Dali to Dai to Shaxi
The next morning, we returned to the same restaurant as the night before for famous Dali pancakes, which are more like a crepe. After, I went shopping with Lilly, Andrea, and Caroline and bought some pants that looked like Lilly’s that I have been harping on her about since last semester. I was still a little feverish (but taking ibuprofen to keep it down) so I returned to the hotel to pack up and check out. Garrett and I then ambled up the streets looking at all of the people and vendors. I ended up in a bookstore and bought some children’s books about science in Chinese to try and figure them out. I planned to give them to the children in the orphanage we were planning on visiting. We went back to the restaurant (called Yagadu) again for lunch (yes it was that good), but I still felt ill, so it was light. After lunch, we got on the bus (the cursed bus!) and headed for the Bai village called Dajiangpang. This village we went to is known for its huge lake. A lot of Chinese tourists come and take cruises, but the local Dai culture is untouched. When we arrived via bus, we proceeded to the temple where it was full of older men playing mahjong. It was pleasantly warm, and they split us up into our homestays again. I ended up in a huge group of 8 girls-Hee Jin, Elizabeth, Jamie, Leah, Kasey, Hanna, and Greta. The host family’s house was on the far side of lake from the temple, but it was gorgeous. They had a little patio on the lake front and it was a very peaceful place to sit and relax. We saw a bunch of big boats sail by carrying Chinese tourists. The lake is so big, it even has a tide with waves. We walked around the lake a little and saw the developed hotels. It turns out our host mom had another house. The house we were staying at was her sister’s. Our host mom’s house was huge, with beautiful carvings. But it wasn’t by the water. We then went to the Sea-Sky resort which had a nice little balcony that hung right over the lake. Nearby was a beautiful house that had a balcony on its roof with a nice balustrade. Some TBCers actually were staying there, it had an indoor bathroom! Squatting, nonetheless, but it was indoors with a sea foam green bathtub. We watch sunset from on top of the house and then it was time for the party. When we returned to the temple the party was in full swing. There were so many villagers that I couldn’t get inside. So mostly we stayed outside and hung out and talked. It was pretty uneventful after that, since we just returned to the house to sleep. But one thing to note, this place had the worst bathrooms that I’ve ever had in China. Everything after that was pristine. I guess count your blessings.
The next day was the first day since Dali that I didn’t feel sick! We had a quick breakfast of milk and eggs, and then hopped on the bus to go to the Shibaoshan Grottoes. Basically it’s a bunch of statues carved into the rock. It’s not nearly as impressive as the Longmen Grottoes along the Silk Road, but not bad. Basically the statues would depict local governments and deities (especially Buddhist) and even included a carving of women genitalia oiled down. Until recently, local women would go to the shrine and rub oil on it in order to have a baby boy. We then took a 2 hour hike down this huge mountain. It sounds easier than it is since we had to first climb up to the top of the mountain in order to walk down. It was pretty, but not that green. If I just looked at the hills, it looked exactly like those in California which was a nice change. At least it was warm. The original plan was to hike down to Shaxi, but when we got to the bottom of the mountain, the bus picked us up and drove is to the town of Shaxi. Shaxi is the one of the trading hubs for the Tea Horse Caravan. Basically Yunnan in the past traded a lot of tea and they would have horses carry it out to places including Beijing and Tibet. Basically it’s a quaint little old town. We stayed in this beautiful guest house that only had opened two weeks before. It was called Horsepen 42. It is supposedly built like a traditional Bai style house. The bathroom was in the room, but only separated by a curtain, and had cushy beds on wood. The place also owned two huge dogs, a Husky-like dog and a St. Bernard, and also a black and white cat that had refused to follow its owner, the previous landlord, and instead is fed by the staff. It’s an adorable bed and breakfast, and I highly recommend it if you ever make it out to Shaxi. Also, the staff speaks English It was basically a relaxing day just sleeping, washing up, and reading to recover from the previous 9 days. Right next to the guest house is a place called by the Old Tree Café. It’s a small restaurant owned by an adorable Cantonese couple. Their Mandarin wasn’t the best, and their English wasn’t too great either, but between the two we were able to communicate. They were such sweethearts that we took a picture with them. I had 饺子 (dumplings) and it was delicious. I inhaled them. I fell asleep in our comfortable guest room until around 8 pm and we went exploring to find a place to eat. Unfortunately, a lot of places were closed due to New Year and it being a small town. We ended up in this place where we just had beef bits in soup. It was sustenance, and my standards were quickly falling. A comfy bed and a shower were enough to make me outrageously happy.
The next day was the first day since Dali that I didn’t feel sick! We had a quick breakfast of milk and eggs, and then hopped on the bus to go to the Shibaoshan Grottoes. Basically it’s a bunch of statues carved into the rock. It’s not nearly as impressive as the Longmen Grottoes along the Silk Road, but not bad. Basically the statues would depict local governments and deities (especially Buddhist) and even included a carving of women genitalia oiled down. Until recently, local women would go to the shrine and rub oil on it in order to have a baby boy. We then took a 2 hour hike down this huge mountain. It sounds easier than it is since we had to first climb up to the top of the mountain in order to walk down. It was pretty, but not that green. If I just looked at the hills, it looked exactly like those in California which was a nice change. At least it was warm. The original plan was to hike down to Shaxi, but when we got to the bottom of the mountain, the bus picked us up and drove is to the town of Shaxi. Shaxi is the one of the trading hubs for the Tea Horse Caravan. Basically Yunnan in the past traded a lot of tea and they would have horses carry it out to places including Beijing and Tibet. Basically it’s a quaint little old town. We stayed in this beautiful guest house that only had opened two weeks before. It was called Horsepen 42. It is supposedly built like a traditional Bai style house. The bathroom was in the room, but only separated by a curtain, and had cushy beds on wood. The place also owned two huge dogs, a Husky-like dog and a St. Bernard, and also a black and white cat that had refused to follow its owner, the previous landlord, and instead is fed by the staff. It’s an adorable bed and breakfast, and I highly recommend it if you ever make it out to Shaxi. Also, the staff speaks English It was basically a relaxing day just sleeping, washing up, and reading to recover from the previous 9 days. Right next to the guest house is a place called by the Old Tree Café. It’s a small restaurant owned by an adorable Cantonese couple. Their Mandarin wasn’t the best, and their English wasn’t too great either, but between the two we were able to communicate. They were such sweethearts that we took a picture with them. I had 饺子 (dumplings) and it was delicious. I inhaled them. I fell asleep in our comfortable guest room until around 8 pm and we went exploring to find a place to eat. Unfortunately, a lot of places were closed due to New Year and it being a small town. We ended up in this place where we just had beef bits in soup. It was sustenance, and my standards were quickly falling. A comfy bed and a shower were enough to make me outrageously happy.