DaLi: Erhai Lake

I'm still in DaLi, but leaving tomorrow for Tongcheng, and then on to Mangshi after that....then flying back to Kunming from Mangshi on Tuesday, then to Shanghai on Wednesday.....then there for 3 nights before going back to London, and then New York!

 

So now everyone knows my schedule. Good.

 

Just after my last blog post, Mark and I went to a great noodle place where we had spicy cold noodles with chicken - we both got small bowls for 3 RMB, but I wished I had had a bigger bowl, since they were really delicious. After that I was still a bit hungry, so we went to a place across the street where they cooked vegetables in a sort of hot pot and then the cooked vegetables were served in a soup. It had sichuan peppercorns but wasn't too spicy - but it made the tongue feel tingly with the 'ma la' sensation.

 

After lunch, Mark and I walked with our bags in the blazing sun up to the chairlif - about a 20 minute walk, which was a bit uphill and very hot. We took a chairlift up the mountain, where we were immediately summoned in to the Budhist temple, where we lit incense, said a prayer, wrote a wish in a book and then paid money to help our wish be granted. Mark paid 100 RMB for his wish, which meant he received a little charm on a necklace. I was cheap and only paid 10 RMB for my wish, so I got nothing, and probably my wish won't come true.

 

We stayed at a place called Higherland Inn - the views of the valley and lake down below were really nice, but it was kind of chilly out, especially at night. We took a small hike to a nearby waterfall in the afternoon, then just relaxed in the evening. This morning, after breakfast, we came back down the mountain and checked into the Jade Emu hotel, where the German girls had stayed two nights earlier. It's a really nice place and the staff are friendly, and they helped us organize a taxi to take us up to three different villages along Erhai Lake.

 

We had a good trip, took a bunch of pictures, and tried some good food. The villages had little touristy pockets, but for the most part people were going about their everyday lives and we had a good glimpse into traditional life around here. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures at some point.

 

But now it's off to enjoy the last night in DaLi before my potentially endless busride tomorrow.