end route by train to Kunming

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Visited another restored ancient city yesterday (Nov 28 in China). It was only a half hour bus ride from Lijiang so we spent the afternoon there. It’s actually in Lijiang district, like a suburb, and it has its own character, different from Lijiang. Suhe means under the mountain because its location is at the base of small mountain. It apparently antedated Lijiang because of its location at the hub of several travel routes. Its streets, as it stands today, are much wider than Lijiang’s crowded but charming alleyways, and they seemed to accent the lack of tourists wherever we walked. Most shops were empty of tourists and I had to reflect on how it must feel to open at seven or eight and close at elven or so and have such meager traffic. There is a quiet in Suhe that attracted me. I’d like to get back here and spend several days.



Last night Jinyi and I bought some cotton underwear because we both were freezing. The nights get cold very quickly after seven: the days include a lot of sun or at worst some cloud. Today we had a last walk through Lijiang’s maze and as usual got lost one final time. We wanted to find the coffee shop we used for two days but got hopelessly lost some distance away from it. We had a decent late lunch and hope we don’t need to eat until we arrive in Dali. Right now we are on the train for the two hour trip and we’ve opted for what looks like a hard-sleeping compartment which, I’m guessing, is better than a hard bench seat of the kind I remember (and expected). So far, only two compartment-mates, and they say they prefer to sit on the folding seats in the hallway.



(later) We picked up some compartment mates: two Dai women and their two children dressed in their national costumes that look like university graduation caps with a white towel over the black square shape of their caps. Bright blue and white embroidered tops over black leggings and black shoes. The kids wore none of this and spent their time playing computer games on their I Phone that they shared.



We had one bad hotel experience (key didn’t lock a door, followed by offers of a smelly room and a dirty one ….) before we hit the Yin Hua, wonderfully clean, helpful staff and wi-fi thrown in. Tomorrow we try and figure out Dali.





One puzzling note: my aerosol can of shaving gel was confiscated in Kunming’s bus station, but it has been scanned and let go by the railway scanning people four or five times now. Jinyi talked its way through the Kunming seizure, so it’s still with me. Updates to follow.

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