Around Kunming: The Kunming Zoo - 昆明动物园

One of Several Entrances to the Zoo

This Rabbit Greets Guests at the Entrance

     Our latest adventure was a trip we took yesterday to the Kunming Zoo (昆明动物园) which is neighbors with the 圆通寺 we visited a few days before.  It was about an 8 minute walk from the hotel so Saturday after breakfast we set out on the adventure.  Admission was only 15元 per adult and the boys were once again free (免费).  Now, right before we left Virginia, we took a trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. so that's what we still had in our heads when we were thinking about a zoo.  The Kunming Zoo was a completely different world.  After we got back, I did some research (Google) on the zoo and according to the Lonely Planet website, the animals at the Kunming Zoo have better living conditions than most zoos in China.  If that's the case, I don't know how many other zoos we will be visiting in China because we left this place kind of depressed and feeling sorry for the animals.

This is Some Sort of Haunted Dinosaur Adventure.  According to the Sign, it Has Zombies Which Were a Leading Factor in Dinosaurs' Going Extinct.

This is Part of the Zoo that Doesn't Have Any Animals

One of the Many Varieties of Birds on Display

Baby Asian Elephants

     I'm not sure if the pictures do it justice, but most of the animals are in small, concrete cages which are extremely dirty.  Additionally, there seemed to be very few workers at the zoo other than the people taking money and a few people picking up trash.  The zoo is actually more of a public park.  There's a pretty large amusement park with roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, and a splash mountain-type ride to name a few.  The zoo is divided into two districts.  One is the flower/plant district and the other is the animal district.  The flowers weren't in bloom so we spent most of our time in the animal district.  There's actually quite a good variety of animals at the zoo, but their poor living conditions detract from the experience.  Because it is more of a park than a zoo, the visitors are pretty much left to themselves to do whatever they want.  On several occasions, I watched people feeding the various birds and smaller animals popcorn and potato chips.  At the wolf cages, people would pound on the cages and yell at the animals to try to get them to do something for the camera or just to get their attention.  People would also randomly throw food to the elephants, lions, tigers, and bears, all of which looked miserable.

Adult Asian Elephants

This is One of the Bigger Cages.  The Raccoons Have a Bigger Pen than the Siberian Tigers

I'm Pretty Sure This Bear was Begging to be Set Free

Camels in Their Natural Habitat

Of All the Animals, the Monkeys Seemed to be the Happiest.  This is a Huge Monkey Pen.

 



The Peacock Garden

     One of the interesting parts was the peacock garden.  This was a kind-of-fenced-off area with hundreds of peacocks just wandering around.  They had ropes to keep people off the grass, but nothing to keep the people away from the peacocks.  Those birds are suffering no shortage of junk food which is used to entice them for pictures.  Kate tried to get Stephen in a few close-encounter pictures and all the while I kept imagining how the headline, "American Boy Mauled by Angry Peacock" would translate into Chinese.  Luckily, the mass quantities of popcorn keeps all of the birds pretty lethargic so we made it out safely.

"A Photo of the Victims Taken Shortly Before the Peacock Flew into a Popcorn-Induced Rage"

People Feeding Junk Food to the Peacocks

This is a Standard Tank at the Aquarium.
No Plants, Just Rocks and Concrete. This
Tank Didn't Even Have Any Fish.

