Eric's Beijing Diary

Sitting here in a Korean Restaurant in Dali, eating pan-fried potato and breathing pure mountain air. I don't know...perhaps I notice it because the spicy Kimchi side dish is clearing my sinuses.

I'm reading an interesting book. I bought it from the author. He runs a coffee shop here in Dali. It's actually sort of a "one book bookstore." Perhaps I should say "two books," because he wrote a book for children before this one. The book is called, "Mr. China's Son," and is an account of his life as a minority villager here in Yunnan Province. I was particularly intrigued with this book, because it is not translated--he wrote it in English based on the language skill he was able to develop as a university student.

I am hoping to visit the Higherland Inn at the top of the chair lift on Canshan, but I have held back because of the weather. The weather here in Dali is kinda tricky. When I go to Yahoo Weather on the Internet and check the forecast for Dali, it always seems to say something like "thunder storms," or "showers." Sure enough, in the morning, it is invariably raining cats and dogs. But it always clears up in the afternoon and evening. I wish I knew the pattern better--then I could just make my plans based on what the weather would be like in the evening. Anyway, I am busying myself with other things for the time being.

Wednesday, I took the cable car to the waterfall about half way up the mountain. Not knowing the area, I hired a tour guide for half a day. It turned out to be a pretty good deal, because a lunch meal was included, as well as a series of ethnic dances. My Bai tour guide is from this area, but her husband is a physician with the army in Tibet. I asked her if Lhasa was at about 4000 meters. She said, "More than 4000 meters. So maybe the first time you visit Tibet, you can throw up everything!" Yes. Altitude sickness. One of the main reasons I have so far avoided traveling there. Jim, the owner of Jim's Guest House, where I stayed the first three nights I was here, is organizing an eight day excursion to Tibet. The price, 5300 RMB, is between 600 and 700 US dollars, which isn't too bad, but part of the cost is the effect of altitude that everyone going to Tibet must suffer. Jim says that when you go by land, the effect is not nearly so dramatic as when you fly in. That's a good point. Some day I will do it. Maybe I will take the train.

Labels: Summer 2004