Blogs from Dali, Yunnan, China, Asia - page 17

On my second day in Dali, feeling refreshed, I decided to climb a mountain. They recommend that you attempt climbing the mountains as a group because solo hikers are likely to be mugged, so I latched onto a group of American travellers who were staying at my guest house. They were such a lovely group of people. A father, who was an english teacher as well, his Chinese, non-English speaking girlfriend, his two grown up daughters, a boyfriend of one of them and an American guy who, like me, had latched onto the family in order to scale the mountain unmolested. It was hard work, but god it was great! I have to admitt that we cheated a bit, there is a chairlift that takes you half way up the mountain. But we climbed the rest ... read more

Just made in to Kunming. I'm almost ready to close the door on my time in Yunnan province, but before I leave, I thought I'd relate one more amusing story about our happenings in Dali. We were sitting at Stella's, our adopted restaurant in Dali, on the porch having a Pizza. With me were Shiran, a recent arrival to China, fresh from Laos, Hadar, with whom I had been travelling since Lijiang and Shannon, a Canadian whom I had met in Lijiang and also joined up with in Dali. We were enjoying a nice evening, winding down from the bicycle trip we had taken earlier (the one from the previous post). Out of nowhere, a Chinese guy who looked to be around his 30s with glasses and a moustache accompanied by a much younger lady walked ... read more

It's always comforting to know that if I ever have any dental issues on my trip, all I have to do is go to the market in Dali, and there, between the banana stand and the guy who sells nuts and bolts, I can expect to get the highest quality of service. The techniques used here are state of the art. A string for extricating those rotten teeth, your latest in plastic prosthetics and the "secret ingredient" mouth numbing syrup (although I would go for that 60 proof stuff that they drink here instead). I might even get a suntan while I get treated!!! ... read more

With our trip into Lhasa all arranged and departure dates set we had enough time to spend a day or so more in Dali and so headed up the hill to stay at the Higherland Inn. Taking the scenic (lazy) option, we caught the chairlift up to the Inn - but the view was spectacular and it was a nice gentle ride. The Higherland Inn was great - the staff were friendly, the blankets were warm, and the family dinners each evening were awesome. Our first afternoon we set off on a short walk - about 12kms altogether but mainly flat so not too bad. We walked around the mountain to the South via the Cloud Path to the Seven Dragon Pools - a beautiful waterfall which cascades over the rocks, leaving seven pools of icy ... read more

Throughout our almost week-long stay in Yangshuo, Jill and I repeatedly were told that Dali and Lijiang were so much prettier and better than Yangshuo. Though the old town in Dali was bigger (Yangshuo was essentially one pedestrian thoroughfare) and more "old-town", we still are partial to Yangshuo. Dali (and Lijiang, our next stop) have been wonderfully done to attract the loads and loads of Chinese tourists. Like a Disneyland without the rides and all the cheesy tourist shops you could ever need. Regardless, these are cities not to be missed on your standard itinerary. The best and most memorable part of Dali was our stay at Jim's Tibetan Guesthouse. Spotless rooms and comfortable beds (and heated mattresses for those cold days). There's only seven rooms so we got lucky to land of the larger rooms ... read more