大理 // Dali. Taking it slow after the food poisoning incident in 丽江 // Lijiang. Taking short walks and still out of breath. Calorie shortage. Expat haven, basking in the comfort of familiar foods and neutral tastes, soothing our battered stomachs. Trying a simple bread roll, easing our way to local treats here and there.

Enjoying sunny days, sunlight streets, not empty but comfortably spacious in the morning and crowded at night. Clean little noodle shops and cafés. Craft stores, designer caves and handmade postcards. Flower cakes everywhere in between.

苍山 // Cangshan Mountain Range. Gondola ride halfway up. Peak at 4000m+. Easy hikes, viewing 洱海 // Erhai Lake. Clean springs and not so clean basins. Clean air and the everflowing mass of Chinese tourists.

Clusters of white houses and fields around the lake. No time to circle it, but supposedly fun experience by bike. Civilizations settle near water. Territory of the Bai Minority. Signs reminding us of the 60-year anniversary of the Bai Minority Autonomous Prefecture. The number of inhabitans is misleading, the area is considered rural. Stepping out just ten minutes outside the old town, surrounded by fields with yellow rape plants and some fallow land. A middle-aged woman working in solitude. Her shirt matches the yellow background.

Back to Dali old town. Joining the buzzing nightlife, admiring the gate and sitting down for some food. Nothing crazy, nothing outrageous. But a positive note to 云南 // Yunnan Province.

February 5th – February 8th 2017