Adventures in Guangzhou!

We boarded the train with a couple moments to spare and tried to get comfortable. It was my first experience in the hard seat section and the rumors are true--it's a rough surface surrounded by a ton of guys all chain-smoking. Ugh. Lexi and I attempted to nap but it wasn't easy. One of the redeeming moments of the ride was that they played almost the entire disc of Michael Jackson's HIStory. Brilliant! We were both rocking out to Thriller, Billy Jean, Bad, but especially Man in the Mirror. I mean with a key change like that, who can't get excited?

There were also a couple of British guys sitting behind us that personified hippie-backpackers, complete with long dreads, bob marley t-shirts, beaten-up sandals, and beatnik literature. Even though I didn't really talk to them much, they were great! It reminded me of Wesleyan and that made me happy.

We arrived around mid-afternoon and hopped on the bus to take us to the old city of Dali. We began to wander through the streets and I immediately took to the place. It had small streets with few cars. There were cute cafes and shops everywhere, as well as a mini canal of running water lining the side of each road. We booked a double at the Tibetan Lodge, a hostel-guest house, for only 50 kuai. That's only about $6! After dropping off our stuff we began to explore the area.

Lexi was on a mission for some christmas presents and I was on a mission for food (no surprise there) so we compromised and did some window shopping on the way to sustenance. Lexi was quite helpful in reading some characters on a menu and we sat outside sampling a bunch of small dishes and watching the locals play mahjong and cards. The weather was a bit more crisp being up in the mountains, but I was enjoying it. There's nothing like clean mountain air, especially in comparison to the muggy pollution of my home sweet home!

After lunch we walked around to a bunch of stores and I got a front row seat as Lexi let her shopping instincts take over. She claims she never usually makes so many purchases at once, and I believe her, but I really do think the majority of females have some sort of innate ability to shop and bargain that most males lack biologically. I was happy to tag along though as I was also on the look-out for a birthday present or two. They had some really interesting pieces of fabric with designs by some of the minorities in the province, but I had a difficult time rationalizing spending a lot of money on a piece of cloth. Am I wrong? Regardless, I opted against it.

As the sun began to set the temperature began to drop and before I knew it I was legitimately cold. It was such a foreign feeling after being so hot for months, I almost didn't know what to do! We walked around for a while longer looking at some of the older architecture in the city and eventually decided to grab some dinner. Again, everything relates to food and I love it! My Lonely Planet guide had a few places listed and we picked one called the Bamboo Cafe that was supposed to have Dai food, one of the Yunnan minorities.

Walking up to the cafe I noticed a score of handwritten signs in different languages, all welcoming us and telling us what they had to offer. Directly under the Chinese sign there was even some hebrew announcing the presence of coffee inside. Ha! I was definitely amused to see Hebrew way out in the middle of nowhere in China. And on that subject, there was also a picture and postcard by the front desk of our hostel that was hearty thank-you from a group of Israelis that had recently stayed there. I guess you can find Jews just about anywhere.

We failed in getting any Dai food since they seemed to be out of all those dishes, but we had a good meal nonetheless, highlighted by a chicken dish with papaya. I'm definitely a fan! One thing that the Bamboo Cafe (along with all the other restaurants and cafes) has down is atmosphere. They had comfortable seats, interesting decorations, and candle lighting that made everything seem really welcoming. After a lazy dinner we headed out away from the touristy streets to a random section where we could do some stargazing. You barely ever see anything at night in Guangzhou but the night sky in Dali was well lit. The moon itself was so bright that I don't think they needed any street lights in the area. I almost forgot how much I enjoy looking at stars on a clear night and it was nice to search for constellations once again.

I was definitely enjoying the feeling of a genuine autumn night but I was also a bit cold so we decided to head back. At our guest house there was a small cafe attached so we opted against the loud bars along the way and ordered hot chocolate instead. There was a really relaxed vibe to the place as small groups of people sat around sipping drinks, playing cards, and telling stories. Before we knew it it was after midnight and we decided to head back to the room in an attempt to get some sleep and be up early. The room was definitely not heated so we both crawled under the covers fully clothed and passed out in a flash.

Once again, here's a link to my pictures, but they include shots that I haven't written about yet so if you want to be surprised hold off. Otherwise, enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awolfe03/sets/1373122/