So this morning we said a sad goodbye to Mama Naxi and her family. She insisted on getting photos of Ellie and Will and then presented us all with Naxi good luck charms as well as more fruit and yoghurt. Ellie and Will left some of our Olympic colouring pages and boom sticks with her grandson who they’d played with all week.
We then had a final wander around Lijiang. We’ve really enjoyed it here. Yes the old town may be populated almost entirely by tourist shops and some of the streets are very busy with tourists but it’s touristy because it’s pretty and we’ve managed to easily find quiet whenever we’ve wanted to. Of course, there’s also its fabulous location in the hills and with the white peak of Jade Dragon Snow mountain always peaking around the next rooftop.
Our destination today was Dali, about 2 hours by train south of Lijiang. It too has an old town and is in the hills. Moreover, it’s by a large lake and it wasn’t until I spotted from the train the shimmering water with the last of the sun setting behind it that I realised how much I’ve missed the sea.
We’re staying at a hostel called the Jade Emu just outside the old city. It’s not as homely as Mama Naxi’s but the kids are excited because there’s a table tennis table. Jo and I are equally happy because we’ve splashed out an extra £1 each a night for the ‘family suite’ which consists of a large hall, a bathroom and most importantly, 2 bedrooms. We won’t have to go to bed with the kids or crash around in the dark trying to find our PJs!
To round things off, we were treated to a fireworks display which we watched from the bedroom window. How they knew we were coming or that we’d missed the 5th of November back home, I really don’t know!
Bedtime fireworks!
- Welcome to Dali
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