Lily Lee: Dali Yunnan

Day 3

Checked into Kunming High Speed Rail station. Our train was at 7.34am but the Business class lounge is only opened at 7am.

The coke at the lounge looked so cute. The biscuit was very tasty too. Limited snacks and drinks but nice touch to the wait. We waited in the lounge for the staff to bring us on board.

The staff guided us to the train. We took a lift up to level 2 again and he cleared the path for us to check in. The seat can recline flat so hubby slept through. Temperature was really cold at 14 degree celsius outside. The staff issued us a snack box and a bottle of water followed by breakfast bread and milk. It was moving slowly at 95 km per hour at first.

Love that you can lay flat for a good sleep.

The toilet was very clean.

Finally arrived at Dali Ancient town. We were picked up by Ah Jia who brought us to the Daali ancient town first.

The flower garland was so expensive here at 10 RMB, double the price from Kunming. However it does seem prettier.

Hubby needed his coffee.

We dined at Yun You restaurant 云游饭店 which was recommended by our guide, Ah Jia, for home cooked Bai ethnic group's dishes. Hubby loves the sour spicy fish and I love the cured meat fried with crispy mint. Love the vegetable 水性扬花 but it was very sticky.

He then brought us to the Chongsheng temple and the 3 pagodas. We took the buggy and engaged the service of in-house guide. Did not expect the number of temples which was more than 5 after flights and flights of stairs (350). Learned so much about the Buddha worshipped in the temple. This is infused with the story of the local Buddha, one whom turned black after devouring the plague. Luckily there is also buggy at the top of the last temple Da Xiong Ba Dian. Chong sheng temple was newly rebuilt in 2004 so locals believed that the Pagoda which is more than a thousand years old is spiritually stronger. You must enter from the left and come out from from the right for luck.

You can see that the pagodas at the sides have tilted 18 degrees and 11 degrees respectively due to the earthquakes.

The locals do not burn incense sticks but hang the wind chimes for luck.

We checked into Dali Ancient Town Anyu hotel. We could not recognise the hotel and thought we were lost at first. Then they could not find our reservation as the tour agent booked Lijiang Anyu instead of this. This is a beautiful boutique hotel in within the Ancient town and yet cars can drive to the hotel's front. The amenities and food were awesome.

The hotel gave us a free linen tote bag with a manicure set, mask, tissue and plasters. There was also available for use a shawl, 2 umbrellas and sun block spray.

Best tea ever on this trip!

The lychee were so sweet! The seeds were very tiny too and we had two helpings in our 1 night stay!

A cute and big dog near the hotel.

Took a Didi to the Catholic Church but she did not drop us at the correct location. We had to walk through Dali ancient town and foreigner street.

Bought the iced sweet hu lu.

The historical Catholic Church which has a Chinese architecture.

Many houses built of stones

Many girls booked the 2nd floor for photography.

The perfume smells nice so I bought one at 88 RMB.

At Jinshanbanian Guyuancanting restaurant 尽善百年古院餐厅 in Dali Ancient town。Most delicious dinner. Love the cold noodle. Never like cold noodle but this was superb! The fried prawns are awesome too. The fried chilli was crunchy and not spicy at all. The grilled eggplant was nice but a bit oily. Hubby loved the tomato egg soup. I liked the crispy milk fan dip in sugar. The potions were all so big and better eaten as a group. Ambience was also good.

Took a tuk tuk like vehicle from the ancient town back to the hotel and realised it was so close by. As the vehicle is small so he could better navigate the narrow streets of the Old town.

Day 4

The breakfast at Dali ancient town Anyu hotel was so luxurious. Big abalone, Noodle 洱丝 with minced meat (you can also order the spicy beef noodle or cold noodle), side dishes fried spring roll, prawn mushroom and prickles. A bowl of nice chicken and mushroom soup, fruit platter with blue berry, grapes and orange. Yoghurt and a very beautiful pudding. Cucumber, orange and watermelon juice. Hot corn juice and milk were also available on the buffet table with ham, salmon, salad, bread, and many more.

Love the tea egg and salad.

A type of congee which is nice.

Walked across the Dali Ancient Town. Rainy day with light drizzle. Bought some souvenirs.

Very cute personalised birthday keychain at only 3.90 RMB.

Visited the Wu hua lou 五华楼.

Visited the Dali Zhang's Garden, a palace with very unique Bai ethnic group's architecture. We were lucky to meet a driver who introduced us to this palace as we originally wanted to visit Tian Long Ba Bu film studio and he said this was a better place to be on rainy day.

We watched the performance at Dali Zhang's Garden. A Love story of how the Bai couple was separated as the guy left for the tea horse route.

The building resembles the Peranakan house in Malacca except it is 4 times bigger with many courts. There is even one to receive the foreign guests with a very European design. The master room is on the west side and there is a white wall which will reflect the light into the room as there is no window.

