Dali and the bustrips

The trip from Lijiang to Dali was actually easier than we expected. We took a cab to the station, and waited in a huge line. Although the girl at the counter didn't speak much English, she did understand Dali, and two fingers: we got two tickets to Dali! The bus (picture left) and trip in the bus, were great: the views and the experience of travelling in a local bus with Chinese (who might not have been so happy with those tall and large foreigners.


Leaving the bus, we were immediately 'welcomed' by a dozen taxi drivers (most who gave up after realizing that two Western tourists with bags, will probably not share a motor cab). One girl was the most happy insisting guest house driver and brought us to her family's guesthouse (see picture left). When we arrived, the family was decorating the place for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Dali is just not Lijiang. It is nice, it has some cute buildings (including the wall and towers), but is just isn't as cute as Lijiang is.Tip: the Tibet cafe might donate part of the revenue to charity, better to just donate the money and forget the food: awful is not enough to describe the greasy food they serve. Better food was found at a place on the other side: you can see Anna smile and they even let me take a picture of the kitchen.

After one short day in Dali, we headed off to Kunming. This time in a larger bus. Although the Lonely Planet had advised to tale the train, the girl from the guesthouse explained us that the train takes around 10 hours, while the bus covers the distance in around five hours: an easy choice. Fortunately, the karaoke set remained unused and the movie was The Rock, with Chinese subtitles!