Kunming Lanse Didai - Head south along Hueng Cheng East Rd, which becomes Hueng Cheng South Rd after the major intersection Dong Jiao Rd. Continue South. Past the China Mobile Hotel on the right. Cross over the intersection with Cha Street and continue south another 100 m or so. To the left you will see McDonalds, Hydro Hotel and finally Gome shop. Roughly opposite Gome there is a small car park fringed with small trees along the front. Turn right into the first entrance to the car park. Once inside, turn 90 left. You will see ahead an unmarked 4-storey building, painted dark blue (hence English name Blue Zone), with a large open doorway. No sign. Enter and go up the stairs. On the first floor is a bar Lanse Didai. After 10 pm, it attracts a crowd of cute young guys, tables that glow blue, lip syncing TV’s, very smokey, very loud Chinese pop. Go up the stairs one more floor to reach the reception counter of Tong Le Yuan Sauna. Entrance 45 Yuan, exchange your shoes for slippers. Ask the guys in the locker room for a robe. There’s open showers and a dry sauna, which seethes with action after it’s switched on about 10 pm. A large area with a bar and beds, lined up facing a TV which shows Chinese soap operas. Chatting, smoking, cuddling and sometimes much more goes on there, sometimes open, but usually hidden beneath duvets. Upstairs are small open cubicles, but the partitions are only 1.5 m high so not exactly private. Best at weekends after 9 pm.
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