This trip was our graduation trip. After some bumpy arguments and planning (I was worried about MERS; and since my second year of grad school I haven’t been a fan of flying, with the flight distance being over ten thousand kilometers), we finally decided on Yunnan.
- Transportation
We chose the route Beijing - Kunming - Dali - Kunming - Beijing. Since I basically only fly with Air China, and Air China doesn’t have direct flights to Dali’s Huangcao Airport, we had to make a transfer, which was quite inconvenient. My suggestion: try to book direct round-trip flights whenever possible.
If you’re traveling from Kunming, there are two options: bus or train. We took the bus both ways. The fare was around 136 yuan, about 5 hours (Dali Xingsheng Bus Station to Kunming West Bus Station). Unfortunately, we hit a 2-hour traffic jam on the way there. The train takes 7-8 hours. Some people recommend taking the overnight train. Once you arrive in Dali, you can take public buses, which are very cheap at around 1.5 or 2 yuan, from Xiaguan to the Old Town. If it’s too late, you can ask the inn to pick you up.
- Accommodation
If you have the budget, you could stay in Shuanglang, but we checked and it wasn’t very convenient. My suggestion is to stay in the Old Town, which is quite affordable, generally 80-130 yuan per night. We stayed at Mengxingu Inn. It was quite nice - they had a dog, really cute. I was scared at first, but later found it to be very gentle.
On the last night, we stayed at 1969 Seaside Inn. It was quite expensive, had no TV, and the water pressure was low. But the environment was absolutely stunning.
- Sightseeing
You can stroll around the Old Town - it’s very relaxing.
You can ride bikes along Erhai West Road.
Finally, a few words of reflection: happy graduation. The road ahead is long - take it one step at a time.