day1#
From Lijiang to Dali, take the double-decker green skin train Y762. It's my first time taking a double-decker train, and the ticket is hard sleeper instead of hard seat. The train stops and goes for three hours, passing by Erhai Lake for a short time.
After arriving in Dali, when I got out of the train station, I couldn't see any cars on the road next to the train station. I had to cross the overpass to the other side to take a bus. I originally wanted to take a taxi, but an older man said that taxi drivers couldn't go to Dali Ancient Town for some unknown reason. So I started taking bus route 8 to Dali Ancient Town, which took about 50 minutes.
After checking into the hotel, I went to the ancient town in the evening. It was crowded with people, like a flowing river. I walked around, stopped to look at things, but I was already tired of the ancient town in Lijiang, so I didn't stay long and went back early to rest and prepare to go to Erhai Lake the next day.
day2#
I rented an electric scooter (50 yuan) and set off to see Erhai Lake (west route). Only bicycles are allowed on the west side of Erhai Lake, not electric scooters. The first stop was Cai Village, where I took some photos along the shore of Erhai Lake (besides taking photos, people were just playing in the water like children), and enjoyed the scenery in the distance.
Cai Village
I rode the electric scooter around aimlessly and ended up going to a farmhouse to have a meal.
Later, I went to Guanhai Court, where an old man was playing in the water.
I also went to the popular S Bay for a photo opportunity.
day3#
From the west side of Erhai Lake to the east side, you can ride an electric scooter on the east side. So I rented another electric scooter (60 yuan) and followed the shore of Erhai Lake. Occasionally, I stopped to take photos along the way. The final destination was to go to Ideal Palace. The architecture of Ideal Palace is perfect for taking photos and checking in. There were also many people there. To go up to the rooftop of Ideal Palace, you have to order food. From Ideal Palace, you can have a distant view of the opposite island (Haidong Island?). Ideal Palace's recommended value is not very high, but the scenery on the east side feels more abundant compared to the west side.
Ideal Palace
There are many places in Dali that you will find are not as ideal as you imagined. For example, a ditch or a pavilion can become a tourist attraction. Many attractions are beautiful on Little Red Book (a social media platform), and then everyone rushes to take pictures.