Subscribe to see more of my China adventures! 🇨🇳 When we get to 10,000 Subscribers I will schedule my first ever Live Q&A on RUclips! www.youtube.com/@wilkowanders?sub_confirmation=1
We are British too and decided to visit China again while on holiday in Thailand recently. We have visited China before and always applied for our visas at the China Visa Office in London. But this time round, we applied for our visas at the China visa office in Thanapoon Tower, Bangkok. It took only 4 days and we could also have paid extra for an expedited service. And the cost was about a quarter of what we paid for in London. Plus we only needed to show our flight tickets in and out of China and hotel bookings for the entry city and the departure city. We were there for an entire month and used the very cheap, fast and reliable bullet trains to travel around as originally planned, so we could stay for any number of days at any city according to our whim and fancy. We were glad we didnt have to show a full itinerary with day-by-day hotel bookings at the Bangkok office.
Hi, Thanks for your comment and interesting to hear the cost to apply for the China visa was so much cheaper in Thailand. I wonder why that is? I am in China for 22 days and as you said making full use of the great bullet train system they have 🚅 Where was your favourite place in China?
@@wilkowanders We did the southeastern portion of China on this trip and some highlights were Guangzhou (amazing metropolis with the most stunning new public library and museum), Xiamen (particularly the UNESCO heritage island of Gulangyu) and Quanzhou (the Shaolin temple and its kungfu shows).
Welcome to China! You don't need to feel nervous in China. Chinese people are very friendly and China is very safe. There are Chinese and English signs in subways and tourist attractions. Wish you have a great trip in China.
🙏 Thank you, I have found Chinese people to be so friendly on my trip. I was not expecting so many english signs on the subways which makes it really clear to understand and I can also use my translation app on my phone too pretty easily! Thank you for the well wishes 😃
hello I am a local person in Kunming in my childhood,the city was very small and have chaotic traffic system, but shorter than a decade,It have developed rapidly, this is a represent of Chinese development,and wish you have a great trip in China
Another tip : most of the non-western/non-chain hotels have a laundry room with spin driver where you can do your laundry free of charge. Yup, the hotel provides the laundry detergent as well, or they could have been left behind by other guests. There are usually several machines and we often did our laundry after dinner at around nine pm and by tennish our clothes were all spun dry. Many of these laundry rooms even had an ironing board or a garment steamer for our more formal clothes.
Thanks for this tip! I did spot this at one hotel I stayed in and wondered if it was a common thing! I wish I had known this before spending so much on my laundry the first time in China! 🤦
Welcome to Kunming and wish you a enjoyable stay. It is still the rainy season in the town right now, but, it also the right time to try those fresh mushroom hotpots.
In China, if you spend the money for laundry on buying disposable underwear from Taobao or Pinduoduo, you can use them for at least two weeks by discarding them daily. You can ask the hotel staff to help you purchase them, and they can be delivered in 2-3 days.
I’m really surprised that your first stop in China is Kunming. For a foreigner, it seems like an advanced level of difficulty compared to Beijing or Shanghai. But don’t stress about language issues-just use an instant translation app for communication, and locals are usually super helpful and patient. By the way, you can easily find locally-owned hotels that have convenient amenities like laundry rooms and gyms. They’re usually a better deal and have nicer decor.
Thank you for your comment, My neighbour is Chinese and so she suggested this Itineary which I loved as it felt like from the beginning of my trip I got to experience a less international tourist side of China 😃 It also forced me to really practice my Chinese (the few words I had learnt) Ahh thanks for the tips about the hotels with gyms and laundry rooms, this could have saved me quite a bit based on that laundry bill! 🤦
Chengdu is probably the most tourist-friendly Provincial capital city in China. Jiuzhaigou or Kangding are only a few hours drive from Chengdu.The ancient town of MOXI磨西, located at the foot of the 7,500-meter Minya Konka, is worth a visit. In addition to the snow-capped mountains and huge glacier landscapes, the hot springs there are also very good
Thanks for the great tips! I’ll definitely consider adding Jiuzhaigou, Kangding, and Moxi to my itinerary. The combination of snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and hot springs sounds amazing! Stay tuned for updates!
