Dali

Due to three different traffic accidents (involving among them an overturned apple truck, an overturned chicken truck, and a smashed-in minibus), we barely made our train from Guilin (Yangshuo) to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. We had showed the bus driver our tickets, and he did a great job of getting us there, but we had to run as fast as we could and still only made it with 2 minutes to spare (literally!). I really didn't think we were going to make it, but thankfully we did. Sometimes the travel gods smite you (thank you, Philippines), but sometimes they smile on you.

After our overnight train ride to Kunming, we headed straight for the bus station and bought tickets to Dali, a picturesque village about 5 hours away. We had just enough time for a quick lunch and we were on our way. As you might imagine, all that traveling can be exhausting, so we were relieved when the first hotel we tried not only had rooms for us, but was simply gorgeous. Between the mountainous backdrop, purple flowers everywhere, antique furniture in the room, and a private bathroom, we were thrilled. (It was MCA Guesthouse, by the way, for anyone who might be traveling there.)

Sunset over the city gate.

The walled old town of Dali is the main attraction, and our hotel was right outside one of the city gates. The first day we wandered around the old town, which mostly consists of travel agencies, restaurants, souvenir shops, and tourists. Still, it was charming and a nice change from the chaos of downtown Yangshuo. There was even a great bakery called Sweet Tooth that had super cookies and bars (have I mentioned how difficult it is to get good baked goods in China??).

Chillin' in Old Town.

China is home to more than 50 minorities, and the Bai people live mainly in Dali and the surrounding area. It was interesting to see the architecture, which to our eyes looks a little different from Han (majority ethnic group) architecture but probably looks massively different to the Chinese.

Bai architecture tends to be white with blue decorative painting--pretty!

On the second day, we rented a tandem bicycle to explore the neighboring villages, Lake Erhai, and the three pagodas. The three pagodas are the most famous site in the area, and were built more than 1,000 years ago. They're just outside of town, so we went there first.

Three pagodas.

Just to give you an idea of how much and how quickly China is changing, our guidebook, which was published in 2006 and the latest edition available at the time, said that the entrance fee was 10 RMB, or about $1.30. When we got there, we were stunned to find that the fee had been raised to 121 RMB, or $17! We were completely unprepared to spend that much, so we just admired the view from the parking lot.

Our real view of the pagodas! (Note the ubiquitous tour buses.)

Our next stop was a little village on Lake Erhai, an ear-shaped lake a few kilometers away from the old town. We thought we'd walk along the lake, but that turned out to be impossible--the village ran right up to the water and there wasn't anywhere to walk. It was nice to see some unrestored Bai architecture, though, and to escape the tour buses.

Authentic Bai architecture.

The ride to and from Dali was the best part because of the way the sun was shining on the rice paddies and mountains. It was sunny and the air was clean and clear (no smog!).

Hope you're not tired of rice paddies yet...

Dali was a great stop for us to recharge our batteries after traveling for so long, but beyond that, there wasn't a lot to do and we had limited time, so after a couple of days we left for Lijiang, about 3 hours away by minibus.