Dali - Back In The Flow

I left Kunming yesterday with directions on how to catch the city bus to the station where I was due to catch a bus to Dali. I had already purchased the ticket to Dali the day before so all I needed to do was get on the right bus at 10 am. No worries, I could feel myself finding my way back to the flow.

The number 2 was all I needed to know for finding my bus. The number 2 was the clue for finding the right avenue for departure. I showed my ticket to a couple of staff and at 10 am I was comfortably on the right bus with a window as hoped for.

We stopped twice on the 5 hour expected 4 hour trip. One stop was a pretty decent station. The other was pit of a place with a bull horn hawker pushing lunch. The guy sitting next to me hacked and spat regularly after lunch. No problem, the aluminum pale was nearby and available for such a need. Hacking and spitting is perfectly acceptable in this part of the world. It’s worst first thing in the morning, or as I witnessed, after lunch.

I arrived at a station 20 km from Dali. Often times when you buy a ticket you’re not really sure where you will be dropped off but when everyone gets off that’s your clue. This is common throughout Asia. You may or may not be dropped at a station and if you are dropped at a station make sure you know which one it is. Anyway, I somehow communicated with a taxi driver I wanted a city bus to Dali. 10 Yuan ($1.50) later I was at a city station. “The Lonely Planet Guide”, or as I prefer to call it, “The Lost Planet Guide”, said bus 8 would drop me at West Gate. Instead it dropped me in Dali center.

I rarely like to book accommodation ahead of time unless I feel it’s totally necessary. It took me a moment to get my bearings but I found my way to some accommodation options. Saturday evening can pose a little more of a challenge in place popular with Chinese tourists. One place wanted too much, the other was full. I found an area I liked so just walked around. I decided to try the confused backpacker/tourist technique to see what I’d attract. I do not recommend this approach for India but in China it’s ok. Within a minute a cute old lady walked up to me and put her hands to her head signaling she thought I was looking for a place to sleep. She then spoke the only word of English I think she knows, “Cheap”. I said ok.

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to look. When l have a choice I prefer a top floor quiet corner room with a view. There was no way I could communicate that with her. Anyway, we quickly arrived at a family run guest house, just what I prefer. No one spoke a word of English but it was easy to communicate. The room was 40 Yuan. Around $6.50. I communicated I’d like to see it. I was taken up to a clean top floor quiet corner room with a view.. Done..

It was a smooth day of travel and I’m back in the flow. The flow comes from allowing things to happen without getting in the way and following your instinct/intuition. This is one my favorite things about travel. In truly foreign countries this is the attitude one must take and when I return home I have to regularly remind myself how well the universe works when you allow it to. I am amazed at how easy a person can travel in a country where a common language is not shared. Sometimes I feel like words get in the way of communication. Smiles and thank yous go a long way.

Kunming was bit of bump in the road for me. In part due to not listening to my gut instinct but things seem to be falling back into place here in Dali. I’ll spend a couple of days here and move on. The photo is of the Guest House I'm staying at.