Dali

I've been in Dali for 2 days now and it's quite a nice city. There are a lot of cafes and other small restaurants to peacefully spend time in and meet people, and there are mountains to climb around in. The atmosphere here is quite different from the rest of the places I have visited in China. The people here are less hurried, less pushy, and much more welcoming. That isn't to say that other parts of the country aren't nice, but here, after just a few hours, you feel almost at home. Unfortunately, the weather has been cloudy and rainy for the past few days, but like I said, there are plenty of great places to read or have a conversation.

I'll probably stay here for a few more days and then move on to Lijiang, an old town not too far from here that has some more mountains to wander around in. Now, though, I'm going to get back to my fresh strawberry juice. Yummy.