Again quite early start including check out (8:30).
South to Weishan – brand new road means this is only just over an hour from Dali.
Lovely well preserved old market town (really just the main strip preserved) – rarely visited by tourists, although the new road might well change all that. We were more watched than watching!
Back to Dali for light lunch at Kaiyi’s Kitchen (still great veg, sticky chicken and sweet) then on north to Shaxi – long drive.
Daisy took snaps of Sha Ping from a distance and zillions of snaps along the way. Ged slept mostly.
Time for an early evening stroll around this charming little town. We are staying in a guesthouse which is one of the old wooden courtyard houses on the main square – charming.
We shower and take a simple meal with pumpkin soup and Taiwan/Fujian style noodles and veg and local wine.
Again aimed for early start (Ged is not feeling too terrific)
Light breakfast.
Went to Xizhou, a small Bai market town (everyday market). Bought some hemp seeds and took loads of photos there in market.
Also walked through town – visited a couple of old houses (now small apartment complexes).
Then on to Zhouchen village, an even smaller town with every day markets, two banyan trees and a stage. Bought tub for seeds.
Then onto three pagodas – lovely gardens and close look at pagodas – then onto marble factory (shop) for several gift is. Then home.
Brief pitstop then into town for a beer, soup (chicken and mushroom/ham and veg), internet access to tell folks we’re phoneless!
Draw dosh and look at some more shirts and wallets (bought chopsticks and last night’s shirts). Then to Sweet Tooth for coffee and cookies served by deaf but efficient staff.
Back for some R&R and went through copious photos from today before packing a bit, going to Café de Jack where the staff weren’t deaf but sure were dumb! Still charming and sweet.
Ate veg, lasagna, local beer (me), wine (Daisy) and strolled to supermarket before returning home.
Set off at 8:30 in direction of Cangshan Mountains.
Took new cable car (southern end, Austrian bubble)uup the mountain, climb steps for 10 to 15 minutes and then walked 11 km trail through beautiful hills and valleys.
Then took open air cable car from northern end down (old US car).
Returned to Kaiyi’s Kitchen restaurant (sat on upstairs balcony this time) to try local cheese (fried), ham (with shredded veg) and tomato and beef soup (runny Bolognese).
Then off and direction of Lake – no time for marble factory today but we get to boat early enough to get earlier boat.
Rocky ride out! Island okay to explore – basically a Bai fishing village (no pagoda!!)
Then back (felt less rocky – asleep some of the time) and rescue Janie from French with big cameras!
Short rest (mainly spent reviewing photos) then out for the evening – strolled town a bit – admired but didn’t buy shirts.
Went to Bad Monkey, ate Chinese vegetables, sausage, chops and mash! Some beer and wine – bought some wallets etc on stroll around and then home.
Fine breakfast early – then off to flower market on outskirts of town– Cheung Gong.
Next on to the Stone Forest – took a lengthy stroll.
The alleged likenesses of stones to the Queen, Darth Vader, Homer Simpson etc were a little strained, but it was a lovely site – especially the quieter more distant bits of the forest (see headline picture and below) where the large Chinese tour groups don’t go!
…no-one ever had a brother like Martin…
Then a pit stop (mostly for the driver and increasingly excitable guide Martin).
Then on to a Yi village – Chi Shing – Martin is Yi whereas driver Guan is Bai.
Next on to the Yunnan National Arts Museum – more an antique shop than museum but very interesting on tribal cultures.
Home for some rest, watch the video, then out for a local meal at Derein’s Restaurant in a grand old house. Eel (Yunnan style), duck, oil veg and mushroom rice and local Shaoxing rice wine.
Martin left with some persuasion, still doing business on his mobile.
Enjoyed our evening together and stroll home around like et cetera passing clubs & bars on the way – decided on quiet evening in with cookies and veg.
Packed and took breakfast at DuGe – quirky & good in parts. Peppery sausages were nice.
Sophie met us and took us off to see the Olympic stadium (birds nest) and then on to Chinese medicine centre.
We met lecturer Doctor Hu (you couldn’t make it up) who told us all about it and insisted that Ged must be Shakespeare reincarnated.
Uncanny resemblance.
Dr Hu also arranged for some trainees to massage our feet and for an aged professor to tell us what ails us & sell us some very expensive Chinese medicine cocktails, which we politely declined.
Hardly able to walk now (okay I made up that last bit) we wandered to back to the car and headed off to 798 district – art complex formally factories.
Some very interesting some not so interesting but all a great atmosphere.
Took some refreshments at an outdoor café, then off to the airport.
First class flight Kunming – service excellent, food terrible.
Met by Martin “Mr Fixit” who insists I look like a movie star he cannot name – Lucien from Underworld – that’s Michael Sheen.
Kind words, Martin – in my dreams I look like him – click the picture to see the fandom wiki
Took us to surprisingly splendid Green Lake Hotel and even hung around to help us order our dinner.
Ate some local style pork and Cantonese chicken, gai lan and rice washed down with a very palatable Montepulciano.
Toni Friend, who worked for BA, had helped us to get a good price on Club Class tickets. She then went the extra distance for us and got us upgraded to first class – our only ever experience of flying first class. Extremely luxurious and pampering it was; quite unsettlingly so in fact. But a super kind treat and it is nice to have done it once.
Arrived in Beijing on time – huge airport. Much changed in 16/17 years.
Met by guide Sophie and taken to DuGe Courtyard Hotel [a beautiful Hutong]– very nice.
Go through mandatory room change/upgrade procedures followed by room safe failure procedures too. In the midst of all this go for a stroll around the Hutong district, in particular walk Nanluogu Xiang a few times, partly in vain search of recommended restaurant.
Return to enjoy new room (suite) and a beer on our stoop which looks out onto the lovely courtyard.
Slept plenty in the afternoon, then fiddle around with camera and water system. Bath and get recommendation from hotel for a local restaurant.
End up at home your roast duck restaurant. Unprepossessing to look at but superb meal for a tenner plus unexpected tip – certainly a local place! Very tired on return.
Earlier on the afternoon we were due to meet…John to me:
I have booked Bam Bou a Vietnamese restaurant for 7 through top table – and am still awaiting confirmation. When and if I do I will confirm to you.
Me to John:
John
Thanks. Been there several times. It is excellent.
Assuming that is confirmed can we please meet there – I am up against deadlines this week as you might well imagine, not least the book to finish today and tomorrow!!
Best
Ian
John to me:
Booked for 7 pm. See you there. Bring the book!
I’m not sure I did that, but I might have taken a small chunk or two with me.
Bam Bou was an excellent restaurant then and I recall having a fine meal with John on that occasion.
There’s just something about fin-de-siecle Austrian plays that doesn’t quite float our boat, however well done they are.
Still, we were pleased to have seen this one – it was one of the best things we had seen so far that year…but then we were having a poor year for theatre up to that point.
