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“Hey, we’re still in China!’, having a great time but still can’t believe we are here. Dali was a lovely place and we spent two days there and are now in Lijiang about three hours north. We are having a great time and finding China a friendly, warm, hospitable country.
We did however have our second accommodation disaster in Dali after our Bangkok experience (we won’t ignore Trip Advisor again). We stayed in one of the main streets at a well known guest house. Unfortunately the rooms were grubby, rickety and had a smell from the bathroom that even a mother of four and nurse could not tolerate. Luckily we survived one night and then found Sunny Lodge which was brand new but great! The owners are originally Mongolian and so we ate some great authentic Mongolian Chinese food. The Lodge also has three yurts which can be used for meals or accomodation which we would have given a go had we stayed longer.
Dali is a wallewd city and the Bai people have inhabited the area for around 3000 years. It is situated in a beautiful place between Lake Erhai and the Jade Mountains. The Bai influence
is still apparent even if it is most often seen in the young women outside the tourist shops dressed in their white suits with brightly embroidered flowers and head dress.
Dali is most famous for the Three Pagodas which are apparently the most photographed attraction in Yunnan although we weren’t quite sure why. Granted, we only looked from the outside and know nothing of the history of them. It was quite expensive to go into the temples and from a distance the pagodas were not so impressive so we didn’t bother. Once inside the compound you aren’t allowed inside them.
The historic area of Dali is lovely although it is difficult to tell what is authentic and what is new and the town has a very touristy feel. There is definitely a contrast between the ‘new young and hip’ and the older traditionally dressed townsfolk carrying enormous loads on their back down to the market.
Like elsewhere in Asia, the Chinese are not immune from blasting loud music into the streets which although we have experienced many times in our trip we still are not used to and it appears that historic areas are not off bounds
for this either. We found a great café (Shangri La Café) which had fabulous breakfasts but you had to sit through Michael Bolton, Richard Marx and Celine Dion only sufferable when Boney M came on (Rivers of Babylon for those other closet fans) all competing with traditional music from the other side of the road. A bit much at breakfast time!
We are getting lots of attention from the Chinese people, and if we thought that we had been counted and had our picture taken a lot before we definitely have now. The Chinese love the ‘thumbs up’ and count the kids and then give us a big smile and a thumbs up! People stop us in the street and ask if they can have pictures taken with the kids and then others get out their cameras and pretend that they are photographing other things while snapping the children.
Before we came to Dali Mitchy had read a travel blog about the town which had a photograph of an old lady that the writer had taken. Apparently he had taken a photo of her and then given her a few yuan, when the English publican of the British
style hotel that they were standing in front of rushed out and in no uncertain terms said ‘don’t give her any money, she owns a car!’. We saw this little character pulling trash from a garbage can while we were having lunch. Mitchy asked if he could take her photo and then gave her some money and we offered her a piece of pizza. She thought this was great and proceeded to use this as a prop in her photo sitting biting it off with her only two teeth and then poking her tongue out to the absolute hysterics of the kids and us. She found the pizza a bit hot and hobbled up the road when, just as the kids had composed themselves they saw her put the remaining pizza down her jumper.
Cormorant fishing on Lake Erhai was our big expedition while in Dali, we booked through a tour company due to lack of time (note, pressure) but in hindsight would have gone out with a family who approached us on the street. We had a great trip but I think that it would have been a less touristy experience with the family and we would not
have ended up looking so ridiculous that we scared the fish away, meaning the fishermen had to ‘distract’ us to throw a few in for the birds to catch. It is pretty amazing watching the birds swim from the boat looking for fish and then come back to the boat to regurgitate whole fish.
The bus trip from Dali to Lijiang was not quite so bad as the one from Kunming although the drivers certainly are mad, and it may not be a good thing, but it has made me feel more calm about flying! We had to stop the mini bus along the way to load a huge bag of chicken feed at our feet which was picked up on a corner in Lijiang by a guy who coincidentally smelled a lot like a chicken. The landscape is not unlike parts of Australia with lots of eucalypt type trees lining the roads and houses with flowers, like petunias, hollyhocks and roses that we see at home, in the gardens of the villages.
We enjoyed Dali but Lijiang is such a beautiful town and we liked it so much that we extended our stay. It is
similar to Dali but the heritage has been respected more authentically. The town caters very well for tourists, the area is known for weaving and there were many shops selling beautiful hand woven scarves and pashminas, as well as Naxi hand crafts and clothing. We think we might have to invest in another suitcase and modify our budget!
Mitchy found a great guesthouse ‘The Tea Galleria’ on the internet. It overlooks the original township which is approximately 800 years old. The owner speaks great English and has been very obliging giving us a tour of the town, delicious red tea and hospitality. Lijiang was the centre for tea trading with Tibet years ago and tea was brought from the surrounding provinces to trade at Lijiang and then transported by pony to Tibet. The town is an old Naxi community, an ethnic minority who have lived in the area for around 1400 years descendants of people from Tibet.
Lijiang is similar to Dali but the heritage has been respected more authentically. The town caters very well for tourists, the area is known for weaving and there were many shops selling beautiful hand woven scarves and pashminas, as well as
Naxi hand crafts and clothing. We think we might have to invest in another suitcase and modify our budget!
