Curmudgeon In China

I admit that besides being a curmudgeon I'm a bit of a Luddite. So I deplane in Kunming, go through passport control, customs, collect my bag in the dingy Communist terminal and then I walk over to the ATM and draw money from my Mpls account in Chinese currency and my mind boggles.Now, I'm posting a blog on a computer that keeps asking me questions in Chinese and has a keyboard with the letters worn off. So far I've managed to navigate using memory and luck. There were about 15 minutes of hilarity when all the young Chinese tech heads tried to figure out how to get grey beard on-line. NO one speaks English and my Chinese is really bad. This smoke filled room keeps me sneezing too. If I can't get this critter to convert to English I don't know if I'll atttemp to up load pics! This internet cafe is a huge room filled with young people playing computer games.Al's cheap. So I found this hostel on line that showed nice rooms in a modern bldg. $25. per night I didn't think would break my bank. Up to the 16th floor I went to, not really a lobby just a room, where after much chattering, consulting, telephoning, help from my taxi driver, looking at my internet booking they finally concluded I was legit. I was showed to a room on the 12th floor. When the door opend the stench of stale smoke about bowled me over. I politely inquired about a non-smoking room? Much more chattering, help from the taxi driver, who speaks the most English I've found yet...just slightly more than my Chinese....and I was motioned to wait. About 10 minutes later I was summoned to a room on the 13th floor which was slightly better. After the hotel staff left I discoved the secret was that they had opened a window. I've been spoiled by Thailand where most public bldgs/spaces are nonsmoking.Planes from around the world fascinate me since I'm easily entertained. As we were taxing down the runway in Bkk I glimsed one that had the slogan, WHAT A WAY TO GO! painted in huge letters on its side. I assume its not some sort of death wish.Its cool here...the city of eternal Spring. Something like May in Mpls. Bkk was in the 90s every day