Looks like I am going to always be a day behind! Ah well. Yesterday we took a bus from Kunming to Dali, a 4-5 hour trip away. Dali was one of those undiscovered gems, places that people would reluctantly talk about for fear or spoiling its untouched beauty. Well, it has not only been touched, but fondled, poked and molested! While still a far cry from the madness of the cities, it is full of shops, stalls and street hawkers (including old ladies trying to sell you ganja, I kid you not).
Yet somehow, despite all the tacky tourism, Dali is still a fantastic place to chill out, take in some breathtaking sites and try some crazy food. Michelle and I walked around the old city walls on our first night, and we managed to catch a guy setting off a huge amount of firecrackers on the street below. We then headed into town where I ate some grilled local yak cheese and Michelle bought some peanuts wrapped in spun sugar. Yummy!
Because the region is mostly made up of ethnic minorities, they are allowed to have two and sometimes three children. This combined with the fact that they are a bit more laid back than their urban cousins means that the kids are far less spoiled and therefore are much more approachable. In fact, the locals on the whole are just a touch friendlier. Even the street hawkers will give up after the first “boo yao” (do not want).