The Naxi people historically tended toward a matriarchal society and women apparently remain the head of the household (but not village councils) but they also work extremely hard. We saw many women well into their 70’s and 80’s carrying loads of produce on their backs. A Naxi guy we met said that if you ask a Naxi woman why they live so long they always reply “because I have a hard life’! Although he also pointed out a woman in the street from another minority by saying loudly “Look! there’s a Yin!” it was a real Life of Brian moment!
The Naxi people follow the Dongba way of life which as we understand is a lifestyle and religion based on a strong bond and respect for nature. They use minimal natural resources in their daily living. Dongba culture has an ancient form of writing based on pictures, apparently the only hieroglyphic language still used in the world.
We met a couple of characters on the street of Lijiang who offered tours to their Naxi village and horse riding
into the mountains. We were a little unsure about how this would go but thought we would chance it for a realistic (or learning) experience. After a bit of haggling over price (they wanted Mac to ride his own horse) we drove about forty minutes out of the city past all of the big tour groups with buses parked outside still nervous about our expedition but we had a fantastic time!
We had a couple of local guides who took us up a mountain by a huge lake. It was a beautiful ascent up through the mountain and the view from the top was amazing. We stopped at the top of the mountain to enjoy the view and noticed a smoky smell in the air although after Laos where rural fires are so common we didn’t think too much of it. We did notice three guys riding past us very quickly, stopping for a brief chat with our guides but we still weren’t too concerned, even the crowd of villagers (meandering) up the hill with mattocks didn’t concern us. It wasn’t until we got back to our guide we realized that it was a forest fire and that there
had been a bit of panic about it.
Descending the mountain on the ponies was fairly strenuous especially for the adults amongst the group (well, Mitchy and I), but it was beautiful and then we came to the Naxi village which was amazing with mud brick cottages, pine needle stacks and weird and wonderful happenings. The older Naxi women in the area and in Lijiang all wear the traditional clothing of blue caps, trousers, aprons and thick capes. The capes protect their shoulders from the huge baskets that they carry on their backs but that also have a significance in their relationship with nature representing the starts and the moon.
The guides took us for a bit of a trot through the village, I think hoping to get a laugh at the expense of the ‘city kids’ but the kids thought it was great and the guides were put to the test running alongside the ponies. In the end the kids endurance for giggling and bouncing on the trotting ponies outlasted the lungs of the chain smoking guides!
We then went out on the lake in an iron boat, looking at the beautiful landscape and thinking how
different this was to the perception of China that many people would have.
We ate at a Naxi Restaurant on the way home, the food is based very much around fresh produce, lots of potato and cabbage but also delicious meat and breads. The food is more oily than we are used to, apparently the Naxi way.
Mostly we ate at our guesthouse where they serve an enormous amount of local food, a Naxi hybrid and the ladies get a bit upset if we don’t eat it all! We have not yet tried yak meat or goats liver but the yak milk yoghurt was delicious. We did try one of the Italian restaurants in town owned by a Chinese lady Maggie, and her South African husband, friends of the owner of our guesthouse and it had great food. Maggie asked Mac to stay and live with her telling him that she would cook him pizza every day and give him lots of ice cream. Mac did consider the offer for a second but thankfully declined!
Lijiang old town is packed with tourists, the majority of them Chinese tour groups complete with matching hats and a tour leader
with a flag. The owner of the guest house gave us a tour of the old town and off the tourist track and into the part of the town which is very traditional Naxi living. We also visited his neighbours’ home and saw the ‘old Nannies’ playing Mahjong in the courtyard. They didn’t want a photo as it may distract them from their game!
We took a walk to black Dragon Pool Park which was lovely and has a beautiful view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, an imposing backdrop, very impressive, especially on a beautiful, warm and sunny day.
We also went to Tiger Leaping Gorge, a two and a half hour drive from Lijiang to the largest gorge in the world, almost 4000 metres high.
the drive was beautiful although long and the villages were fascinating. Part of the 3.5 km walk in was through tunnels in the mountain (no screaming!). Finn and Grace both whispered later that “it wasn’t that interesting” but as it might be flooded as part of a dam within the next year (to feed China's hunger for energy) we were happy we made the trek.
We had a wander around
the local food market in Lijiang which was great, a bit more orderly than the Cambodian markets and a more energetic vibe than the Laos. Unfortunately the market is being leveled soon for a hotel. With all of the ‘progress’ in China we are worried that places like Lijiang will lose what makes them so special. A seven star hotel is planned for the city by the developers from Dubai and several other hotel chains are building properties.
One highlight for the kids in Dali and Lijiang has been the dogs. After three months of not being allowed even near any dogs or cats due to the risk of rabies, both guesthouses have had pet dogs who have been vaccinated and are very well cared for. The kids have loved it, especially the 20 day old pug puppies here in Lijiang.
But for now we prepare our taste buds to head off to Sichuan, where apparently the pepper is so hot they use it as an anaesthetic in rural areas, so it’s fill up on the Naxi cabbage kids!
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jackie
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Hi, Read your blog with interest. We are looking for somewhere decent to stay at in Dali next month. Do you know the web site of Sunny Lodge where you stayed in Dali - or anywhere else to recommend (or avoid!!). Thanks