     Our final stop at the zoo was the aquarium.  It cost Kate and I an additional 10元 a piece, but I couldn't pass up the picture of the shark on the front of the building.  When we first went in, we saw a row of bleachers in front of part of the tanks that were covered by curtains.  When we first came in the zoo, I noticed a sign that mentioned penguin and sea lion shows so I figured one was about to start.  The bleachers were slowly filling up so we grabbed some seats and waited for the show to start.  After a quick announcement in Chinese (which I didn't understand) the show started.  The curtains parted to reveal a large section of empty tank.  More Chinese came over the PA system and after about 3 minutes of talking, two women in bathing suits got in the tank and started swimming back and forth underwater.  The entire time, there was a Chinese narration, but we couldn't understand any of it.  It was a little strange, but I figured it was a warm-up and we'd start seeing some penguins or sea lions soon.  After several laps back and forth, the ladies finally got out and the lights went out.  "Oh, boy, here come the animals!"  When the lights came back on, one of the ladies got back in, this time with SCUBA gear, and continued to swim back and forth.  Still not penguins or sea lions.  Once again, the lights went out, and this time when they came back on, one of the girls was back, and this time she was dressed like a mermaid.  I never got any pictures of this because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on, but if any of you ever come to visit, I'll be sure to take you to see if for yourself.  The mermaid demonstration was finally over, and this time, when the lights went out, everybody got up and left.  That was the end of the show.  The rest of the aquarium was a series of small dirty tanks with sad fish.  Before this day, I had never seen (or known) a fish could frown.  The sharks advertised out front were nowhere to be found.  The penguin show was a small tank with four penguins huddled in a corner.  They were too embarrassed to look at the visitors.  The sea lion tank looked like it was originally designed to do shows, but the seats were empty and there were just two sea lions swimming around and looking at us with their sad sea lion eyes.  At one point, somebody peeked from behind a curtain on an upper observation deck when one of the sea lions swam up to us.  That's the closest we got to seeing any kind of zoo official monitoring patron-animal interaction.  After that, we called it a day and headed home.

Another Fish Tank in the Aquarium

This Was the Closest We Got to the Sharks Advertised Out Front.

No Happy Feet in This Penguin Exhibit.

Look at Those Sad Eyes.

     Considering the entry fee is only about $5 U.S., we can't say we didn't get our money's worth, but it wasn't much of an educational experience.  According to some on-line posts, the zoo has actually gotten much better over the past 5 years, but Lonely Planet's piece on it, spends more time talking about the scenic views of Kunming it has to offer than the animal experience.  I'm sure we'll be back, though, because Stephen did have a pretty good time, and we still haven't experience the reptile house.  It will be interesting to see if the zoo conditions improve as Kunming becomes more modern.  We'll be sure to keep you posted.  再见！

As Far as Parks Go, the Zoo Wasn't Too Bad.

There is a Sign Nearby That Marks This as an Historical Landmark, but it is Now Used for Photos and is Controlled by a Guy With a Stand and a Camera.

This is an Old Tomb at the Zoo Outside of the Peacock Garden.

Around Kunming: Yuantong Temple - 圆通寺

The Main Hall Inside the Temple Grounds

    
     Yesterday, in order to kill some time before we could pick up our residence permit and family visas, we braved the 5 minute walk up the street to the Yuan Tong Temple (圆通寺) which is a Buddhist temple smack in the middle of the city.  For the bargain price of 6元 per adult (kids under 120cm are free) we got our tickets and started our first tourist-y adventure.

One of the Stairways Leading Down to the Temple Grounds

Inside the Main Part of the Temple Grounds.

     The temple was built in the late 8th and early 9th century during the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) and was later expanded during the 15th and 17th centuries.  It is especially famous for holding a tooth of the Buddha for a while back in 1956.

This Part of the Temple Sits in the Middle of the Grounds
Surrounded by Water

This is an Area Where Visitors Can Burn Candles and Incense
Sticks and Say Prayers.  For the Longest Time, I Thought the
Vendors Outside were Selling Fireworks.  Turns Out They are
Actually Various Sizes and Varieties of Incense.

     Despite all of the old stone stairs, maneuvering a stroller through it was remarkably manageable.  Parts of it are currently being renovated, but the main halls with all of their beautiful and elaborate statues and carvings are all still accessible.  At times, it was hard to believe we were in the middle of a city.  Additionally, this seems to be the turtle capital of Kunming.  I'm not sure if the water in the pools was green due to algae or just the sheer number of turtles living there.  Enjoy the pictures!

This is a Pool Where You Can Set Fish Free.

Every Now and Again, You Can Catch a Glimpse of a Skyscraper Outside.

Golden Buddha Statues Like This One are Found Throughout the Temple

One of the Statues in the Center Shrine

Every Inch of the Temple is Covered in This Kind of Detail



In the Main Hall, There are Two Pillars with
These Carved Dragons on Them.  Local Legend
Says These Dragons Live in the Two Caves Behind
The Temple.

