On Friday the 16th I spent the day wandering around Dali and taking pictures with no particular plan in mind. I found a little park area and some peace and quiet by the South Gate. Because there is a 1000 CNY daily limit to withdrawing funds I took some money out to prepare for going to Shaxi and planned to take more out and cash my traveller's cheques the next day. I went back to the Garden Restaurant for another hot pot - unfortunately this time I got a fish bone stuck in my gum and couldn't fully enjoy the spicy lobster I'd ordered (which I thought would be a few in the hotpot but ended up being about 20 on a plate - very messy and tasty).
On Saturday I visited a dentist early in the morning to help remove the fishbone and bought some hydrogen peroxide. To communicate my needs I Google translated the phrases I wanted to convey, copied and pasted them onto a doc and showed them to the dentist and health goods store. Eventually the bone came out. However, even though it was a minor ailment, I realized how isolated a solo traveller can feel in a foreign country where there is a language barrier. Luckily Ian was at hand on Skype for support and advice. Not all banks deal with traveller's cheques but Bank of China did. I had to fill out a couple of forms and line-up - luckily it wasn't as crowded as I have seen it at times. I wouldn't want to rely on traveller's cheques but I suppose they'd be a good back-up if I couldn't get an ATM to work.
My errands done I paid up at the Moonshine Inn (750 CNY for 4 nights which included 30 CNY for laundry) and went with the driver the innkeeper had called to the bus station - the ride cost 40 CNY. As with Kunming there is more than one bus station - however, this Dali station was nowhere near as large or chaotic as Kunming, and right away I approached a woman with a shoulder purse and cell phone who seemed to be my Kunming angel's counterpart. Sure enough she pointed me to the right ticket window where I asked the agent to write down the cost for a ticket to Jianchuan (35 CNY) and departure time (20 mins), and other people helped me find the right gate.
The bus was quite small, but not as small as the bus that took me 3 hours later from Jianchuan to Shaxi for 10 CNY which had seats for 8 and carried 11, plus large plastic bags of something. Forty-five crushing minutes later we were at the Shaxi bus station - basically a collection of mini-vans on the street. (Someone in Shaxi told me that 11 people is not unusual - it can be as high as 13-14 - any limit is not enforced, and she thinks won't be until there's a serious accident as there has been elsewhere). I followed the directions down to the Horse Pen 46 Hostel, through a very ancient looking section of the town. The Horse Pen 46 Hostel is off an old courtyard where it's not hard to imagine people gathering in olden times. Also there is the original old temple which houses a lot of information about the restorations efforts that have taken place since 2004. The village began in 1400 but fell into disrepair and until recently the "unstable political climate" did not value saving it. It is the last village remaining on the Tea and Horse Caravan Trail and was short-listed on the World Heritage Site list and amazing work has been done to restore it. Shaxi is a quiet little place that is surrounded by hills and farms and the hostel backs onto a river that provides peaceful places to sit. The view from my 3rd floor room balcony is of the hostel's courtyard and over the rooftop to the hills. The pace is very relaxing and peaceful here. Every year students from a well-known Chinese art school come here, and the hostel owner laughingly told me that Shaxi is popular because the people around town the students use as models don't move for long periods of time.
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