Kunming to Dali

The day we left Kunming was the sunniest day we had seen since arriving back in China, and we were due to be spending the next nine hours of that sunny day on the train. We had been on budget drive when we were sorting out transport to our next destination, Dali. The train was going to be an old, hard seat, slow train. The worst thing about travel like this is, although it is as cheap as chips, you will inevitably be squashed next to a chain smoking, noodle slurping, hacking, spitting man and his equally noisy family. As we were having breakfast the morning we were due to leave reality kicked in and we had a change of heart. Nine hours in a smoky, wooden benched carriage? No thanks! So we cut our losses and headed to the long distance bus station.
Here we quickly managed to get on the next bus heading to Dali. Despite their being a bus every 15 minutes from 7:30am to 7:30pm every bus is jam-packed with people. Even the trains are fully booked two days in advance, there seems to be a constant exodus and exchange of people all over this country. Looking out over all the big gleaming coaches in the bus station I felt a sense of ‘we made the right choice’, now we will be enjoying a shorter trip to Dali in comfy seats and clean air. Of course this was not to be the case, getting pointed towards the only mongrel bus in the station I realized I was silly to think anything else. We climbed onto a cross between a mini bus and really old coach, waited while the driver went and got more people to get on his bus. With people hopping on and off all the time having a chat and going out for a cigarette every few minutes it seemed we would never leave, but eventually, once every available space had been taken we headed off, to the sound of the creaking and groaning of every joint on the bus.
The main reasons against taking the train: noisy, smoky, cramped atmosphere, and time. We were seated just behind the driver, the most dangerous place to be in a bus as collisions are not uncommon here due to the freestyle driving they employ. We always try and move towards the back of the bus but it was not possible this time. Soon after leaving the driver lights up the first of his constant cigarette chain between here and Dali and shuts the window. The good thing about the bus was despite the creaking noises and constant smoke we didn’t have to be sandwiched between a whole Chinese family eating their lunch or dinner., just Sam and I on slightly more cushioned and comfortable seats.
The road to Dali was a good one, a large three lane motorway with not too much traffic and for once the driver drove at a non pant filling speed which was nice as we had the front row seats. Strangely for a Chinese road there were quite a few traffic cops and speed cameras but the drivers radar detector made sure we were not caught. Also policing the road to ensure the highest level of road safety were cardboard cutouts of police women and men every few miles straddling the central reservation.
Cardboard policemen aside, the journey took us past some other strange sights. First up about an hour from Kunming was the world dinosaur valley, not sure what was in the valley but the villages before and after all had dinosaurs painted on the walls. A few hours later we drove through an area obsessed with mushrooms, the small old villages with white washed walls were decorated with huge paintings of mushrooms… and each house had a different type painted on, no two houses were the same. One mushroom village had also built some huge bright yellow concrete mushroom shaped buildings on the hill behind. All in all the journey was a short one by Chinese standards, this was helped by the fact we are both reading books that have the ability to make us fall asleep after 3-5 pages…. Sarah is reading Moby Dick and Sam Catch-22. Despite their literacy status we have not found either particularly fast paced.
Dali is an old Chinese walled town sandwiched between some big mountains to the West and a great big lake to the East. Unfortunately it’s also really touristy with bars and restaurants geared towards western tourists and local minority women trying to hawk marijuana to you whenever you walk about. We think the Chinese tourists who visit get more of an education into Western tourists as opposed to the minority people living here. Anyhow its nice to look at and the surrounding countryside is stunning, the people are friendly and the food is good! Tomorrow we are planning on hiring some bikes to cycle through some nearby villages and down to the lake where we can catch a ferry further afield and explore the area.
More photos and details to follow soon!