Dali

It was another overnight train to Dali, this one only lasting 7 hours and on the same type of nice, new train I took from Guangzhou to Guilin.

I arrived in Dali rested delighted by the fresh, crisp, cool mountain air.

The train line to Dali was completed just a few years ago, but it ends in the new town, called Xiaguan. From there, it's a 40 minute bus ride to "Old Dali”, which is where tourists gravitate.

Dali is fantastic. It's an old, walled Chinese city with cobblestone streets, lively markets, and entirely old, or at least "old-style" Chinese architecture. That said, there's no denying that it's one big tourist trap. But it's still a very pleasant place to pass the time. The streets are eminently strollable, the traffic is light, and the streets are lively and colorful.

I stayed at the Old Dali No. 5 Hostel, which was one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. It's the ultimate backpackers' hangout, with pool tables, terraced dining areas, a library, free internet, a courtyard, multi-level terraces on the roof, and a very laid-back and sociable vibe. My room cost me $1.25. The delicious breakfast buffet cost the same.

Dali enjoys a phenomenal location. The old city sits on a gentle slope overlooking Lake Erhai to the east. The steep, lushly forested Cunghan Mountains rise directly behind the town to the west. In between lake, town, and mountains are fields of rice and other crops. Throughout my stay in Dali, the weather was terrific, mild, and sunny.

I met a number of people at the hostel and found myself leading a busy social life for a change. I got to know Emmaline, my age, from England, Judy, a photographer, from Australia, and Frank, retired and a total character, from Austin, Texas. We borrowed bicycles from the hostel and set out exploring. Our goal was to cross the lake on a boat and continue riding on the other side. But there appeared to be no scheduled service and we didn’t want to pay to charter the entire boat for ourselves. Then we went to see the pagodas but, again, we were all too cheap to front the entrance fee (which seemed quite overpriced at $15 per person). So instead we just rode around the surrounding countryside.

There were lots of others at the hostel: Brits, Irish, and lots of Israelis. The Israelis definitely outnumbered us all. I even ran into the same two Israelis I had met on the train to Kunming.

The restaurants are very touristy, serving Western food, and were something of a disappointment. However, for my final night, we ate at a Tibetan restaurant and we all had a delicious meal of Yak goulash with vegetables and brown bread.

On my second day I went for a solo hike up the mountain behind us to the temple. It was a steep hike, from Dali’s 6,000 feet through forests of pine and bamboo and cypress to a temple at 7,500 feet. Scattered about the mountain slopes are ancestral shrines. At the top I met my friends who had taken the cable car. We continued up some stairs from the temple to find a hostel even further up the mountain. It was rustic, relaxed and very new-age. Actually, maybe this is the "old age" that today's "new age" is copying. Simple surroundings, eastern philosophy, a Taoist incense-burning cave, and in the midst of nature. We had lunch of veggies and noodles and homemade chocolate cake.

On the final night we went out to a bar called the Bad Monkey, run by a British guy in dreadlocks. I was curious to know how this foreigner was able to own his own business here. I imagine that what he’s doing is not technically legal, but made possible through under-the-table dealings (bribes).