Dali Part 2: Communism's Evil Twin

For anyone born before 1979, remember that song from the 80's one hit wonder Rockwell, “I always feel like... somebody's watching... meeee...”?

(Note:  No liability expressed or implied if you find yourself mocked for unconsciously humming the chorus in public.)

Well, looking back at my pics from my 2nd day in Dali, it seemed like there was a whole lot of watchin' goin' on...

'Course, it was a mutual thing – from the bustling streets to a local town market in the hills, there were exotic costumes, odiferous edible offerings, and intricate architecture to feast the eyes on, all with the backdrop of Dali's green mountains that rise up sharply at every turn.

My plans were a bit loose, so I just started out wandering Dali's city center early in the morning.  The idea was that I was going to get a look at the city before the tour buses rolled in, but that was at best only a far-fetched hope.  

Dali is popular.  Really popular.  Sure, it's been on the backpacker circuit for years, but when you combine that with China's booming economy, that means there is a constant stream of newly middle-class Chinese who are fired up to explore their country and the merchants are up to take advantage...even, sigh, at 7:30 in the morning!

But, it was still gorgeous, and taking an easy turn off the main streets still allowed me to quickly be in non-tourist land... from a back alley market to working neighborhoods with really cool circular doorways that reminded me vaguely of Star Wars:

Famished, and near-fainting with weakness after a not-very gruelling 37 minute walk, I headed back to Cafe Jack.  Now, I love Chinese food, but I just couldn't get super fired up by their standard breakfast of rice porridge, so I wussed out and defaulted with my Western standby, eggs and toast.  But, at least I generally throw in a token nod to being in China, and keep trying to work my way through their extensive (and always changing!) tea list.  For anyone who loves tea, it's akin to being a whisky aficionado in Scotland.  No matter how many you try, they always keep surprising you with more!  Still – a very nice problem to have...

My main goal for the day was to check out the weekly market at Yuo Shuo.  The staff at the superb Jade Emu raved about it, so I found myself on a rattling local bus bouncing along the rocky dirt roads up the hills.  We were passed on all sides by heavily laden scooters as families rolled by, Easy Rider-style:

First, a word about markets.  Imagine a collection of tents, stalls, and or open blankets on the ground, all arranged loosely in rows.  Add in a smidgin of organization, so that the poultry is all together, while shoes and children's clothes are in the another corner.  Then, add in thousands and thousands of locals of all ages, walking around or bargaining for necessities at top volume... it makes for a bustling, cheerful atmosphere.

It's awesome.  Intoxicating, really - even if there's nothing specific to see, just wandering up and down the rows are a blast.  As a bonus, I found myself the only tourist, and got lots of bemused glances and shy smiles, especially as I took pics of a chicken coop or an example of one of their seemingly indestructible trucks- cool and exotic to me, seriously mundane to them.

The only downside of markets is that after an hour or two, you can find yourself seriously peopled out... so I took a break back at the hostel, before getting my shop on in town.  And, wow, was I successful.  Now, since the family's going to read this, I can't go into much detail, but Dali is a pretty easy place to quickly load up the rucksack.  The jackpot was finding an outdoors equipment place that specialized in Arcteryx gear that must have fell off the truck/sampan/whatever.  After a bit of bargaining, I scored a $400 sweet double-lined GoreTex jacket for about $50, and STILL probably overpaid.  We'll see how well it holds up to a rainy winter in London though - I have my doubts. :)

I also can't help but think what Mao's reaction would be to all of this... markets like Yuo Shuo are pretty much the exact opposite to his dream of communism.  There's no greater sign that capitalism has really gripped a country that when you see small businesses selling misspelled knock-offs like:

...to this plucky entrepreneur who must have thought "hm, if 7-11 is good, then using using the lucky number 8 will make my stall unstoppable!"...

There was more World Cup fun to be had, so I fuelled up at a funky pub called Bad Monkey.  Health and Safety issues are pretty trivial in China, so when I ordered a plate of sizzling beef, I got exactly what I asked for - a cast iron skillet plopped in front of me that was spewing hot drops of oil in every direction.  Messy, but oh-so delicious.

Back at the hostel, it was time to watch some games, with the half-time bonus of getting to challenge the owner to a game of pool for beers.  He's got a good racket going - generally, if the guest wins, they get a free night's lodging.  But, since that happens about once a month, he's got a good source of free beers day in and day out.  Sneaky.

Kunming & Dali: Ancient Walls & Wal-Mart

Kunming/Dali

“Wal-Mart?  In China?  Inconceivable!”

“You keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think means...”

Hope the Princess Bride fans out there appreciate the gratuitous reference... I'm more than a bit late with this entry, but my next stop in China combined the best of ancient traditions, culture, and... well... this:

I've already waxed nostalgic about Yangshuo, and it was definitely hard to leave.  I could have stayed there another few days easily, but it was only the lurking knowledge that China is one gi-normous country (oh, yeah – that's a word these days) that kept me moving.  Even with a month, I was having to cut out a bunch of places, each one harder than the last.

