If
Dali was about getting acclimated to a large town popular with
tourists in Yunnan, away from the hustle and bustle of the commercial
center of Shanghai, five days in Shaxi was about exploring the countryside of
rural Yunnan.
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| rape blossoms blurring by the national highway |
The
staff of the Yin Fang Inn arranged the same car and driver who took
us to Butterfly Spring to make the 3-hour drive to Shaxi. The
route varied from a 6-lane national highway zipping by fields of rape blossoms, a new toll road and a
winding country road through verdant fields and large and small villages.
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| verdant fields and villages along winding country roads |
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| waiting for the tuk-tuk - our very capable driver |
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cobblestone and clear running water -
mountain runoff that you can drink |
Shaxi
is a charming and quiet small town, a big contrast to Dali with a
completely different feel. The car couldn't enter the older part of
town and we had to park and walk a short distance into the town. The
driver called the hotel (Cato Inn) for us and arranged a meeting place. The
hotel owner soon arrived in a tuk-tuk and loaded our bags on, but we
had to walk the short distance through the old town's sun dappled
cobblestone streets with a cool clear stream babbling right down the side and through the square with its old outdoor theater to the hotel situated in a
narrow alleyway.
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| Cato Inn - our hotel on the left |
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| Shaxi town square and the old theater |
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our room left and
veranda |
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| plum wine, peanuts and dried fruit from the market |
The
hotel is traditional in structure and modernized a bit for comfort.
We booked a room with a beautiful view of the valley and mountains to
the east. After settling in we explored around the little town a bit
and bought some peanuts and dried fruit to go with our plum wine
which we enjoyed on our veranda while admiring the view. Afterwards
we went out to a restaurant just around the corner from the town
square called Orange Restaurant and had a delicious Chinese dinner
of: shredded beef with shiitake mushrooms; sweet and sour sautéed
cabbage; and a slightly (we specified) spicy hot potato soup with marinated
vegetables. Too delicious to bother with pictures. Yum!
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| view of inn courtyard, valley and mountains beyond |
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| along the river front just east of town |
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| the old East Gate |
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red hot peppers used A LOT
in Bai ethnic cuisine |
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| Orange Restaurant - ate here every day |
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