From Lijiang to Kunming with a stop in Dali
Returning to Kunming to Lijiang was a lot more pleasurable than traveling from Kunming to Lijiang on that bumpy, dusty and musty overnight bus. For our return trip we chose to take a bus to Dali from Lijiang. From Dali we would then take an overnight to Kunming. This seems like the best choice to travel from Lijiang to Kunming.
In Dali we visited the Old Town. Like Lijiang's Old Town this place was for tourists, so it had it's appeal, but at the same time we all knew it was for tourists, so it was not 100% authentic. Dali is a great little town with a lake just down the hill and a huge looming mountain behind. Because of the all the mountains right behind the city there are lots of backpackers and hikers who use Dali as a starting point for their travels. This means that you will find a store selling North Face jackets or outdoor supplies on almost every block.
For lunch that day we wanted to find a restaurant recommended in the our guide book, but after talking to some locals we learned it had been torn down. So we got a recommendation from some girls selling North Face jackets. When we found the place we were told that there was no menu. The man told us all we needed to do was pick out what we wanted to eat and how he wanted us to prepare. This was a pretty neat experience. It was also great how we could customize our dishes to all of our tastes or requirements. The owner was even nice enough to let us watch him cook the dishes after he had taken all of our orders.
The afternoon was pretty relaxing. It basically involved a little shopping for gifts and riding bicycles around. There are plenty of places to rent bicycles that you can take for the whole day. We only rode for a couple hours because we needed to catch our train, but we still had plenty of time to ride down to the nearby lake and the Three Pagodas.
Dali is a nice place to stay, but I think it is kind of small. Despite this, I hear that there are lots of people who get to Dali and end up staying longer than they expect. I think it might be related to how easy it is to get drugs. I was not approached, but my friends were approached by a couple ladies offering to sell them weed. It was great because it was unexpected. These ladies dressed up in some sort of traditional dress would approach them and try to sell them a bunch souvenirs, but then when it was obvious they were not interested, the ladies would immediately try to sell them pot. Apparently there is also a great shoe repair economy in Dali, or so it seems from the number of shops. One man approached me from across the street and told me that I needed my shoes repaired. I reassured him that they were fine, but he insisted and then bent over to point something out on my shoe. Not really paying to my shoes in the last couple days I thought that maybe something was wrong, but I soon realized he wasn't pointing at anything. He just tried to find anything wrong with my shoe and point it out. Eventually he gave up and we moved on.
After a bus ride to the airport where we met a nice young girl who was excited to learn and go to school and a train where I met a fellow computer scientist turned hotel manager who dreamed about traveling around the world we made it Kunming very early in the morning. We did not get a chance to ring in the new year because the lights on the train were turned off before midnight.
In Dali we visited the Old Town. Like Lijiang's Old Town this place was for tourists, so it had it's appeal, but at the same time we all knew it was for tourists, so it was not 100% authentic. Dali is a great little town with a lake just down the hill and a huge looming mountain behind. Because of the all the mountains right behind the city there are lots of backpackers and hikers who use Dali as a starting point for their travels. This means that you will find a store selling North Face jackets or outdoor supplies on almost every block.
For lunch that day we wanted to find a restaurant recommended in the our guide book, but after talking to some locals we learned it had been torn down. So we got a recommendation from some girls selling North Face jackets. When we found the place we were told that there was no menu. The man told us all we needed to do was pick out what we wanted to eat and how he wanted us to prepare. This was a pretty neat experience. It was also great how we could customize our dishes to all of our tastes or requirements. The owner was even nice enough to let us watch him cook the dishes after he had taken all of our orders.
The afternoon was pretty relaxing. It basically involved a little shopping for gifts and riding bicycles around. There are plenty of places to rent bicycles that you can take for the whole day. We only rode for a couple hours because we needed to catch our train, but we still had plenty of time to ride down to the nearby lake and the Three Pagodas.
Dali is a nice place to stay, but I think it is kind of small. Despite this, I hear that there are lots of people who get to Dali and end up staying longer than they expect. I think it might be related to how easy it is to get drugs. I was not approached, but my friends were approached by a couple ladies offering to sell them weed. It was great because it was unexpected. These ladies dressed up in some sort of traditional dress would approach them and try to sell them a bunch souvenirs, but then when it was obvious they were not interested, the ladies would immediately try to sell them pot. Apparently there is also a great shoe repair economy in Dali, or so it seems from the number of shops. One man approached me from across the street and told me that I needed my shoes repaired. I reassured him that they were fine, but he insisted and then bent over to point something out on my shoe. Not really paying to my shoes in the last couple days I thought that maybe something was wrong, but I soon realized he wasn't pointing at anything. He just tried to find anything wrong with my shoe and point it out. Eventually he gave up and we moved on.
After a bus ride to the airport where we met a nice young girl who was excited to learn and go to school and a train where I met a fellow computer scientist turned hotel manager who dreamed about traveling around the world we made it Kunming very early in the morning. We did not get a chance to ring in the new year because the lights on the train were turned off before midnight.
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