Kunming to Dali

We have the pleasure here of a really great train system, which voids the use of night buses!! Yee harr!
So off to Dali it was on the 10.30 train. Luckily we had a hard sleeper. It sounds as though it would be uncomfortable, being "hard", but it just means a nice firm little mattress. Very comfy, especially after the cement style mattresses of Thailand.Far cheaper than a "soft sleeper" and first class compaired to "hard seat"...

Anyway...getting away with myself. Ed, who was on a date of sorts, said that he would meet me at 9:30 so we can be at the train station for our required 40 mins before depature time.(They close the gates to the train at least 15 mins b4 depature) However, Mr hot britches wasn't there and we all know how I hate people who can't be on time! As I was getting myself into a cab, himself decides to show up. Already pissed off, this pissed me off more, because it meant that I was going to be even later than I wanted to be! I was able to contain my cranky-pantus enough not to yell at him. Well, at least until we arrived at the station. When he said
"We better hurry, we have to board soon"...I think my response to that was some thing along the lines of "Really Mr hormones! If you weren't thinking with your penis, we would already be on that train and I wouldn't want to spear you through the heart with my umbrella" I think he realised that I as a might cranky and gave me a well deserved wide birth for the remainder of the evening. Well, as wide as you can in a sleeper carriage of a train.
When we finally got on to said train, we came a cross a lovely family who were more than happy to entertain my attempts of Chinese in barter for entertaining their kid. The boy was well entertained but my Chinese didn't even improve a stitch. No matter how hard they tried.
All in all I arrived in Dali's Accient city, better rested than I would have on a night bus (Uhrrr, still makes me shiver) and in better humour than the night before. It was now safe for Ed to talk to me.
We arrived at a charming but large, guest house in the Accient City centre and slept off the last of our 6 am arrival haze. When we woke, showered and fanged down a huge hamburger, we took on the sights of Accient Dali. The city is surrounded by a high protective wall with 4 ornate and beautiful gates. Enclosed are beautiful old buildings and shop houses that you would think of as typically old world China. There are many stalls, street venders and restaurants and the palce is a buzz. It's surrounded by beautiful towering mountains, a large lake and a great deal of shops catering for the tourist trade.
Ed and I walked along the wall and checked out the West Gate. Enclose in the building was many odes to Buddha and a communal meeting room, where locals gather to drink Tea and play Chinese Scrabble. On the wall was a community garden and women with grubby hands dug away at the soil, planting flowers and green vegetables.
The only thing that was a bit bad was being dragged in to shops that you really didn't want to go in to and ladies on the streets asking you if you wanted Hash....apart from that it was really great.