March 2010: Kunming City, a day at the Zoo

I was looking for the YuanTong temple, when I stumbled upon the Kunming Zoo. It is actually within the YuanTong park. Normally I avoid zoo when I travel, and I can't even remember the last tie I was in Singapore's own zoo. But a banner at the entrance was bringing my attention to it's cherry blosom festival. Since I was too late for this year's sakura blosom in Japan (and most likely too poor for next year's), I decided to go in for a look-see.
The park is indeeed a zoo.
And there was sakura blosoming in the park, alright.
There was even the mausolem of a Mr. Tang Ji Yao, famous as an ally of Sun Yat-sen, and fought against Yuan ShiKai's army when Yuan proclaimed himself as emperor. The guy did quite a bit during his short live of 44 years. So, I guess it was appropriate his mausolem was surrounded by sakura.
But I guess compared to the sakura, the bright red Begonia (Hai Tang) which was also blosoming in the park, speaks louder to the Chinese psychic.
There was also a circus going on at the park, with dogs, monkey, goats and bears. The performance was free and it was standing-room only.

I admire the courage of one Chinese woman who was trying to get those in the first row to sit down. She was educating her fellow countrymen that "in foreigh countries, the audience in the front row would sit to avoid blocking the view of those behind." Her effort got her some harsh words from another woman in the front row.
She looks like she have been to some 'foreign country', so I don't see how it did not occur to her that in most 'foreign country', circus animals are treated more humanely (or at least appears to be treated so.)

That's about all I did the day before ending this Bangkok-to-Kunming trip, before heading home from Kunming airport.














If you have done some travelling on Chinese railway, you should be familiar with the Kang-Shi-Fu brand of cup noodle. I have on more than one occasion seen travellers coming onboard with a whole carton of the noodle. So, it came as a surprise that the brand has its own beef noodle restaurant in Kunming city. It looks pretty highend. On the evening I saw it, it was fullhouse and there was a queue waiting to get in.
No wonder the flight out of Kunming felt a bit bumpy----->>>>