So that's our first big adventure in the city of Kunming.  More to follow!  再见！

Hotel Madness or "I'll Have my Omelet Medium Rare"

     I think today we finally hit the peak of our hotel madness.  Every morning we go down to one of the hotel's restaurants for the breakfast buffet.  They have a wide variety of dishes that span Chinese and American cuisine.  Sometimes they're a little misguided about what Americans eat for breakfast, though.  Every now and again they sneak chicken nuggets into one of the buffet trays.  They're never in a tray labeled "chicken nuggets" so it's kind of like a scavenger hunt finding them.  Today they were in a tray labeled "fried eggplant."  It's a pretty strange breakfast item, but I'm usually happy to see it because it means Stephen will eat something other than what has become his normal menu of breakfast sausages and a boiled egg.  If we're lucky, he'll pick the pieces of fruit off of our pastries.  Otherwise, it's sausages and a boiled egg.  Sometimes he'll even throw a few sausages in his pocket for later.
     I usually try to stick to local fare.  It's all part of my plan to condition my stomach to the local style of cooking which usually consists of a lot of peppers with a little meat and noodles mixed in.  However, every now and again I'll get a hankering for eggs so I head to the omelet station.  Every time I go, it is only because I forget that the people in this hotel have no idea how to cook an omelet.  They have the basic concept down, but I haven't yet figured out how to tell them I'd like my omelet well done.  They put the eggs in and wait just long enough for the bottom part to cook so they can fold it over.  As soon as the fold it, though, it's out of the pan and onto the plate so you're left with an omelet that's cooked on the outside, but soft and chewy in the middle.  They would be amazing at cooking steaks, but eggs are out of their league.  On one occasion, I remembered my past omelet woes and opted for scrambled eggs instead.  In front of the omelet station, for the benefit of those who aren't fluent in Chinese, they have the list of various egg-cooking methods in English with the Chinese translation next to it.  I approached the cook, who was wearing a badge that said "trainee" and politely asked for scrambled eggs while pointing to the Chinese characters on the sign.  The lady stared at me for a while and then called over a supervisor who walked me over to the buffet line and pointed to the the boiled eggs.  I took him back to the sign and pointed to the scrambled eggs characters again.  He explained it to the cook-in-training and in a few minutes I was handed.......a plate of medium-rare scrambled eggs.  Kate continues to brave the omelet station every morning, but I've decided to stick with Chinese food for breakfast.
     Tonight I was sitting on one of the beds eating a bowl of instant noodles.  We picked some up at the store because you can only take two small boys out to eat so many times before losing your mind.  Anyway, I was eating my bowl of noodles watching a pre-recorded DVD of Yo Gabba Gabba that we brought with us.  At some point David decided that unless Yo Gabba Gabba was on the TV, he would refuse to eat and only scream at the top of his lungs.  I thought we had at least a year before I got all of those songs stuck in my head again, but no.  So as I'm watching Yo Gabba Gabba, Stephen is flying back in forth in front of me playing naked basketball.  Earlier, after we had gotten back from a walk in the park, he decided to strip down to nothing but a baseball hat and play basketball.  All summed up, we have David in the corner staring at Yo Gabba Gabba on TV while eating, Stephen making naked jump shots and slam dunks like it was his job, and Kate and I eating instant noodles like we were still in college.  We'll definitely be a unique kind of crazy by the time we move into our apartment in 12 days.
     On the bright side, we did submit all of our paperwork to get my residence permit and to get Kate and the boys the visas that will let them stay for the year without having to leave every 30 days.  Progress is progress and at this point, we'll take whatever we can get.

