Dali - 大理
Our last stop in Yunnan was Dali. We
stayed at an AirBnB a little outside of the city, near ErHai lake. This, and
our choice to stay 3 nights in the same place, was the best decision. After
quite a bit of movement on the front end of our trip and hiking the TLG, I
needed some serious chill time. We had been traveling at a pretty good pace, so
my grandma self was ready to take it easy.
Dali was by far my favorite city in
Yunnan. It had a very relaxed vibe and slow pace. One of the first days we
wanted to check out the area, so we rented scooters and scooted around ErHai
lake. Emma and I had a freaking blast. We rode pretty far and got to see a lot
of farm land and little villages. Chinese farming life and how it differs from province to province fascinates
me.
Another day we went to climb
Cangshan, which ended up being an off-road disaster that I still haven't
forgiven Dan and Emma for. There was a surplus of snow and ice and zero fun.
The number of times I thought I was going to slide down the mountain and into my
death = too numerous to count.
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| DALI - Best seen via MOO MOO SCOOTER |
I really loved the houses in the
area. I love sunshine and big windows, and because Yunnan is known for
"eternal spring weather", people can have houses with huge windows
and not pay a lot of money for heating and/or cooling. I also loved that the
area we were in wasn't typically Chinese: houses and apartment complexes
stacked on top of one another. (So suffocating). There was a lot of space and
quiet. After not having that simple thing for a really long time, it felt like
a luxury.
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| Yunnan Coffee is considered a specialty, so of course I had no problem paying the extra moolah! |
Also, the stars. OHMYGOSH the STARS.
The clearest night sky I have seen since last summer in America. I could have sat on the roof all night long.
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| walking back from the lake with 爸爸 |
Dali was just what I needed at exactly the right time. I was able to spend some time doing things that I don’t ever get to do in China.
In America, it’s so simple to go for a walk, be alone, or spend an afternoon in a coffee shop and not be bothered or whispered about. But in China, it’s almost impossible to be anonymous anywhere, especially in Gongyi. But in Dali, I was able to have a little amount of normalcy, which I really appreciated.
"She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules . . . 'Time' for her isn't something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water." - Roman Payne
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1 comments
Hey Sarah...good post...always wanted to visit Dali - never got the chance...know what you mean about the stars and clear sky...don't miss Gotham City at all. Thanks for the post and pics.
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