Dali is a small city perched between tall green mountains and a large lake. It's an old town, very much done up for tourists - backpacker guesthouses, trendy cafes, pizza restaurants, etc. It's laid back though and the Chinese culture protrudes comfortably about the tourists, and you don't have to walk far to see traditional ways of life. Today I hired a bicycle and went for a cycle to the nearby lake Er Hai. There wasn't much to do there but take a ferry, so I headed back along the road I came. I chanced upon seeing two foreigners on their bikes following a local lady with a baby on her back down a narrow alleyway close to the lake. I decided to follow them, and found myself peddling along muddy concrete, past old men smoking tobacco, dirty kids with big grins, men and women mixing concrete, old houses and rubble overgrown with vines. It was quite charming, and then I caught up with them.
They were Germans who'd found a lady to take them cormorant fishing. I decided to join them. Parked our bikes in a farm, then jumped into the lady's husband's boat, full with cormorant birds. Out we went into the lake and the birds got to work. They're well trained and know what to do. It wasn't long before they returned to the boat to be lifted back in, regurgitating caught fish into a bucket.
I later rode about about the countryside by myself, lost in thought. This is a nice place.
3 comments:
I stayed in the guesthouse up the mountain (you need to take the chairlift to get to it). Very nice - you'd like the family dinner they do every night. This is where I learned how to play Chinese chess. I stayed there because I got sick of all the old ladies trying to sell me ganga.
Hey Yoni,
I found the little old ladies selling pot to be very polite. Once I told them I didn't want any they didn't bother for the rest of the time I was there.
Dave
Hello chaps. Yes, Dali was a fun relaxed place. And the ganja ladies were indeed very friendly. They kept trying their luck on me though, despite my constant refusal. Maybe it was my beard (which is on the come-back).
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