Kunming; City of Temperate Weather and Tiny Apartments

     Getting off of the plane in Kunming we were quite the spectacle.  The airport here is an international airport, but it is pretty old and pretty small so most flights don't actually pull up to a terminal.  The plane parks out on the runway and then you climb down the stairs and board a bus which takes you to the terminal.  After that, the bus drops you off at the terminal and then you have to walk the rest of the way to the entrance and then on to the baggage claim area.  With our nine (maybe more) carry-on bags, two strollers (none of which actually had a kid in them), one car seat, and two small boys, it was quite the adventure.  There was no shortage of people, though, who were willing to help us.  They either took pity on us or just wanted a closer look at our two little blue-eyed, blond-haired monsters.  Either way, it was very appreciated.  Outside of the the terminal is a mass of people just waiting for friends and family to arrive.  Once we fought our way through that, we found a driver with a little van to take us to our hotel.
     We thought that after we were at the hotel we were in the clear, but then I went to the front desk and found out that they didn't have my reservation in the system.  Thus started off a conversation in which we tried to figure out what went wrong.  It was a mix of me speaking broken Chinese and them speaking broken English.  They were about to go ahead and give us a room at the rate we had reserved when a worker came up and ask what dates we had made the reservation for.  They then did a search against those dates and found my reservation under the last name "Suller."  The Green Lake Hotel (翠湖宾馆) is a very nice hotel but the rooms (at least the ones we can afford on our temporary living allowance) are a bit small.  Nice, but small.
     We spent the first day looking around the local area, especially the Green Lake Park (翠湖公园) which is right across the street from our hotel.  The second day I took Stephen and we walked down the street to Yunnan University (云南大学) so I could check in with the foreign student office.  The guy there said he wasn't familiar with my case and suggested I come back on the 2nd when one of the administrators I had been corresponding with would be in the office.  Thus kicked off four frustrating days of looking for apartments.  The Chinese housing market is very different than that in the U.S.  The economy here is in an up-swing so most people aren't interested in renting, they want to buy so the largest and newest apartments are all for sale and not for rent.  Also, due to China's one child policy, the majority of families are three people and no more so the majority of apartments are tailored accordingly.  The average apartment here is between 70-110m^2 (750 sq ft - 1180 sq ft) which is a good size for a 2 room apartment, but most of them are 3 and 4 room apartments which makes for some pretty constricted spaces.  Additionally, we were looking for a place close to the university which is a fairly older part of town so when we did find an larger apartment, it was pretty old and run down.
     We probably met with at least four or five real estate agents (中介) each day and looked at just as many apartments all over town.  The standard reaction was usually "What's wrong with this apartment, it's pretty big.  Why do you need anything bigger?".  Additionally, I kept running into the problem of the 中介 not showing us the type of apartments we were looking for.  I would tell the 中介 we were looking for an apartment that was at least 170m^2 and then they would tell me they had the perfect place.  I would then ask them how big it was only to be told that it was only 130-140m^2.  We took Sunday off to look around Kunming some more and then looked around a little more on Monday with the same results.  Tuesday the 2nd I went back to Yunnan University and found out what I needed to do to get my residence permit process started and then we looked around a little more, again with no success.  The next morning we went to the local international travel clinic to take care of the medical exam portion of our resident permit process and then continued our apartment hunt.
     We found a pretty big place that was a little further away from the university than we initially had hoped, but when the realtor called the landlord (房东) he said he didn't want to rent to foreigners (in an area know for its heavy population of ex-pats) due to the language barrier.  In the same compound, we saw another nice apartment, but it was filled with furniture and other personal possessions that the landlord wasn't willing to move out of the apartment.  A day later, we found another similar apartment that wasn't quite as nice but just as big in the same compound.  At that point, we were pretty much done with the apartment hunting process and figured that this was as good as it was going to get so we told the realtor that we would decide and call him the next morning with our decision, fully intending to call him the next day and tell him we'd take it.
     The next morning I got a call from a realtor we had met with earlier who told me she had found a suitable place close the university we should look at.  My first instinct was to tell her now, but I figured I had better run it by Kate first.  Lucky for me I did and even luckier that Kate said we should look at it.  It ended up being a good size and a great location.  Right now, the only down side to it is that we can't move in until the 26th which means 16 more days here at the hotel.  Other than that, our apartment hunt is over and we sign the lease and pay the security deposit as well as the first six months in rent (common practice here) tomorrow.  Once that is out of the way, all that is left is to register at the local police station and then submit our paperwork for our residence permits.  After that, we can finally get down to some traveling and maybe you'll get some interesting blog updates.......but no promises.

