Dali Transportation

Even though we arrived in Dali with my Mandarin speaking son, the taxi drivers seems united in asking for a taxi fare about three times the amount indicated in the guide books to take us from new Dali to old Dali. My son who had visited Dali previously and thought that even the guide book price was high, was not going to accept this special price, so we just jumped on the local bus stopped at the corner across from exit from the bus station. Even with each of us paying a fare, we saved about 90%. The last stop was old Dali.

Even though we arrived in Dali with my Mandarin speaking son, the taxi drivers seems united in asking for a taxi fare about three times the amount indicated in the guide books to take us from new Dali to old Dali. My son who had visited Dali previously and thought that even the guide book price was high, was not going to accept this special price, so we just jumped on the local bus stopped at the corner across from exit from the bus station. Even with each of us paying a fare, we saved about 90%. The last stop was old Dali.

I hired a bike from a travel agent type place on Bo Ai Lu to get around a few of the sights outside the old town. I cycled out of the old town past markets and local shops in the Old Town to the Three Pagodas and back again in order to get the chairlift up to Zhonghe Temple and to go off the beaten track to Hongsheng Temple (where the other pagoda is). The bike cost me RMB20 for the day.

The bus for Dali leaves from the bus station near the train station in Kunming. Despite the sign saying that it went to Dali (which I checked the Chinese characters in my Lonely Planet against) and not Dali City, the bus only went to Dali City and I had to get another bus the short distance to Dali itself. The main bus cost RMB84 and took around 5 hours. Along the way, you'll pass by villages with white-washed houses right up against the motorway with painted signs and pictures saying "Dinosaur Valley" as it was in this region that many complete dinosaur skeletons have been found (which can be seen in the Kunming City Museum).

To get to Lijiang, I booked a ticket through a travel agent guy on Boai Lu where I also hired a bike from to explore the area. It saved me walking to the West Gate where I understand some buses depart for Lijiang. The journey is very scenic as it takes you over hills and past some small villages along the way. The bus cost RMB40 and took about 3 hours.

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China no deja de ser un pais de contrastes donde se pueden ver grandes autopistas , puentes modernos... y por otro lado , especialmente en los pueblos , medios de transportes de hace ochenta años


China remains a country of contrasts , where you can see major highways, modern bridges ... and on the other hand, especially in the villages, transports that were used eighty years ago

Para ir de Dali a Lijiang fuimos en un autobús que va la primera parte por autopista , pero luego sigue por una carretara normal que va ascendiendo por unos paisajes muy bonitos .
A pesar de que el autobús entró en más de cinco gasolineras a buscar combustible sin éxito y de que encontramos un accidente en la carretera que nos retrasó un poco llegamos a Lijiang a las 15h y habíamos salido a las 9h
Nos costó 40 Yuan

To go from Dali to Lijiang we went by bus that goes the first part by highway, but then follows by a normal road with beautiful landscapes.
Despite the bus entered into more than five gas stations to seek fuel without success and found an accident on the highway that delayed us a bit we arrived to Lijiang ast 15h and we had left at 9 am
It cost us 40 Yuan

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La visita de alrededor del lago Er Hai (oreja) es muy interesante ya que se puede ver la vida de los campesinos que trabajan sus tierras, los pueblos alrededor del lago con sus mercados, casas, la gente ...
Tuvimos que negociar con Quing que era el conductor, el guía, el propietario coche ..., así que nosotros dos y una chica muy agradable , de Calfornia nos fuimos a visitar a visitar el lago y los pueblos de alrededor .
El grupo fue muy agradable e y hicimos interesantes visitas a una aldea que se llama Zhou Xi, una fábrica de batiks y otros pueblos en alrededor del río, con gente agradable y un buen sitio para comer.
Cruzamos la última parte del lago en barco y Quing lo hizo por carretera, mientras tanto, así que nos recogió cuando llegamos . Esta parte no es lo mejor del día , ya que nos cobraron mucho por el barco
Hemos empezado a las 8h 30m y volvimos a 18h y el precio por dos personas fue : Taxi y guía 150 Yuan, comida 25 Yuan y el barco 70 Yuan
Si quieres contactar con el guía , pregunta por Quin en el Jim´s Tibetan guesthouse

The visit around the Er Hai ( Ear ) lake is very interesting as you may see the life of the peasants that are working their lands , the villages around the lake with their markets , houses , people...
We negociated with Quing that was the driver , the guide , the car owner ..., and he took both of us an another very nice Calfornia traveler to visit the lake and its villages around.
We enjoyed the group and we did interesting visits to a village named Xi Zhou , a batiks factory and other villages around the river , with nice people and a good place where we had a nice meal .
We crossed the last part of the lake by boat and Quing did the road in the meantime and he picked up to us . This part was not the best of the day as they charged us a lot for the boat
We left at 8h 30m and we returned at 18h and the price per person it was : Taxi and guide 150 Yuan , meal 25 Yuan and boat 70 Yuan
If you want to contact with the guide ask for Quin in the Jim´s Tibetan house

To go to the three Pagodas you can take bus number 19 from the old town and it stops right in front of the entrance.
Once inside, you can walk up to the pagodas and then to the temple like I did, or you could be more clever than me and take an electric bus that takes you up to the temple(it's more than 30 minuts walk) and then you can come down walking and take all the pictures that you want.