We have finally found a peaceful place in China. It is in Dali, in the Yunnan province and close to Tibet.
We first travelled from Xi'an to Chengdu (close to where the earthquake took place in May). We stayed at our favorite guesthouse in China, visited with the family and went back to see the pandas. We then took another train to the to the city of Kunming. We had read that this was the place to go if you wanted to see some of China's 55 different ethnic groups and find a place to relax.
The ride to Kunming was as picturesque as it could have been. We meandered in and out of tunnels and through valleys. Although the ride was a staggering 19 hours, it went by quickly. The trains here can be very comfortable. Since we all have beds in the same compartment, we can close the door, play cards, read our books and watch the world go by. And that's just what we did on route to Kunming. Julia is now an avid reader, which means that we can all occupy ourselves for hours and when we got bored with our books, we played bull or spades to pass the time. After a really good dinner from the food car, we settled into our soft sleeper beds and got a decent night sleep. Despite the amazing landscape the train did not lurch and groan its way through the mountains. It was smooth ride. The green mountains were interrupted only by huge powerplants or factories and depressing looking villages of several thousand and then the train continued.
By 11 the next morning (we got on at 4), we were in Kunming. The problem was the rain...it rained and rained the whole time we were there and after two short days there we decided that we would take a 5 hour bus west to Dali.
Arrving in Dali you know immediately that you've landed somewhere special...even if you are not quite sure why it is so special, though the mountains on both sides and the lake are ...[now hana is writing] quite beautiful, their are the amazing mountains rising spectacularly from nowhere and you find yourself wondering if you have ac cidentally stummbled out of china, for Dali was the firzt city in china and we say this with an hour in Dali experience, the only place is china we could truly relax in! THen there was the lake, 6th largest in china and the lake seemed to add to the mountains and perfect our view of Dali being a city that we could stay in for a while. DOn't you agree that with the mountains and the lake it immediately seemed like we were in a new and exotic place, but then out our bus window came the whirlwind of green grass and rice fields and farms bursting with all kinds of vegetables, farmed by exotically dressed people fresh from the mountains hiking along the side of the road or farming the fields in their interesting garb,. another shower of color that excited us for we had come from Kunming that had on record for the last two days stopped raining for one hour, already from this first view we liked
Dali, and we shall record the happenings in Dali in a few days, however I will tell you we were right to like Dali, for Dali had a lot more interesting things to do then you would think.
Written first part by Patrice and the last part by Hana