Custom was to pinch the bride

Nice performance of a musical instrument with only 3 strings and writing of the word 马到成功 with a monkey on the horse achieving success. So lucky to be presented with the calligraphy from a famous caligrapher, Hu Zhi Fong, in Dali. His work was displayed in a museum in Hong Kong. 齐白石再传弟子胡志峰老师现场书法. Paid 200 RMB for the casing.

Selected to receive this calligraphy.

Anyu hotel is so nice to give us a flask as a souvenir. Thanks to Dali Ancient City Anyu hotel. Your service and numerous gifts was a pleasant touch. Love the tea set and breakfast. Such a luxury!

We took a Didi to our next hotel, Dali Songyun Cliff hotel 大理松云悬崖酒店. Going to relax at this Greek like hotel facing Erhai. Took an hour to travel from Anyu hotel on the west side of Erhai to this hotel on the east.

The tea reception place is so beautiful and has a great view of erhai.

Wow the waffle is so good! So light and flavourful. The rose pudding has very strong rose smell but not sweet at all. I like the savoury tart and fruit platter. The latte is good too. The tea set is complimentary fot hotel guests.

The hotel is a beautiful photo stop.

Our beautiful cave room.

Random shots in the hotel before dinner. Near the public pool and restaurant.

Wagyu beef was good. There is melt in the mouth sensation. However, disappointed with the foie gras which is not the same as what usually have. However, hubby likes it with the cavier and truffle on it. Not impressed with the soft shell crab and fried rice as these were too oily.

Some photos in the room as the pool was lighted up with the artificial flame.

The soup is served at night between 7 to 9 pm. You can choose between 木瓜雪燕 or fungi chicken soup野菌土鸡汤. We opted for the bird nest soup tonight. The rose biscuit was not crispy so overall not as pleasant. The cafe has a nice ambience overlooking Jing Shou island. Too bad it rained all day.

Checking around the area at night. Bought some snacks to standby for the night as there is no room service and we can't order mei tuan (similar to grab without a chinese phone number.

Day 5

I think breakfast was a bit too heavy with the noodle cooked in stone bowl. There was so much ingredients with abalone, prawn, various fungus, pork and chicken. Desert rose biscuit and orange. Surprised hubby could finish the noodle cos he said it was very good!

Our butler recommended a restaurant on stone grill nearby, Hai Tong Sister Stone grill 海东姐姝石板烧. The restaurant sent a car to pick us up. Very nice Bai ethnic group's architecture.

Best grill we ever had at Sister Stone grill 姐姝石板烧! Better than the one in Kunming. Hubby said full marks for the beef, the 9 assorted dishes consisting tender well marinated chicken wings, fish balls, prawn balls, pig skin, intestines, chicken glizzard, quail egg, prawns and pork belly. Hubby also ordered duck blood and broccoli. The home made wine was awesome too especially the rose wine, passion wine and lychee wine. So lucky that our butler recommended and arranged for this feast. Really so delicious we would miss this too.

Photographs by the photographer at Flomis garden 理想邦花园 and our hotel Songyun Cliff Hotel.

More unedited photos in our hotel.

Another satisfying dinner at Ah Ma Wild mushroom 阿妈野生菌. My butler recommended us to walk about 5 mins away from the entrance to a row of restaurants and so glad we found this.

Fried meat with capsicum and caixin fried with fungi which are very flavourful. The soup is clear with vegetables and beancurd.

There was an in-house singer who sang very well!

A lot of fruit and food stalls in this market opposite the entrance to the ideal land.

Random photos as we will be leaving the hotel early in the morning.

Day 6

What a spread for Western breakfast set. Hubby said it is even nicer than the Chinese set.

Salad, bread, fried egg, salmon, very tender chicken, assorted vegetables and fruits.

Jing shou island closed up from the cafe.

Awaiting for the driver to pick us up. Gratitude for this beautiful hotel. Very expensive but awesome amenities and service. Our butler sent our laundry for cleaning for free.

The buggy brought us to the carpark to meet our driver.

Nan zhou Dynasty before Dali. A very traditional Bai ethnic house. Tong surname. Our guide showed us that the phoenix is above the dragon meaning the lady rule in the household. The oldest 90 plus in the household is their granny.

The pheonix was carved into the entrance representing that the master of the horse is a lady. There was incense worship before a Chinese word longevity 'Shou'.

The great grandma is 112 years old. She smokes a water pipe. Clean water, air and good mood promotes longevity. We also saw a bridal room display. The brides had to sew their own costume. The bride must cry for 21 days is thus displayed wearing a wearing a sunglasses as the eyes are swollen from the crying. The mirror is to ward off the evil. The bridegroom must give the silver belt for the bride. Their silverware is made from 999.9 silver which they named it snow flake silver.

His family was involved in tea trade and he explained to us the different types of teas involving different level of fermentation. He then show how a tea extract that was produced with the Zejiang university can help to clear blockage in the body.