Kunming to Dali

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Arrived in Dali today, after a wonderful bus ride. I paid for the Yunnan Express bus (Y119) and the bus was clean, did not make extra stops, no smoking, great! There's a great expressway connecting the two cities; it took 4+ hours. I got off the bus and took #2 line to #4 line and rode into Dali Old Town. I was planning to stay at Jim's Tibetan Guesthouse, but the rooms turned out to be a rip off. I took a room across the street at a different guesthouse (Y60 per night). Too bad it's pouring rain in Yunnan right now. Yuk. It makes everything soggy and damp and cold. Ick. I walked around in the afternoon - Dali is quaint with cute roofs and cobblestone sidewalks.

I decided to take a bus to Lijiang on Sunday morning. I'm running from the rain clouds. It's raining in Lijiang too, but I still want to see what Lijiang is like. I will come back to Dali at the end of the week when the weather is *supposed* to be clear. I know it's a lot of bus riding, but the rain is no fun!

I got a late start and talked to my sister on the phone for awhile before going to breakfast. I had a delicious Yunnan coffee, eggs, potatoes, and banana pancake. The banana pancake was more like "banana crepe" - the pancake part was crispy, thin and sweet. Yum. Then I shopped the streets of Dali and ended up buying 4 silver bangles. I have to admit, it was an impulse buy since I was feeling a little bored.

I saw these hand-knitted hats on the street and I wanted to buy one to keep my head warm. I wanted an olive green one - and I asked if they had green hats. The woman and her husband chuckled when I asked that. She said, "Why would anyone make a green hat? No one would buy it!" I asked why and husband laughed and said, "Go ask your father." Haha, that made me really curious! I guess "wear green hat" in Chinese translates into something along the lines "my wife is cheating on me"???? Someone please explain. I bought a charcoal colored one.

The internet is free here, at least. Perfect rainy day to update my blog, drink tea, and nice afternoon to finish my book. I tried to solicit a local to teach me Chinese for two hours, but couldn't really find the right person. Bbrrrrr!

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Photos

Dali Guesthouse
Stayed here

Yunnan Cafe
Yummy breakfast

Old Dali
Batiks for sale in the alley. Not sure why I love these. I bought two in Yangshuo.

Old Dali
Cute touristy street.

Old Dali
I love the plants growing on the roof. I guess the little seeds land on the roof tiles. Cute! :)

Comments

[tf]

your breakfast looks yummy. it doesn't look "chinese".

[christina]

sounds like a relaxing, cozy, rainy day!

[ellie]

i'm totally curious about the green hat now.