Dali - Old Town - best part to stay in
Trip Start
May 09, 2012
1
14
19
Trip End
Jun 22, 2012
Where I stayed
Dali, Yunnan, China
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Dali
I left Shangri-La and took the long-distance Express Bus which dropped me at the beginning of the Old Town of Dali. From the South Gate I took a taxi to Jade Emu, near the North Gate – my abode for the next couple of days. The land is rich and well-cultivated between Shangri-La and Dali, and it was an enjoyable journey. Dali is divided into the New and Old town – I was staying in the Old town – much nicer, even if rather touristy.
My guesthouse is owned by an Aussie – they have taken over Dali as they have been going there for years, but I am not complaining – it was excellent – great service, wonderful spotless room with en suite and really quiet at night. Because there was a mix-up with my booking, I stayed in a neighbouring brand-new hotel – I lucked out there!
Dali has an altitude of 1900 ms and is sandwiched between the beautiful 25 mile long Er Hai (a lake) and the 4000 m Green Mountains as a backdrop. The people of this area are The Bai Minority group. You can also see the remains of the Ming City walls, which surrounded the town and there are many cobbled streets and lanes.
I spent my first day there visiting the old town – they have a market on Friday which is patronised by locals, farmers and tourists. You will find people playing Mah Jong, dominoes, and other card games in the street. I spent some time hiking in the mountains – I took the cable car up and hiked down. I also went to see cormorant fishing on Er Hai – I had seen this before when I was in Burma. Many people hire bicycles as it is easy to traverse the city by bike.
My guesthouse was fully booked all the time I was there. The staff are fantastic – look after you and give you all the help you need, including booking trips, buses, plane tickets etc. I met some Aussies who were at TLG the same time as me so we shared our experiences over a beer one evening. I enjoyed my time here more than I expected – not too over-run with tourists.
