Above: Last minute mending on the streets of Kunming.
Today we leave China for Thailand. We started with a hotel breakfast in a garden-like setting. There was a good mix of Asian (congee, pau, red bean pastry etc) and Western (eggs, baked beans, toast etc). There was no western tea for Kim but only Chinese black tea. There was condensed milk to go with the coffee though!
We did some last minute shopping back at the Flower and Bird Market. We bought another polar fleece and had some a button put back on my pair of shorts for CNY2 (NZD0.50).
I wanted a blue pair of trousers but they were none suitable to be found. The fashionable colours here right now seem to be olive, burnt orange and brown.
After our hearty breakfast, we didn’t need lunch. We packed up back at the hotel and had to squeeze everything into our backpacks. We had some time to email home from an internet café before taking a taxi to the airport.
We had to wait about an hour before check-in for our Thai Airways flight opened. As we were in Business Class due to a ticketing hassle some months back, we were able to use the lounge. It was a minimalist and basic facility but was still better than nothing.
Despite airbridges being available, we boarded remotely onto an Airbus A300-600 for the short flight to Chiang Mai. The 1815 departure and 1h35 scheduled time (so, probably 1h20 flying) meant it was a very simple Business Class meal. A pre-plated chicken meal was served with no choice. It did the job and I was happy.
Arrival at Chiang Mai was swift and we were in our room at the Imperial Mae Ping a little more than 30 mins after landing.
My throat was starting to flare up. We got lots of water from across the road and Vitamin C from the chemist nearby. Walking around the street stalls, there were too many tacky stuff for sale. Yes, this is the land of mass tourism. But there was lots of yummy food too though.