Dali - Part 1

Well - I'm in Dali. I wasn't going to come here as a lot of people told me to give it a miss - but then the Chinese guys from the dorm in Kunming said I should give it a try. And I'm so glad I did.

Another monster coach journey to get here though. Two bits of the express way were out of action, so it made a four hour journey six hours long across some really rough roads - and the guy in the seat next to me seemed to think his ticket included half my seat. I spent most of the journey fighting for enough space to sit down.

One slightly confusing thing, is there are three places called Dali, and the bus drops you at the new Dali (which is actually called Xiaguan - as opposed to Dali New Town (which I didn't want to go to either), but I managed to get a bus to old Dali for 20 pence - which saved me a whole one pounds and eighty pence had I got a taxi!

Dali is a walled city which was built in the 14th Century, and has been well preserved. It's a tourist destination, so can be a bit busy, but most of the people walking around are either locals or Chinese tourists. Interestingly - there is a street which the locals call Foreigner Street - although it was packed with Chinese tourists - but if you do go there - you'll know what love is :-)

Here are some pics:









The North Gate:



Pagoda in the centre of town:







The food so far in China has been incredible - and one of my favourite Chinese foods is dumplings - so when I saw a place that sold vege dumplings I was straight in to try them. And I'd have to say - they were the best dumplings I've ever had.

And here they are - just 40 pence for this little lot (I'd already eaten two before thinking to take a pic hence the gap):



The dumpling steamer:



No meat, no MSG, no eggs - it's all good:



Intestines drying in the cool evening breeze (and those are stomachs behind if you were wondering):

Shilin

Shilin - better known as the Stone Forest - is a two hour bus journey from Kunming and makes a great day out. The Stone Forest is a series of Limestone Karst formations, and some of the formations are unique to this one site.

It's a Unesco World Heritage Site - and while it's a great place to go - it does feel as if it's been Disneyfied a bit. At 14 pounds, it's a bit pricey to get in - but I thought it was totally worth it. And if your interested in geology (even just a little bit) there are loads of informative displays through out the park...well worth a visit.

It's very popular with Chinese tourists - but if you walk ten minutes away from the main area you can have most of it pretty much to yourself. At one point I was walking for a couple of hours and only saw a few people. I actually thought the best views were in the quiet bits - so really enjoyed it.

Here are some pics:



The famous "Rabbit Wearing Basket On Head:



Rare limestone formation - said to be at least 65 million years old:



There were quite a lot of cameras throughout the park - but there was zero graffiti and no damage to the rocks which was really impressive. It might be a bit Disneyfied - but serious efforts are being made to look after the forest.



Antique Cliffy Paintings of Stone Forest - in other words graffiti:



On a serious note - these drawings are said to be almost 2000 years old:



Classic Limestone Karst:



The Eternal Mushroom:









Woman wandering with child - no - I couldn't see it either:



Fossilised Coral:



Everyone is filled with wonder:



Perhaps not:



Elephant Rock:



The manicured bit - it looks so much like a golf course:



And just in case you'd forgotten what I look like: