Dali: A Home Away From Home

We’ve only been in Dali for two-three days now, but we love it. We’ve loved it since the day we got here. (I think a large part of how we feel about a new place depends on where we come from, and Kunming doesn’t set high standards; though I’m pretty sure we’d love Dali no matter where we came from.) We are staying at this incredible and cozy little hostel called the Sleepy Fish. It’s only a year old—recently opened compared to a lot of others in Dali. The owners are two wonderful ladies, an American woman and an English woman. The hostel is located not far from the east gate of the Ancient City, and because the ancient city is only 1.8 km by 1.8 km, no matter where you are you’re within walking distance of everywhere. The best part of it though, is that we’re sort of opposite the main areas (Boai Lu, Foreigner Street and Renmin Lu), so we get all the convenience without the noise. Our hostel also has reasonably priced, excellent Western breakfasts. Let me point out that Western breakfasts always (no matter where you go) are at least four times the price of a Chinese breakfast (street food); but, of all the luxuries of home, there’s nothing like starting a busy day of sightseeing or an active day of hiking with a solid breakfast of eggs and coffee. Usually, two slimy eggs, bland white toast and coffee will cost somewhere around 30 RMB. Here at the Sleepy Fish, you choose two of the following: 2 eggs, whole wheat toast, oatmeal (with hot milk and honey), yoghurt, French toast (made with whole wheat bread, with either syrup or honey) or pancakes, for 16 RMB, which also includes either coffee (made from espresso) or tea. I’ve had everything except the pancakes, and it’s excellent! You can’t find whole wheat bread/toast anywhere so it’s a real treat! I also have it on solid authority (from Max, one of the owners) that the pancakes are real pancakes (not the gross yellow ones you get at other establishments), which I intend to test out tomorrow. Also, the honey they normally serve here is from a hive up on the mountain, but unfortunately, because of the 8 month drought, there are no bees on the mountain at the moment. Ooo… and, they also have granola bars here. That’s another thing we’ve missed, is a hearty, healthy granola bar to snack on. All we end up with are bananas and some sort of cakey-like bread. All in all, we love it here!
Okay, so, it may not sound like we’re having the most authentic Chinese experience at the moment, but I think that’s part of why we love Dali so much. The ancient city is still traditional enough that you can watch the old Bai women and villagers going about their day to day lives (mind you, one of the day to day activities of the old ladies also includes going up to foreigners and asking “Smokey smokey gonja? Just looky!), while still being able to find the comforts of home when you want them. For example, our hostel and breakfast aside, they have a at least four or five Western bakeries, which means chocolate chip cookies. You can’t find chocolate chip cookies in the normal Chinese bakeries, and on a rainy night, you really start to crave them—the chocolate chip cookies at Sweet Tooth are wonderful! We’ve also had excellent brownies, real apple crumble and some of the best Indian food we’ve ever tried, with plans to have what are supposed to be excellent mango milk shakes, sweets from the newly opened French patisserie across the lake, and real cheese (edam, gouda, etc). At the same time, there’s always excellent and cheap kabobs, breads, and my all time favourite pancake thingies, to be had around just about every corner.

Believe it or not, there are other things to do in Dali. The ancient city is very nicely positioned with Er Hai Lake on one side, and the Green Mountains on the other. The first night we arrived in the ancient city, we happened to stumble upon some of our Israeli friends whom we met earlier on in Suzhou, and spent the next two days with them. The first day we went hiking up the Green Mountain. Usually, this involves paying 30-40 RMB to take the cable car up and another 40 RMB or so to enter the scenic route. However, a little birdie told us about a way to climb one of the various paths us the mountain, and get passed a small barbwire road block, and enjoy the closed off trail free of tourists, before coming back down right before the ticketed area. In total, we walked up the mountain and along the “Travelling/Wandering Cloud” path for just over 20 km. It was a beautiful hike—a real hike, through the bushes, on eroded dirt trails and all—with break-taking views and peaceful, tourist free surroundings. Compliments of our Israeli friends, we made a little pit stop at a little shelter near the creek and rested with a hot cup of coffee. Thank goodness for it too because the hike was longer than we expected and didn’t really pack a lunch. I don’t think we would’ve made it down in such good spirits without the extra kick. You can always rely on Avi and Gal to have a constant supply of coffee. They bought themselves a little propane burner and travel mug set and take it with them everywhere. They’re handy to have around for sure. As we started approaching the way down, we could hear thunder behind us, and at one point you could even see the rain coming down hard at the other end of the lake. We kept an eye on it and it was catching up to us quite quickly. We debated whether to wait it out under a shelter or to try to beat it down. People were starving, and we opted to try to beat it down the mountain (another hour at least), and we failed. We got pissed on, but it was awesome! The earth around here is a rich red colour and when it’s wet it turns into a type of clay. We were drenched (even with raincoats) and were sliding all over the place. One of the girls, Dana, was wearing sandals and she was in particularly rough shape, and we were all fairly muddy! We basically ran down (which doesn’t help traction much) and it was a bit of a rush. Rain and shine, it was a great hike and a great way to spend the day. We headed into the city, grabbed a little lunch, showered up and met again later that evening for a little R&R. Now, the definition of R&R varies respectively. For Avi and I, R&R was a pub crawl, but instead of pubs, it was desert—brownies, chocolate chip cookies, vanilla rice cake, and home-made-on-the-spot apple crumble with ice cream; for Darren, Gal and Grace (a girl from England) it was an hour massage at one of the many parlours. It was perfect!
The next morning, because we had been bragging so much about our home-made, whole wheat bread and cheap breakfasts, everyone walked over to our hostel to come eat. From there we rented bikes and attempted to ride to the patisserie. We thought a scenic route would be better than taking the highway, and while it was an adventure, it was also a few hours riding in circles. We rode through rice paddies and corn fields, all the way to a pier or a dock, only to be turned around and heading down a rather bumpy (hard on the sit-bones) path, reach a dead end and have to turn around. We wound through the various fishing/farming villages, which was nice, but ultimately led us right back to where we started. Determined to get to this one village in particular (Grace was pretty set on going for a swim), we headed back to the highway to make our way (it was already pretty late by then). We rode for a while and stopped for a little rest and some lunch. Hmmm… lunch.

