Kunming Tuesday

Today we headed for the famous Bird and Fish market which is in an old area of Kunming. Unfortunately things turned not so great here as Em wasnt too well. Yes we've both been hit with tummy bugs on this trip and Em's came on quite quick and we had to get back to the hotel asap. In the taxi Em couldnt hold down her breakfast any longer and it ended up on her dress. I was certain the taxi driver was going to start yelling and boot us out, but he was actually very kind and I think it helped soften the situation that I could apologise in Chinese. He quickly got us back to the hotel, and I gave him an extra tip for us kindness. He tried not to take it. People here are very nice. We've found that in stores and on the street generally.

Em is fine now however, so no panicking please. We're well equiped (and experienced) in this situation. We had the medications and the knowhow, and em spent the rest of the day in rest, rehydration, and recovery mode and was fine by the evening. It passed through so to speak. My bout was in Vientiane and lasted a few hours too. We're both good now. All a part of the adventures. Em isnt eating meat so far on this trip. I'm less discerning, but the cause of such tummy bugs for us could well be that we tend to consume ice. Its the one rule we are slack with on the list of no nos, as its hard to resist that fantastic drinks that are blended for you with fresh fruit and ice over here. Especially in the hot and humid weather.

Kunming 02 from tgoodwin on Vimeo.

While Em was recovering I had some errands to run. First to the post office to send another parcel home. Clothes we had made in Vietnam. Packs already too heavy. Next task was to find the computer district to buy and external hard drive, so I can backup all the pics and vids we're making. Finally found the area and trawled through 3 massive 4 storey markets, each with all manner of computers and computer related devices. China is actually a little behind us with technology which is surprising. However there is much more to choose from, and mostly prices are less. For other geeks out there I got a 320gb laptop sized Seagate SATA drive with external case for about $100 NZ. Next mission was to get back home. Believe it or not, these 2 tasks took me about 6 hours to perform. The reasons being: a. I dont speak Chinese, b. I dont read Chinese, c. this city is big, d. I forgot how to say Alley in Chinese and once again there was confusion with Taxi drivers over the location of the hotel. Fun fun fun.

Finally I made it, so Em and I headed out for some food (bland for Em's tummy) and a wander around the shopping areas.

Will add some pix later. We're heading to Lijiang on a bus tomorrow morning. 8 hours away.