Dali

From Lijiang I took a 4 hour bus ride to Dali.  It felt like we were driving in the clouds - we were so high. It was a beautiful ride.  I sat next to a tour guide.  She found it funny that she is always talking to foreigners and of course ended up next to the only foreigner on the bus.

Dali has a population of around 590,000 people.  It's a very laid back city located near mountains and a lake.

There is an Old Town with many cafes and shops.  It's quite different than Lijiang's Old Town.  There aren't as many tourists, the streets are much easier to navigate, and there seems to be more foreigners.

I found some of the shops to be confusing.

 (This one sells duck heads and mens clothing)

(Ice cream and shoes)

The restaurants display their food outside.

I'm not going to post the picture of the cow skin I found in the street.  It was just laying there outside a shop with a little bit of blood.

(A typical butcher)

One night I met up with a coworker from Xi'an.  After playing beer pong at his hostel we went and found a Dali 'rave'. It was not what I would call a rave but it was a great time - outside, music, dancing, sparklers, and a few people.

(Beer Pong)

 (The rave)

I decided to try hostel dorm life in Dali.  It is a much cheap way to travel than getting my own room and something I've never done (which is unheard of in the hostel world).  I didn't meet many people in Lijiang so I thought staying in a dorm would be a good way to meet people in Dali.

The room would have had 3 other people but it remained empty the entire time I was there.  Luckily I did meet a couple of older Australian women that were staying in my hostel.    There was also a Chinese cooking show chef building a pizza oven at the hostel for his TV show.    What are the odds??  He's from Canada and is shooting the 3rd season of his show that airs on the Chinese Travel Channel.  It was interesting to talk to him about the differences between shooting a reality show in China and in the US.