With all the great food around, we stopped at a little road side restaurant, and Darren did the honours of ordering. (Eating with a full vegetarian, partial vegetarian, and a semi-kosher Israeli always makes the ordering process difficult). To make the story short however, we ordered half a chicken (which they butchered right there and then), which was cut up into pieces and cooked—head, feet, neck and all—which was also primarily bones. As Darren was ordering, he watched her write down the dishes and price them, the chicken was priced at 38 RMB, an average price. When we asked for the bill (barely eating any of the chicken because of all the bones) it was 200+ RMB. Apparently, the chicken was 38 RMB per kilo, at 4.5 kilos. First of all, she didn’t explain this to Darren when he was asking how much it was (which she says was because of the language barrier, but seemed to explain quite clearly once it came time to pay); secondly, there was no way in hell there was 4.5 kilos of chicken, even with the bones; and thirdly, you can buy a whole live chicken for 40 RMB a block away. This lady had a battle on her hands. We were arguing, drawing pictures of chickens, writing down numbers, crossing out numbers, exclaiming “Bu xing! Bu xing!” (Not acceptable! Not acceptable), and getting people on the phone to translate, only to be informed that she wasn’t going to let us leave for less than 190 RMB. Unfortunately, in the great scheme of things, the rules of business and ethics we’re used to at home don’t apply in China, and the extra money wasn’t worth risking trouble with the police (especially since, with the Chinese police, we would basically have no rights). So, Darren managed to settle the whole meal at 170 RMB, and we all got back on our bikes, slightly perturbed, and kept riding.

After getting a little more lost, and stopping to ask for directions at every crossroads, we finally found a guy who took us all the way into the village and to a outlet right on the water. It was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we took so long getting there that e only had ten minutes before they closed the gate. Grace didn’t miss the opportunity to get in for a swim, and the locals didn’t miss their opportunity to gawk and holler at the white girl in a bikini. Poor thing didn’t think twice about it and was a little nervous getting out of the water. But we took our pictures, packed up, and stopped at a pretty little place outside the gate, where all the farmers graze their dairy cows, and of course, had a nice cup of coffee before we rode back. Again, without that coffee I don’t think we would’ve made it back alive! We booked it on the highway, again trying to beat some ominous clouds coming over the mountains, and just hungry and tired and ready to shower and be comfortable. We managed to get back in an hour and a half, getting us back to our hostel around 8 pm (the World Cup game started at 10), and the ride back couldn’t have been more exhausting. We were all so tired, and so dirty (the trucks on the highway spew black clouds of exhaust to choke your lungs). Needless to say, all of our butts were sore from the hard seats, and it was a night of a little more R&R. This time, the guys and Dana headed off to watch the World Cup, and Grace and I went for a massage. We walked around bargaining prices with the various parlours, and finally found one that would give as an hour massage (half shoulders and back, half feet) for 40 RMB (less than $10). Our masseuses were two boys, probably fifteen or sixteen years old, but they were strong and their elbows were pointy. It was a bit painful at parts, with them digging their thumbs into all the right/wrong places, but it felt incredible! My shoulders this morning are killing me, but it’s like the feeling of sore but loose muscles after a good workout. We finished off the night by buying one of the bakeries out of brownies, and watching the last ten minutes of the game.
Today, we were going to go to the monastery to do a little Kung Fu, but it was 300 RMB, and only worth doing if you stay for a few days. So instead, we’re doing nothing. I’m catching up on some blogging (obviously), Darren’s reading, and later we’re just going to wander around the city and take it easy. Tomorrow, it’s back to active enjoyment with a little kayaking, so today we’re going to enjoy our rest. Hope you’re all well, and congratulations to all of you graduating today/yesterday. I was thinking about you as I was biking around the lake and a little sad that I couldn’t be there with you. I hope it was a wonderful day (I heard it was sunny), and you/we should all be proud of our four year (for some longer, and for others shorter) accomplishment! Can’t wait to see what wonderful things everyone goes onto, and maybe I’ll see some of you in the teaching program in January (keeping my fingers crossed). Congrats again and we’ll have a belated celebration when I come home in four to five months!