Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels: China

Monday, September 24, 2012

China - Dynamic Yunnan Day 4

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Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels
China - Dynamic Yunnan 24th to 31st August 2011

Day 4 : 27th August 2011

Colorful tribal costume with head-gear.

Today promises to be an active day. We will be going fishing in a lake, yes fishing! Why waste time fishing on holiday tour? Read on and find out.
Later we will travel another 184km to Lijiang and stay in an old town which has been preserved in its pristine ancient condition devoid of modern traffic. That will be interesting!

From Dali to Lijiang about 184 km. (5hrs bus ride including stops) (see Google Interactive Map)

NOTE : There is a nice song that I heard in Lijiang called "Dida", play this song as you read along, it will give you the mood of the place. (click here to PLAY SONG)

After breakfast & checking out, we were taken to this Tea House just on the outskirts of new Dali city. It is a family house a few hundred years old, owned and resided by the same family for generations.

At one end of the inner courtyard, was a "Moon Wall" strategically located to give "feng shui" protection to the family. It mus be working well as the family has been and is still staying here for ages.

On one of the corridor floor, I notice nice tiles engraved with Chinese Zodiac animals. More protection for the family?
When in China, one have to keep a keen eye for details like this, one the floor, in a nook, at the ceiling, etc. and one can see history kept alive.

Surprisingly, we were ushered into a small hall with a small stage. There is a hall in this house? How did they fit it in?
Bai tribal dancers came on stage to give us a dance and song presentation, I was intrigue by their costumes. They were different from the ones we saw in Kunming - a testament to the fact that there are many minority tribes in Yunnan.

The performance turned out to be a reenactment of a Bai wedding ceremony. The ladies here waving goodbye to their friend and wishing her a happy marriage.
During the performance, we were served tea, Dali tea ceremony style, called San Dao Cha. First was a bitter tea to prepare our palate for the second tea, which is a sweet tea served with Yak milk. Finally a spicy tea to wash down the strong taste of the second tea.

Here's the couple prior to the wedding rites. The master-of-ceremony briefed us that the tail of a Bai lady's hat gives a indication of her status. A long tail reaching up to the waist means she is single and eligible. A tail reaching out to the mid-back means she is engaged, whilst a short tail up to the shoulder means she is married. Okay, now when I meet a Bai lady, I will look out for the tail before talking to her - lest I say something wrong and be given a slap on the cheek!

After the rites, the bride is given a mirror to wear, to ward off evil. I am not too sure what the dark John Lennon style shades mean though - perhaps to "limit" her sight to her husband only and avoid wandering eyes!

With the nice tea warming our us in the chilly morning, we went over to the lake side. A small group of Bai girls greeted us together with a lion dance. Hmmm, now that I have been briefed earlier I noticed that the girl on the left is single and the one on the right engaged. So no nonsense on the right then.

We boarded the boats and were rowed to the middle of Erhai Lake, our orange life vest a stark contrast to the dark waters of the lake.
Funny though, were were not given any fishing rods or anything akin to fishing gear. How are we suppose to fish?

At the middle of the lake a boat was waiting for us, with birds perched on its edges. Oh... now I get it, it is the birds which will be doing the fishing, not us. No wonder no fishing gear!

With a command from the fisherman, a couple of bird went to perch on a long bamboo pole. From this higher position they can spy better for fishes in the lake.

On another command, the birds swooped down, diving into the water looking for fishes.

Most of them were successful, it must be in their nature. This one cormorant sitting gloriously high with a fish in its mouth, a sight to behold. Majestic bird but the poor fish...

The cormorant are well trained, they do not fly off with the fish. Instead they fly to the fisherman for him to collect his harvest. Many says that the birds have rings tied to their necks to prevent them from swallowing the fishes. But I doubt it as I did not see any constriction on their necks - they are just well trained.

Cormorants having a well deserved rest after the boat berthed at the jetty. They are magnificent birds with good plumage to protect them from the cold water.

With the birds having gone home, we had a boat race between ourselves - helping the local rower race back to the jetty.

That race left us ravenous with hunger and we were most happy that lunch was at a nearby court-yard restaurant. "Waiter! More rice please..."

We left Dali and the birds, starting our long journey to Lijiang. The distance may not be that long, but as we will be driving through the hills, it will be a slower ride taking us five hours. I reminded myself to enjoy the the scenery and took nice shots of the misty hills which seems to come straight out from some Chinese painting. Beautiful!

Here the bright green paddies contrast well with the darker green hills. Yunnan is on a high altitude, even here we are already more than 2,000 meters above sea level, and we are going up even higher.

Entrance to Lijiang Old Town

We reached Lijiang Old Town close to five hours later. As the whole town is of limits to automobiles, the bus had to stop a distance away- - at a car-park about 1 km. from the town entrance. Other than horses and bicycles, only the motor-bikes of residents are allowed into town.

From the entrance to our hotel was another 1 km. walk, but it was okay. The rustic atmosphere of the town grows onto one, and the walk on the granite pavement was brisk in the cool climate.
We passed by some horses, these ones were for tourists. The only thing I did not like is that the horses do their bowel business anywhere, and it makes the place stink.

We will be staying at the Jinfeng Yinjua Holiday Inn for the night.

It's a nice hotel, with our rooms facing a landscaped inner courtyard that has a natural spring running through it.

After checking in, we walked through the streets to the restaurant where we will be having our dinner. It was a great walk admiring, the live-style of the residents and their quaint houses.

Walking pass a little art shop, I made a note to come back here after dinner and see what unique local artwork it holds.

Dinner at this restaurant was steamboat style, with slices of beef, lamb, meat balls, vegetables, mushrooms in a hot spicy soup. Good for the cool weather here.

After dinner, to work off our hearty meal, we walked the streets again. What can we say, we enjoy it. This time we followed one of the many water channels that courses through the town. As we walked, we kept on hearing this haunting tune Dida by Kankan being played on and on. It wasn't monotonous hearing it over & over again. In fact it blended well with the atmosphere of the place, the haunting soulfulness of the song adding to the sereneness of the evening.

That water channel led to this pool, the trees and hills reflecting off it. There were many pubs around this area. The stoney streets of Lijiang beckoned us and walked around more visiting many shops selling local artifacts and souvenirs. When the shops closed we came back here and drank to the wee hours of the morning, soaking in the ambiance of the place.

Good Night! Burp!

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