I found your video after seeing a Chinese video describing your trip to Kunming. It seems that Kunming left a good impression on you. Everything went so smoothly. Your feelings after listening to the music also infected many viewers. I wish you a pleasant journey. Best wishes from Malaysia 🇲🇾
Thank you so much for your kind words! I completely agree - exploring cities outside of Beijing and Shanghai has given me such a unique and fascinating experience. The language challenge definitely adds to the adventure, and the warmth and friendliness of the people I've met along the way have made it all the more rewarding.
It is funny that the first Shopping mall you walked pass after exiting the metor (Spring City 66) is owned by Hang Lung Properties, a Hong Kong property developer. Guess you cannot escape the landlord 4 videos in a row...
The subtitles on your video cannot be translated into the Chinese language. The reason may be that the wrong method or software was used when editing the video. In the previous video, it was no problem to choose Chinese simplified characters, but this time the subtitles are no longer visible in traditional Chinese characters. It is a pity that we cannot know the content of the words in this episode. 😅
Thank you for your comment, I have just uploaded the captions for English now and Chinese language version is now available when selecting auto translate 😃🙏 Enjoy!
Yunnan is the most interesting province in China, there're endless interesting places in Yunnan, you can stay in Yunnan for a couple of years and not getting bored at all.
1:27 It's not your first time in China as you came from Hong Kong, which is also part of China 😄. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China having its own currency, legal system, tax system, etc. which are different from those of Mainland China. 😊
Hi, welcome to China . I hope you have a good experience in your China adventure. If you are not aware, nearly 99 % of the tourists in China are from domestic travellers. I am concerned about the carbon footprint foreigners will bring to China. I don't want to see China becoming another Spain or Venice full of foreign tourists, increasing the cost of living for the local population.
Thank you for the warm welcome 🙏 I have noticed that mostly Yunnan has domestic tourists, I even met some lovely domestic tourists when I was climbing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Its a good point about the impact of more international tourism into China. I suppose at the moment as a Visa is required (UK tourists), it does cost money and takes time to be able to visit China so it will not mean mass tourism I don't think right now.
My God, did I hear you wrong or did you say it wrong? You spent over 500 RMB on laundry? That's horrible, there will be a laundromat near the hotel downstairs, maybe a hundred dollars or less will do. That's too expensive. Laundry doesn't cost that much in China...
No, You heard me correctly, I was charged 565 RMB for laundry! 😭 I think I learnt a hard lesson that day! 😔 I had not done any laundry for almost 2 weeks so there was a lot of clothes, but it would have been so much cheaper to have found a laundromat like you suggest.
@@wilkowanders filter hotel searches to have built in washer or you can always wash stuff in the tub 😂. many non-western hotels will have small laundry rooms and apt style rooms will have a washer in your room. western brands like to charge you a premium for a lot of services. everyone washes their own clothes at home so laundromats are very very rare. that's why if you are going to be on an extended trip, book at least one room with proper and free services. your room is pretty typical so if you went with a non-western chain, would have cost you half or less.
If the UK government were less hostile toward China by behaving as a barking dog of their master, people from UK could have visa free entry to china for 14 days like people ftom germeny and a good number of other European countries. But I think they can also enjoy the 144 hr visa free stopover in a single city.
Subscribe to see more of my China adventures! 🇨🇳
When we get to 10,000 Subscribers I will schedule my first ever Live Q&A on RUclips!
www.youtube.com/@wilkowanders?sub_confirmation=1
what is the refund for the subway? a card is priced
@@chynavirusakawuflu9961 to your grave🤣🤣🤣
We are British too and decided to visit China again while on holiday in Thailand recently. We have visited China before and always applied for our visas at the China Visa Office in London. But this time round, we applied for our visas at the China visa office in Thanapoon Tower, Bangkok. It took only 4 days and we could also have paid extra for an expedited service. And the cost was about a quarter of what we paid for in London. Plus we only needed to show our flight tickets in and out of China and hotel bookings for the entry city and the departure city. We were there for an entire month and used the very cheap, fast and reliable bullet trains to travel around as originally planned, so we could stay for any number of days at any city according to our whim and fancy. We were glad we didnt have to show a full itinerary with day-by-day hotel bookings at the Bangkok office.
i can be ur guide for free if u have chance to visit Zhuhai a city in Guangdong province
Hi, Thanks for your comment and interesting to hear the cost to apply for the China visa was so much cheaper in Thailand. I wonder why that is?