So, it was time to hit the road, or the air in the case, and head off to Kunming for my next leg.


View RTW China Leg in a larger map

The plan originally was to catch a cheap flight over, skipping any potential nasty long train or bus ride.  Just like Europe and much of the rest of Asia, China has its own collection of budget airlines, with flights starting around $50.  Sweet.  The only downside is that to maximize their tight profit margins, any flights that are completely full are often shifted and/or cancelled at short notice, which makes life as a passenger a bit exciting, planning-wise.

This happened to me as well as I got late notice that my flight was bumped a day.  I'm a "pint of beer is half full" type of guy, so I appreciated getting another day in Yangshuo.  The only bummer was that my experience in Kunming was going to be limited to a half day at best.

But even with such a short stay, I got a great vibe out of Kunming.  It's always interesting how you can make snap judgements about places and people within an hour of arriving, and more often that naught, your gut is right on the money.

In this case, Kunming lived up to its billing as being one of the more laid-back cities in China.  Big?  Sure, and bustling, but the people just seem to dial their energy down just enough... even crossing the streets was pretty easy, and lacked the massive adrenaline rush of, say, Guangzhou.  I couldn't help but mentally compare it to a Chinese version of the West Coast, although I couldn't pick out the Mandarin equivalent of 'dude' or 'hella' punctuating every conversation.  Bummer.

So, after setting up shop at a great local hostel (with an interesting way of generating additional revenue through the charging for toilet paper), I hit the streets looking for dinner.

And smacked right into the great contrasts of modern China today.

On one hand, I came across a really cool street musician playing a traditional instrument, and who shared a smile when I showed him his picture:

The other?  China is modernizing at warp speed, and that means a rapidly growing middle class looking for more consumer options.

Which, of course, means an opportunity for Wal-Mart to expand into the world's biggest market...

Strange.  Very strange.  It had most of the major global brands, from Nabisco to L'Oreal and Crest, but with some interesting quirks to fit the local tastes.  Blueberry and Hazelnut chips?  Sure.  Green tea toothpaste?  Yup.  And of course, there were a huge assortment of Chinese brands and goods, that even after a few weeks, I'm still seriously clueless about.

Right, so enough of Wal-Mart... and back to the more authentic charms of China!

The next day fell into the category of “really tedious travel days”, as I took a variety of buses to Dali – a fantastic walled town, on the shores of a large-ish lake (large-ish is, in fact an official geographic unit of size) nestled at the foot of verdant green mountains.

So, you know in advance that there was a happy ending, but the journey itself was pretty painful.  Lonely Planet is normally spot on, but the long-distance bus station had moved, so when I tried to find anything headed to Dali, I got lots of head shakes.  Now I feel a bit sheepish, but when a brusque lady walked me and my baggage a few blocks, then pointed to a little van instead of a large bus, saying “Dali, Dali!”, I thought she was working a hustle, and just grumpily turned around.

My bad – it turns out she was right, and everyone takes a shuttle bus to the new station before setting off.  I finally got sorted and on the right big bus, where we started out with massive and brand new four lane highways.  Sweet.

Less sweet was the fact that equally massive construction meant that we had to take a laborious detour that added a few hours to the trip.

Arriving in Dali made it all worthwhile though... some super-helpful Chinese girls from Shanghai helped negotiate and share a taxi, then I found myself at the Jade Emu hostel.  There must be something about southern China, but the hostels all seem to be amazing places to stay.  Immaculate rooms, a cold Beer Lao (tasty!) on arrival, plasma TV's and DVD players in my room, and more and more coolness – it was pretty much hostel perfection.  The owner even contrived to show the first games of the World Cup on the big screen from Chinese TV, but having the audio commentary from BBC Radio 5 sports.  Genius!

Wandering the town was a blast, with its intact city walls and gates protecting the traditional building inside.

When it comes to exploring Chinese cities, it's really best to just pick a direction and see what happens.  And Dali was no different, as seemingly at every turn, I found tiny alleys, ornate doorways, and great local restaurants.  Plus, unique to the area, almost every white wall was intricately painted with all sorts of designs and scenes:

It was so cool, so chock full of things to feast your eyes on, that with only another day here, I actually had to take a breath and remind myself not to rush around, but to just chill out and enjoy the moment.  Just lovely.

Dinner was a funky mix of West meets East – at a long-standing backpacker favorite called Cafe Jack's.  I went with the odd combo of a mint leaf/chilli pepper salad and a gooey, gooey grilled cheesesteak sandwich that put me into that delightful state known as a food coma.  Mmm.

Slow walk back left me in perfect position to see the West Gate at sunset... I felt a bit like I was in my own game of Frogger, dodging cars, bikes and pedestrians for this long exposure, but it was all worth it:

Grabbing another beer, then watching South Africa score a cracking first goal to kick off the World Cup was a pretty special way to call it a night...