So We Made it to China

     Yep, we're here.  We've actually been in China since the 22nd, but up until now, we haven't had access to certain web sites.  The internet restrictions here are a bit strict and you can't normally get access to pages like Facebook, Google+, YouTube, etc.  Anyway, I finally broke down and paid the $45 to subscribe to the VPN service that will give us access to these types of pages.  We already have it on our desktop computer but we won't see that until after we move into our apartment later this month so rather than make everybody wait, here we are.

The Gate to the Forbidden City at
Tiananmen Square. That's not fog in
the Background, it's Pollution.

     So, on the 21st, we got on a plane and flew to China.  It took one minivan and an SUV to get us and all of our bags to the airport, but we were able to get there and get checked in with over an hour and a half to spare.  After that, we waited in line to go through the security check point for 70 minutes.  We were the last ones to get on the plane, but luckily everybody had their own seat and we had our own bulkhead row so we had plenty of space.  For a 13hr 59min flight, it went surprisingly well.  The boys were both well-behaved and the movie selection wasn't too bad either.  The hardest part of the flight was getting all of our carry-ons on and off the plane.  After we got to Beijing, we got all of our bags (everything made it safe and sound this time) we were met by one of the China Foreign Area Officers who had brought a van from the Embassy and took us to the hotel.  The next 15 or so hours were mostly coping with the jet lag, but we did wake up in time the next day to make a quick trip to the Forbidden City (紫禁城).

Another Picture from Outside the
Forbidden City

     Riding the Beijing subway system was quite the adventure and the boys were quite the attraction.  We didn't make it all the way in because we showed up pretty close to closing and didn't want to spend the money for only a few minutes.  What we did see, however, was pretty impressive and we'll definitely be back for a bigger trip later.  On the 24th, we walked around a bit to check out the area around the Embassy and the hotel and then we went out for dinner for some Beijing roast duck (北京烤鸭) at a restaurant recommended by my Chinese teacher.  That night, we figured we'd just walk back from the restaurant.  Well, apparently our sense of direction was still suffering from jet lag because after about 30 minutes of wandering around, we finally just caught a cab back.  The 25th we had our meeting with the Army attache office.  It was basically a waste of a day.  We were supposed to be there at 0900 but when we showed up, they told us that they were still trying to get my security clearance verified and asked us to come back at 1300.  When we came back, they said they still couldn't get it worked out with the Student Detachment in S.C. so they still brought me in but just didn't take me anywhere secret.  Their basic introduction was, "We won't help you with anything because you're not a diplomat, but let us know if there's anything we can do for you."  It sounds like a harsh assessment and they and the Consulate in Chengdu have offered to help as long as the services are specifically authorized in my orders.  Overall, it really isn't an issue because we're supposed to have as little contact with the Embassy and Consulate as possible, and after that reception, we don't feel tempted to try to have any more contact than absolutely necessary.

The Green Lake Hotel (翠湖宾馆)
Where We're Staying Until We Can
Move in to Our Apartment.

     The next day on the 26th, we again boarded the Embassy van (despite my earlier comments about the Embassy, this was a great help and very much appreciated) to the Beijing airport.  This time, however, we weren't dealing with the American airline companies that are used to military orders and extra baggage allowances.  They don't care how many bags you have as long as it doesn't go over a certain weight and they're not willing to take a piece of paper that says the U.S. Army says it's OK.  Anyway, we were  145kg over our weight limit and had to pay over $600 (yep, that's U.S. dollars) in excess baggage fees.  Hopefully it will all be reimbursed when I finally get to send in my travel voucher.  We did finally make it to Kunming with all the kids and all of the bags (if not all of our sanity) and after working through a little misunderstanding at the front desk, (they misspelled my name when I made the reservation) we got settled into our hotel room here at the Green Lake Hotel in Kunming.

     For now, I'll leave it at that and give you all a chance to get caught up and then I'll update our adventures here in Kunming tomorrow night.  再见！