I am in China for 22 days and as you said making full use of the great bullet train system they have 🚅
Where was your favourite place in China?
@@franklim2785 Its not on my trip for this time to China, but I have added it for my next visit
@@wilkowanders- (The - Cost) - is - (Different) - For - (Different - Nation) - ✅️ ✅️ ✅️ ✅️ ✅️ - (Depending) - On - (The - Cost) - of - (Living) - of - (The - Nation) - (Where) - (You've) - Applied - (The - Visa) - From - 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯 -
@@wilkowanders We did the southeastern portion of China on this trip and some highlights were Guangzhou (amazing metropolis with the most stunning new public library and museum), Xiamen (particularly the UNESCO heritage island of Gulangyu) and Quanzhou (the Shaolin temple and its kungfu shows).
Welcome to China! You don't need to feel nervous in China. Chinese people are very friendly and China is very safe. There are Chinese and English signs in subways and tourist attractions. Wish you have a great trip in China.
🙏 Thank you, I have found Chinese people to be so friendly on my trip.
I was not expecting so many english signs on the subways which makes it really clear to understand and I can also use my translation app on my phone too pretty easily!
Thank you for the well wishes 😃
I agree 100%, great comment
祝你中國旅途愉快！
@@wilkowanders You do not need to hold your bag so tightly, China is very safe
@@Esther-jh2qf Its more a arm rest for me as I have a heavy backpack and also front backpack, So it keeps me balanced ☺
hello I am a local person in Kunming in my childhood,the city was very small and have chaotic traffic system, but shorter than a decade,It have developed rapidly, this is a represent of Chinese development,and wish you have a great trip in China
Thank you so much! ☺️
Another tip : most of the non-western/non-chain hotels have a laundry room with spin driver where you can do your laundry free of charge. Yup, the hotel provides the laundry detergent as well, or they could have been left behind by other guests. There are usually several machines and we often did our laundry after dinner at around nine pm and by tennish our clothes were all spun dry. Many of these laundry rooms even had an ironing board or a garment steamer for our more formal clothes.
Thanks for this tip!
I did spot this at one hotel I stayed in and wondered if it was a common thing!
I wish I had known this before spending so much on my laundry the first time in China! 🤦
@@wilkowanders The free laundry is self-service, and you need to line up because it is busy
Welcome to Kunming and wish you a enjoyable stay. It is still the rainy season in the town right now, but, it also the right time to try those fresh mushroom hotpots.
Thanks for the warm welcome!
In China, if you spend the money for laundry on buying disposable underwear from Taobao or Pinduoduo, you can use them for at least two weeks by discarding them daily. You can ask the hotel staff to help you purchase them, and they can be delivered in 2-3 days.
直接美团上购买，30分钟就到了。
Thanks for the tip! That sounds like a convenient option. I'll definitely consider it next time I'm in China.
@@一朵小红花 Thanks for the tip!
@@chynavirusakawuflu9961 Get out of here, clown
Enjoy your trip there. I was in Kunming in March and stayed in the same hotel, nice hotel, good location.
Thank you, 🙏
I hope you also did not get laundry done there with the prices they charged!
Rest of the hotel was great though :)
Have a nice visit, great place - ENJOY!
Thank you! 😃
I’m really surprised that your first stop in China is Kunming. For a foreigner, it seems like an advanced level of difficulty compared to Beijing or Shanghai. But don’t stress about language issues-just use an instant translation app for communication, and locals are usually super helpful and patient. By the way, you can easily find locally-owned hotels that have convenient amenities like laundry rooms and gyms. They’re usually a better deal and have nicer decor.
Thank you for your comment, My neighbour is Chinese and so she suggested this Itineary which I loved as it felt like from the beginning of my trip I got to experience a less international tourist side of China 😃 It also forced me to really practice my Chinese (the few words I had learnt)
Ahh thanks for the tips about the hotels with gyms and laundry rooms, this could have saved me quite a bit based on that laundry bill! 🤦
Thanks for sharing. Hope you will see and explore a lot in China.
