Last post from China - phew, will only be one country behind !

After visiting the TCW with our guide using the public buses to get there and back from Xian, we took a private taxi driven by one of Bryan's friends to go out to see the  Emperor's Tomb as it was a long ways out of town and no easy way to get there otherwise.  I had read about it before leaving and it sounded like another "must see" place but for us both a bust.  I think we were too tired from having seen all the TCW that the Tomb was only so so to us in comparison.  We did buy though a marvelous painting in the gift shop there so the trip out there was an unqualified success!

• We asked Bryan on the way back to Xian to please call and confirm our flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand 2 days hence on Air Asia. About 6 phone calls and 2 of Bryan's phone batteries later, it was confirmed that our connecting flight from Kunming, China to CM had been cancelled and we had been booked on a much later flight into CM.  It was a little unnerving and frustrating that we'd received nary an email from Chase Travel Center OR, more to the point, Air Asia about the new flight plans though.
• I was quite happy with the change in plans as it meant that we effectively had one full day in Kunming which was an unexpected treat for me.  Steven saw it differently - he figured it would be great AND safe especially to just sit around for 10 hours in the airport rather than getting into town and tootling around.  To me, it was another part of the adventure and a challenge in a sense to figure out on short notice how to get from the airport using public transportation to downtown and what sights to see to see in a fairly short period of time. Trip Advisor came to my rescue there again!
• Kunming is well known for its Stone Forest, somewhat like Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah,but it was 75 miles out of Kunming so not a possibility even for me who likes to live on the wild side when traveling at least.  Sure that is a big surprise to many of you! 
• I had read that there'd be far less English spoken in Kunming than in Beijing or Xian so I wrote down a LOT of phrases in English for the staff in our Xian hostel to translate in to Chinese that I/we could then present to bus and taxi drivers alike.  Those proved to be invaluable as I'd figured out by then what I/we could comfortably see.  Steven was still on the fence til the last minute trying to decide to stay at the airport or come with me to explore Kunming.  He finally decided to join me so I had my travel buddy back!

• One frustrating and time wasting issue at the airport was that we had to collect our suitcases from the first flight and then pay to leave them in "Left Luggage" while going into town.
• Got one of the airport shuttles into the part of town we knew to go to and then got a taxi for all of 10 yuan ($1.60) to take us to Green Lake Park a beautiful oasis in the city of about 5 million people.
• Some more interesting tidbits about China before the photos: we noticed that were not as many smokers in any of the three cities in China we visited compared to either Russia or Mongolia; that was a huge relief when passing or being passed by throngs of people on the street or often very narrow sidewalks (because of vendors using them to display their wares) because you didn't have to be concerned about being inadvertently burned by a lit cigarette.
• But we did have to watch out for both male and female Chinese of all apparent socioeconomic groups' proclivity to spit all the time.  That was to us very disgusting and unique to China on our trip.  I wonder if it may have some to do with breathing in the bad air from the pollution and needing to get rid of the phlegm?  If so, I feel better about it!
• Highway lanes in Chinese cities have different speeds, ranging from 90-120kms per hour in both Beijing and Xian and 60-90 in Kunming; sure made for better flow of traffic; if ever a slower driver was in one of the faster lanes, they'd immediately hear the incessant beeping of car and truck horns telling him to move lanes - that didn't happen much as drivers heeded the lane speeds!
• Another thing I wish the US would adopt would be to have all traffic lights and also pedestrian crosswalks on timers so you'd know exactly how many seconds it'd be before the light changed; the timers were HUGE too so very visible.
• One thing we noticed in a lot of places were babies' and toddlers' pant legs open at the back above their knees to almost their waist.  I asked Bryan about it and he said it was better for babies' hygiene.
• Bryan also talked about the important role of grandparents in some Chinese family circles: can't tell you how many older Chinese, both men and women, we saw looking after their grandchildren every place we went; in hindsight, I'd say we saw very, very few parents in comparison with children at least during the day.
• Bryan said that his in laws live with him, his wife (a university professor) and 4 yr old son in a 56 sq. meter apt - pretty cozy.
• Talked with Bryan about China's educational system: they have 3 years for kindergarten, then 6 years for primary school, 3 years for secondary school (like our middle schools), then 3 years for high school; students often, Bryan said, spend many hours then going to night school too for further learning and extracurricular activities as a good education is held in the highest regard by Chinese parents and is critical in getting ahead.
• Will actually go ahead and post this now and send just photos asap because I've had such a problem posting photos every time.