October 15, 2005 Dali, Yunnan, China
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The next day I rode a bike to a small Naxi village. Tourists were being bussed here, but they confined themselves to one street that was full of tacky souvenir stalls. Once I got beyond that, the village was nice. I rode further to the base of the beautiful Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It’s actually possible to take a cable car up 4500 m to the top, but with the requisite tour, entry fee, and tickets to go up and back down it is prohibitively expensive. I rode to a place up on a hill where they are building a huge… thing. Artisans were making carvings on a huge stone stairway up to an enormous stone platform with stone pillars. I wonder if the authorities decided to create a new tourist attraction. Whatever it is, it is very elaborate.
The following day it was time to leave, so I took a bus to the start of the Tiger Leaping Gorge mini trek. The gorge, at the start of the might Yangtze river, is one of the deepest in the world, and is spectacular. The trek was easy but rewarding. There were many people, mainly budget minded Israelis, but I hardly saw anyone outside of the guest houses.
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The first night I stayed at the lovely Tea Horse Trade Guest House, which is not in the Lonely Planet, which is the reason it is so nice. Fewer people stay there, so the owners are friendly and their food is good. It was a pleasant place to talk with laid back travelers. The second night I stayed at the Mid Gorge Inn, also not in the Lonely Planet. There was nobody else here, so the owners were happy to have me, and their food was wonderful. If you’re doing this trek, rip out the worthless pages about it in your Lonely Planet and give these nice people your business.
Today I made a complicated trip to Dali. First I flagged a car down to take me back through the gorge to the start of the trek, a terrifying ride over a bumpy road with a sheer drop on one side. Then a minivan back to Lijiang, where I caught a bus to Dali.
Dali is a bigger version of Lijiang. More shops, more Chinese tourists, and Bai women trying to sell me junk every two minutes. Boo yao (no want) makes them go away. This place sounded nice on paper, but I don’t think I’ll be spending too much time here.