Thank you for your message 🙏
I am here for 22 days and planning on visiting 10 places in total 😃
Chengdu is probably the most tourist-friendly Provincial capital city in China. Jiuzhaigou or Kangding are only a few hours drive from Chengdu.The ancient town of MOXI磨西, located at the foot of the 7,500-meter Minya Konka, is worth a visit. In addition to the snow-capped mountains and huge glacier landscapes, the hot springs there are also very good
Thanks for the great tips! I’ll definitely consider adding Jiuzhaigou, Kangding, and Moxi to my itinerary. The combination of snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and hot springs sounds amazing! Stay tuned for updates!
I hope to visit there soon
China welcomes you❤
Thank you so much! 😊
I found your video after seeing a Chinese video describing your trip to Kunming. It seems that Kunming left a good impression on you. Everything went so smoothly. Your feelings after listening to the music also infected many viewers. I wish you a pleasant journey. Best wishes from Malaysia 🇲🇾
Thank you so much! ☺️
Wishing you a very prompt recovery❤
Thank you so much! 😊
Recommend youtuber: Two Mad Explorers, they explored deep Yunnan with rural and mountainous areas, maybe give you some inspiration.😄
Thanks for this recommendation :) I have subscribed and had a quick look, some great videos here! 😃
Welcome! Coincidentally, the hotel ur staying at is the same one where my parents had their wedding. Btw ur voice is very magnetic and sounds great x
Oh wow! what a nice coincidence!
Thank you for your kind comment 🙏
You can use百度map or高德map
Thanks for this tip!
@@chynavirusakawuflu9961 👌 OK，OK，you can do anything you want to do，but your purpose is not mine，kid 😂do you understand？
Welcome to China❤❤
Thank you 🙏
the fire escape hood is mandatory for every hotel in China, for the reason of safety in case of fire.
Thank you for sharing this info, It makes sense especially with very tall builidngs!
支持你🎉
Thanks for the support 🙏💗
我愿称那些第一次拜访中国大陆但不去北京上海的人为“超级旅行者”，80%的外国人会把上海作为第一个目的地，因为相对简单，选择其他城市，意味着更加困难的语言模式，但是旅行更有趣，中国人民很友好，祝你旅行愉快❤
Thank you so much for your kind words! I completely agree - exploring cities outside of Beijing and Shanghai has given me such a unique and fascinating experience. The language challenge definitely adds to the adventure, and the warmth and friendliness of the people I've met along the way have made it all the more rewarding.
非常有深度的中国旅行，我再给你推荐几个哈哈哈，苏州，乌镇，贵州，川西，西安（可以去爬华山），新疆。欢迎你再来中国，中国很大，每个地方感受都不一样。很高兴你喜欢中国，中国人真的真的真的很善良哈哈哈。
You can go to Chongqing
I will be visiting Chongqing! Subscribe to see my video on that, should be out in 2 weeks 🤗
if you have Chinese domestic credits records, that doubled price reserved as deposit at the hotel wouldn't be necessary
Thanks for sharing! Good to know for the future!
Landed where?😅 Cunnim?
It is funny that the first Shopping mall you walked pass after exiting the metor (Spring City 66) is owned by Hang Lung Properties, a Hong Kong property developer.
Guess you cannot escape the landlord 4 videos in a row...
The subtitles on your video cannot be translated into the Chinese language. The reason may be that the wrong method or software was used when editing the video. In the previous video, it was no problem to choose Chinese simplified characters, but this time the subtitles are no longer visible in traditional Chinese characters. It is a pity that we cannot know the content of the words in this episode. 😅
Thank you for your comment, I have just uploaded the captions for English now and Chinese language version is now available when selecting auto translate 😃🙏 Enjoy!
u could have got a fancier room with 800 in Kunming😅，free laundry, gym and nice breakfirst... but have a nice stay anyway. from a local
Thanks for the tips!
欢迎来到中国，我会持续关注你的视频
Thank you very much 🙏😍
can buy some clothes in the shopping mall, it will be cheaper than your one-time laundry
Yeah! I feel like it would have been!
