World China Yunnan Dali

Cole and Annie's Asian Adventure

On to Yunnan - Dali Jul 3, 2009

Early in the morning we hopped on the bus to Guilin and the last of the beautiful river scenery. We booked the next sleeper train 16 hrs. away to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in SW China. With a couple hour lay-over, we decided to stop at an internet cafe. When you conjure in your mind images of dark and damp Asian internet cafes filled with frantic chain-smoking gamers, this was it. We sat in the corner by the industrial kitchen fan to save our lungs a bit. This was also the darkest corner though, and we soon had small roaches crawling across the desks. The train held good company and sharply contrasting scenery. We spoke at length with four Indians, among them a Gynecologist, Psychiatrist, and Plastic Surgeon. They quickly informed us that India did not have such nice and clean facilities as the train we were on. We shared a beer and said good night. In the morning we awoke passing through mountains in notably cooler temperatures. I suppose this was similar to going to sleep in Louisiana and waking up in Colorado. When we stepped off the train we were immediately greeted by 75 degrees and the unimaginable insanity that seems to be all Chinese bus stations. By this time I was starting to feel used to the Chinese practice of organized chaos and the lack of queuing. With a subtle shift of the backpack and a wide stance you can "box out" (basketball fans know) the people behind you that may risk dashing by you to stick their money in the cashier's face. This was not effective in Kunming. People seemed to descend from the reef in an effort to quickly scream out their destination and hurtle money at the cashier. We finally formed a wall foot-to-foot and snagged two tickets to Dali. I had heard of the legendary beauty of Yunnan province, and we were not disappointed. The drive up was steep, covered in rice patties and corn fields. The road was nearly empty for many stretches. After five hours, we landed at the Dali station. Immediately we were beset by touts beckoning us. Many were asking 40 yuan for the ride ($6?! Outrageous!) so we walked on, me thinking that we were only a short ways away. Dali's ancient (and touristy) town is some ten miles or so up the road from the new city. We wandered along the lake for sometime, until a property manager for a new lakeside strip mall approached us and asked us we needed the bathroom. We laughed and explained. He told us to walk to the street and take the #8 bus. Dali sits in a valley just smaller than Flathead Valley, MT. The views were gorgeous, with clouds rolling over the mountains to the West, the edge of the Himalayas. We booked a place just outside of town, the Lily Pad Hotel. After telling the front desk girl we'd found the place online, she dropped the price a bit. I think she's looking for recommendations. And I do recommend it! The service was great, the hotel quiet, and our room was at least double the size of our apartment in Korea. This is largely due to the local native people, the Bai. Amongst the talents of this Chinese minority is the craft of skillful home building. They are recognized throughout China for their craftsmanship. We headed into town that first night to get dinner and ended up meeting an Irishman and a Frenchman, Carl and Fab. Carl is one of the most traveled people I've met and had just spent three weeks in Mongolia! Fab was attending summer school in Beijing and was on break. We had dinner and sketched a rough hiking plan. The next day seemed to be too cloudy, so we headed to the Three Pagodas Temple. This is the largest Han Buddhist temple (or privately run tourist trap, depending on who you reference) in China. Regardless of its authenticity, the place was amazing. It scrolled up the side of the West mountains with a series of pagodas, temples, and koi filled ponds. The top had a great view of the entire valley. We followed up our visit with another great meal at one of Dali's many great restaurants. The menus were filled with American, Thai, Chinese, and Indian food. The settings inside the restaurants were even better. All were styled with solid wood finished tables and benches. The homey rustic atmosphere is enough to make you not want to leave. That night, Fab stopped by our room and we agreed to go hiking the next day, as it was both of our last days in Dali. The Austrian imported cable car that greeted us took us not only up, but back into the mountains. This made for a nice ride, but took us far back into the clouds that couldn't be avoided because of our departure the next day. We were greeted at the top not by hiking trails, but by a well-worked and stone paved walking road. The road itself was 10km, with many side-stops along the way. My favorite was the Seven Dragon Maidens' Pools. Chinese men appeared (many in suits) from the mist, stripped down to their briefs, and dove in the icy pools, screaming like little boys. Many other mini-hikes had interesting trips to drop-offs and lookouts, but the most interesting part was the lush forest that coated the mountainside. Ferns, orchids, mushrooms, and many other flowers seemed everywhere. The place seemed a perfect mix of my two childhood homes, AK and MT: warmer than AK, but more verdant than MT. The trip down was not so enjoyable. The cable car ran 80 yuan/person, which was significantly more than our hotel or a meal for two. This is one time I should have loosened the purse strings a little. We slipped and fell our way down the mountain nearly until dark, enjoying the lake views when we could. Exhausted, we had a huge dinner of pizza, fresh yogurt smoothies, and sweet and sour pork. Our helpful hostess then helped us book a bus further into the mountains for the next morning.