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Dali and Lijiang or
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After our "fun" night on the "sleeper" bus to New Dali we needed to catch a cab to Old Dali. We were lucky enough to share a "taxi" with some other westerners to get there. They all sat in the front of this small truck while Sarah and I offered to take the back. Our ride was more like a trip in a paddy wagon, we sat on small metal seats, there were no windows to see out from, and the only way to open the door was from the outside. Just another example of something that wouldn't be legal back home.
Old Dali is actually fairly new as far as the buildings are concerned. They have all been rebuilt in the style of their older counterparts that were destroyed by an earthquake in the 1920's. Between the newer buildings with painted on brick, the endless supply of souvenir shops, and the nonstop stream of Chinese tour groups, we felt Dali had a extremely fake feeling to it. It seems like a tourist spot where the tourists come to see... more tourists! The only plus was that we found a great place to stay where we could abuse the free internet privileges and upload all our India pictures (as you can tell, I am once again way behind on traveloguing). We did take a nice hike up a nearby mountain to check out a temple but it was just a temple in Dali-form (touristy) and I wasn't really in the market for a macramed Buddha. Still, the hike was nice.
From Dali we were on to Lijiang, another hot-spot for Chinese tour groups (they are easy to spot with their matching hats and flag bearing leader). Lijiang did have the benefit of having their ancient buildings intact as well as having a pretty impressive maze of canals winding through the city. Take a leisurely stroll through town and you'll see cameras everywhere with a multitude of cameramen posing their subjects in front of all the scenic spots.
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