Welcome to China bro🤝🏻
Thank you! :)
🎉🎉
欢迎
Thank you 🙏
👍
❤❤
💗
Kun-ming
Yunnan is the most interesting province in China, there're endless interesting places in Yunnan, you can stay in Yunnan for a couple of years and not getting bored at all.
Thanks for the comment, from what I have seen I agree, so much still to explore there 🙏
🇨🇳
1:27 It's not your first time in China as you came from Hong Kong, which is also part of China 😄. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China having its own currency, legal system, tax system, etc. which are different from those of Mainland China. 😊
Thanks for pointing that out! 😄
this room 800 in kunming omg how dare hhh
Hi, welcome to China . I hope you have a good experience in your China adventure. If you are not aware, nearly 99 % of the tourists in China are from domestic travellers. I am concerned about the carbon footprint foreigners will bring to China. I don't want to see China becoming another Spain or Venice full of foreign tourists, increasing the cost of living for the local population.
Thank you for the warm welcome 🙏
I have noticed that mostly Yunnan has domestic tourists, I even met some lovely domestic tourists when I was climbing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Its a good point about the impact of more international tourism into China.
I suppose at the moment as a Visa is required (UK tourists), it does cost money and takes time to be able to visit China so it will not mean mass tourism I don't think right now.
你好，你的视频做的很好，很好看。但有一点：你刚离开香港到达昆明，为什么说是第一次来到中国？
It’s my first time in mainland China is what I mean
@@wilkowanders懂了❤
My God, did I hear you wrong or did you say it wrong? You spent over 500 RMB on laundry? That's horrible, there will be a laundromat near the hotel downstairs, maybe a hundred dollars or less will do. That's too expensive. Laundry doesn't cost that much in China...
No, You heard me correctly, I was charged 565 RMB for laundry! 😭 I think I learnt a hard lesson that day! 😔
I had not done any laundry for almost 2 weeks so there was a lot of clothes, but it would have been so much cheaper to have found a laundromat like you suggest.
Hotel charges per item of laundry, and the laundry service fee is much higher than a normal laundromat.
@@wilkowanders filter hotel searches to have built in washer or you can always wash stuff in the tub 😂. many non-western hotels will have small laundry rooms and apt style rooms will have a washer in your room. western brands like to charge you a premium for a lot of services. everyone washes their own clothes at home so laundromats are very very rare. that's why if you are going to be on an extended trip, book at least one room with proper and free services. your room is pretty typical so if you went with a non-western chain, would have cost you half or less.
I think it wont be cheaper to wash clothes in HOLIDAY INN,it is a 4-5 star hotel.
There are only dry cleaners in China.
I do have a filthy mind lol😛😛
If the UK government were less hostile toward China by behaving as a barking dog of their master, people from UK could have visa free entry to china for 14 days like people ftom germeny and a good number of other European countries. But I think they can also enjoy the 144 hr visa free stopover in a single city.
Ahh, I did not know this option about the 144-hour visa!
This is interesting for a short trip, Thanks for sharing 🙏
@@wilkowanders my previous response was deleted. just google " china 144 hour visa free transit" for more detail
Its too much for this room of 800 yuan for one day,you are scammed by the booking app
Thanks for the heads up
@@wilkowanders你在酒店洗衣服太贵了，如果你把衣服拿到路边小店干洗，你这一身衣服最多两百块人民币。
Come Malaysia KL
Thanks! I'll visit soon 😊
welcome to China
Thank you 🙏
👍👍👍
Thank you 🙏
欢迎 体验吧
Thank you 🙏
use chopsticks well!
Oh yes! I have to use chop sticks when in China!
非常有深度的中国旅行，我再给你推荐几个哈哈哈，苏州，乌镇，贵州，川西，西安（可以去爬华山），新疆。欢迎你再来中国，中国很大，每个地方感受都不一样。很高兴你喜欢中国，中国人真的真的真的很善良哈哈哈。
非常有深度的中国旅行，我再给你推荐几个哈哈哈，苏州，乌镇，贵州，川西，西安（可以去爬华山），新疆。欢迎你再来中国，中国很大，每个地方感受都不一样。很高兴你喜欢中国，中国人真的真的真的很善良哈哈哈。
Thank you so much for the recommendations! China is truly vast, and I’d love to explore more of it.