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We catch a taxi to West Bus Station. We are very organised this morning as we have ‘bus station’ and ‘Can I buy four tickets to Dali’, written in Chinese by one of the hotel staff. Taxi cost 25 Yuan. Without too much hassle we purchased our ticket and found the right bus. We are feeling very proud of ourselves. Can we have a hassle free day? We have rung and booked a hotel in Dali. A car and driver will be waiting for us at the bus station. We just have to ring him and tell him where and when.
It takes about half an hour to reach the outskirts of the city than we are on the freeway. Another magnificent, three lane, dual carriageway and no excessive traffic.
We climb up and down red basalt mountains with fertile valleys in between. It is so green it hurts the eyes. Corn is grown on terraces near the bottom of the mountain and the flat plains are covered in rice, soya beans and taro. The plots are bigger here with all the valleys filled with crops. The houses are built on the side of the hills so no fertile country is
wasted. The houses here are old style with brick walls and slate tiled roofs. They are quite ornate covered in paintings. The new houses are so ugly. They generally are three stories the brick is plastered and painted white with flat rooves.
We pass by massive hothouse farms. We can’t see in to see what they are growing, but they look like white lakes shimmering in the sunlight.
Through the front window of the bus I can see the curtain of water on the road, literally dry one side and wet the other. Next thing we are in it, like someone dropping a huge bucket of water on the bus. No one blinks an eyelid. In fact there is hardly a murmur. Some sleep; some on their mobile phones; most just staring into space in a trance like state. I wonder what they are thinking and wonder what they think of us. Are they amused, jealous or maybe don’t care?
Our trip will take about 5 hours. We stop halfway for a pit stop. Literally the buses are all driven over a pit and checked underneath, just like a RTA inspection. There are many buses here. People are getting something to eat or going to the toilet. Kathy and Tarsha have their first experience of ladies toilet Chinese style. These are really public toilets; squat of course, with no doors, two rows facing each other so you can converse with your neighbour opposite you.
I think we are the entertainment here everybody stares at us. Feels like movie star status.
Bus travel compared to aeroplane travel is so much better. Airports are such sterile environments. Buses the opposite.
Arrive Xiaguan about 4pm after a 5 hour trip. We are staying at Jim’s Tibetan Hotel. His car picks us up and takes us to Dali which is about 15km away. The hotel is owned by Jim who is Tibetan. Obviously! The rooms are very quaint, with antic furniture and Tibetan architecture. The most unique hotel Kathy thinks she has been in.
We wander down to the old town for dinner, which is a walled city of about 1 km square. Very touristy, of the Chinese variety. Shops, restaurants and bars. The gaudiest bar street I have ever seen. Ate some great food and retired for bed.
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