but I split a taxi with someone else for 100. Most any taxi ride I took in Kunming was around 10 Y. In Ruili, it was 5 Y, but you could pretty much walk anywhere there. I only took a taxi when it was raining.

 

Hotels - A very nice hotel can be had in Kunming for 250-300 Y. Decent, but not quite as nice places, can be found for half that. People have varying hotel requirements, so it's hard for me to say. Nice hotel in Jinghong about 200 Y and I paid 80 Y for a room at my hotel in Ruili (New Century Hotel). Not a really nice place, but certainly acceptable. Large internet cafe, mostly full of kids playing games. Saw two cute ladies in there late one afternoon. Saw them again working one of the shopfront brothels that evening.

 

Beer - well, in the hotel disco and hostess bar in Kunming it was 35 Y! Elsewhere in simple restaurants, it was 4-6 Y for a large bottle of some local brand.

 

Good meals could be had for 20-40 Y, somewhat higher in Kunming. Awesome pastries everywhere 2-4 Y.

[dddave]

Journeyman,

I really enjoyed your post. What resources did you find most useful planning your trip? Was there a guidebook that you found to be superior to others?

Thanks

dj