Driving to Dali

Sunday 10th December 2006

Onwards and downwards we departed from walnut garden, on a goat track around the mountain but this time by a small bus rather than donkey or goat. What a hair rasing experience as the driver swearved around the corners honking every few minutes, reminicient of the Almafi Coastal drive in Italy but feeling twice dangerous. All in the name of adventure. We did make it alive out of the gorge for our next leg which was 5 hours on a 3/4 size local bus. Around the lush green mountainous landscape and through local villages, to Dali our next stop for a few nights. The bus stopped for a greece fill – I do not mean oil but it may as well have been by the look of the food there, my insides told me to stay well away from this sort of food, now that I felt like I had been cut in half. We had time to explore Dali on our own in the late afternoon after my priority of going to the Chemist to get some plasters for my inside. Thanks to Bora, his dictionary and sign language he managed to communicate to the non english speaking shop assistants that I needed something for heartburn. They gave me some interesting looking powder drink which tasted even more interesting than it looked, as long as it was to mend my insides I didn’t care as I was now sacrifcing tea for the pain. The hostel – “Guesthouse No 5″ was really quaint, a maze of courtyards on different levels, a computer room and a roof terrance. We had our own private room again which even had tv and tea. Dinner (tea but not the cup variety more the food variety) was dumplings at at traditional chineese eatery. Today we all tried the the steamed and the boiled, with own made up sauce that can consist of chilli, spring onions and soya sauce, have it as strong as you like. Or not.