Dali - Gucheng

The next day, I rise early and left the church just before 8 am. I went to look at some guest houses and went in search of Cafe de Jack as I was told that Father Larry likes the place.


I take a leisurely walk and check out the guest houses around Dali. The morning scene is refreshing.

By late morning, I found Cafe de Jack and went for my brunch. This is my favorite haunt when I was there. It was a cozy place and the staff were super friendly.

I ordered ginger tea (Y5) and french toast(Y8). While waiting for my breakfast, I log in to the net and check out some mails at Y5 per hr. The staff were busy cleaning up the mess left over by the merry makers last night.

I spoke to one of the staff and before long, we introduced ourselves and I learnt a bit about the place. Her name is also Jane. She said it was given to her by one of the guests as Chinese name is too much for him to remember. Her Chinese name is Yang Peng. She also told me that they are in the process of converting the upstairs area into a garden place for guests to relax. June is off-peak season so they do it now in preparation for the crowd in July and August which is their peak season.

She went about her work and when she is free, she came to chat again. This time she drew a picture of the Bai Chu or is it Naxi Chu? See sketch above. She said I can still see them in their traditional costume in Dali or Lijiang. They wore a towel round their head, wearing a blue costume . Her sketch is cute right?

I spend hours at the cafe, relaxing and reading there. Then I started to go around and check out Gucheng and some of their guest houses.

By noon, I met up with my cousin and she brought me to dye my hair at a local saloon at Y40. My cousin was contemplating whether or not to dye her hair. She finally gave in. It was quite well done and I quite like the color. I'm quite pleased with the deal.

We went to Sister Cafe and had Japanese cuisine (sabu-sabu) for dinner. Then we went shopping and playing with the idea of importing some stuff to Singapore for online sales, perhaps.


We also went to visit her friend, also named Jane who is the owner of one of the travel agencies in Dali. I took a 6D5N Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-la package for Y1,000. Actually, I think it's easier to travel on my own as I understand that it is very easy to find accomodation in Lijiang. Somehow, I think my cousin will feel better if I join a tour group. I decided to go for it.

We take a walk around Gucheng before calling it a day.