China HK 2007: Dali, Yunnan Province - China

The flight from Kunming to Dali is about the same time as flying from Massachusetts to Nantucket, pretty much by the time you sit down and start flying you practically have to land again. Suffice it to say, a catnap wasn't even offered.

Anyhow, we hit the ground running on an airport the size of 3 football fields, which makes me wonder how we ever made it onto the tarmac without crashing into the foothills, but again, no time to think about that as we all make a B-line to the baggage claim. Oh yeah, the baggage area is also open air, so you see the guys toss your bags right onto the conveyor -- so wouldn't it just save time if we picked it up ourselves from under the plane like when we toss our bags under a bus?

Eh, I call it airport job security -- not in terms of safety, but of just having something to do.

Okay, onto the slideshow:

This was a giant mural that rested right in the center of the
hotel. It should be in the Guinness records somewhere if it
hasn't been already.

The portly-looking lady in the purple sweater is Jennifer,
the owner of the hotel. She fought tooth and nail to have
her "resort hotel/spa" to be put up, camping outside the
site in a tent for over 3 months during construction.
We're walking in what she calls her "Spiritual Garden",
but really, it's just an awesome backyard.




The view from our hotel room. On a clear day, you can
see mountains behind the track of houses -- foggy weather
will plague the trip for days to come.

Here, Jennifer is performing the last part of a "3 Tea
Ceremony" which is usually done for honored guests. It
consists of 3 teas: one bitter, one sweet, and the last one
is a little in-between. Included in the last part is this
kind of local "cheese" made by curdling the milk skin
with vinegar and then heating it over an open flame.
Believe me, it tastes better than it sounds, though
no one asked for seconds...

Ah, more sightseeing. These temples house giant
bronze Buddhas and monks. You'll just have to go there
and see for yourself.




Ah, the Dali "postcard" shot - 3 Pagodas reflected in a lake.

And here it is without the lake. Eh, I'm into options like
that...

This is the "old town" part of the city. See the gaps on the
left? Below is a river that flows right through the
area. Don't worry, more of that later.


This is the entrance to the bar district, where mostly the
ex-pats and foreign tourists frequent. I call this place
"Backpacker Row."

At night, the red lanterns are lit, and the drinking begins.

If you look really carefully, between these two buildings
is a "closet alleyway" that leads to a much larger building
in the back. This place is deceptively larger than it
looks.




Chicken + Dali = Dali-cious!

Here, a kid enjoys that cheese I was telling you about.
This piece looks like Chinese "Buffalo Mozzarella".

Yep, I have no shame -- it was 2 dollars to take a picture
of the ram, whether you look like you're riding it or not.
I took about 3 shots for the price of one -- but don't tell
the shepherd that...

Finally, the exit out of the old town. Really, like a mini-
version of the Forbidden City.

Next up: Lijiang - hope you bring your good walking shoes!

China HK 2007: Kunming, Yunnan Province - China, cont.

Well, picking up where we left off, Kunming is more than just rock forests and cave stuff, it also has a city life as well.

Before I forget, I almost forgot to post this up last time:

Believe it or not, this is a large canopy cover for a gas station.
Pyramids in China? Now you know...

Okay, some city stuff:


Here's a park in the middle of the capital...

...One can practice swatting flies...

... Do some Tai-Chi, or what I like to call
"Asian Line-Dancing"...

... Or do ACTUAL Line-Dancing...


... And of course, wield weapons without people looking at
you funny.

I got lucky -- he only missed me by 6 inches. Whew!



Here some stuff in this open square, surrounded by shops
and stuff.


Even in a busy city, a man has time to play with his balls.
I can hear ya'll "groaning" on that one.

This innocuous-looking fast food stand should have
Col. Sanders worried. I call it KFC -
"Kunming Fried Chicken"



Ah, the requisite "I'm in a foreign land so I should take a
picture of the local McDonalds." There, are you happy!

Here's a "Meter-Man" writing parking tickets
for several cars. What you don't see is that
he needs to write tickets for 20 other cars
behind the yellow one. Now that's what I call
"job security."

Awww, a baby and his parents playing with a bunny...

... And the baby trying to see if he can strangle it. Now
THAT'S a Kodak moment!

See, more proof that the Chinese came up with McDonald's
first. Here are the original "Golden Arches."

I heard complaints last time that there weren't enough of
me in the pics I took, so to those fans, here ya go. Are
you not entertained!

Ah, heading to another touristy-spiritual stop. And above,
is another pic capturing the Chineses' flair for the English
language. What is a "Full Perice" anyway?


I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but the this is
supposed to be good luck, so since everyone else touched
it, eh...

I thought this was kinda neat. They installed this mirror
so they could make sure no one was living underneath
the bridge. However, it's a shear wall with a 1,000 ft.
drop below. Brings to meaning to the phrase
"Can I crash here."

Afterward, we can down of the hill, and walked the local
shops. Stone Buddhas for sale? I'm there!

Here are bored workers taking up an afternoon Master-
class of Mah-Jong. Beware the player in the red jacket...

All right, time for some embarrassing tourist participation!
We end up at this place that houses and sells this really
pricey tea, and to demonstrate the sipping technique
of one of them...

Yours truly was drafted in! Turns out, my father set me
up, and since I have to commit to the joke at this point,
I play along.

You're supposed to slurp it, then make some noises with
your lips before swallowing the hot liquid. Not as easy as
it sounds, I tell ya.

And yep, I did it!

And for being such a good sport, she gave me a little
trinket to remember this embarrassment by.

Here she's taking out this round pack of tea that's been
aged 25 years. In short, this thing is REALLY expensive,
but delicious, so I hear.

I know, it looks like bricks of Opium, but believe me, it's
all tea. Besides, the opium is packed in the other shop
across the building!

The next morning, we woke up early to head out to the
Kunming Airport.

Next up: Dali - come for the sights, stay for the cheese!