Having remained a little ambivalent about Dali thus far, we felt it really turned up trumps for us today...

No drizzle this morning, for a start. Just a lovely melange of cloud and sunlight:



And then we happened upon a parade... Well, possibly more like the practice for a parade. But very colourful, nevertheless:




These ladies were wonderful:


There seemed to be some problem with the original cymbal-player's rhythm. So across ambles someone from the male cymbal-players' contingent to show her how to do it. You didn't need any language to understand what was going on:

Man -- No, you're doing it wrong. It's not clang-clang-pause, clang-clang-pause. It's clang-clang-clang-pause, clang-clang-clang-pause.
Cymbal lady -- [Tries again, but still isn't getting it.] Clang-clang-pause. Clang-clang-pause.
Man -- NO! It's clang-clang-clang-pause, clang-clang-clang-pause...
Cymbal lady -- Clang-clang-pause. Clang-clang-pause.
Another woman -- Lucy, it's no good. You're going to have to give the cymbals to someone else if you can't get it right...

And that's what happens... It's all very good-humoured, though.

And then, alternatively cymballed, the parade takes off again:






Back for breakfast after that. Past some of the many mushroom-buying opportunities Dali presents:



So that got the day off to a great start. And it carried on really well when we decided to go and visit our nearest bit of lake.

Erhai is the second largest lake in Yunnan Province, measuring 42 km in length, and about 4 km in width.

Our objective, Longkancan, was only a few kilometres away from the old city. But the walk didn't look that attractive, so we took a Didi. Cabs can't go all the way to the shore, but from the area where they drop you off, you can catch an inexpensive shuttle that will take you to the little shopping-and-eating area a stone's throw from the water.

If we'd expected a peaceful, back-to-nature experience, we were in for a disappointment... All the commercial touristic razzmatazz from the old city has also embedded itself here, just on a smaller scale.

But the lake is undeniably beautiful, and if you initially head left along the shore instead of right, you can escape the thickest of the crowds.








We sat and ate our lunch under a tree. The bray of some vendor's recorded announcement was still within earshot, but otherwise all you could hear was the little cheepy calls of the waterfowl and the rasp of the crickets.


We retraced our steps. There were a few people walking, but most had hired bicycles (bedecked with flowers) or scooters, or hopped aboard another of the shuttles.

Once back where we started, we headed along the shore to the right, braving the throngs.

This was effectively our second parade. Because what people primarily come to do here is have their picture taken, and the shore is lined with photoshoots:



There are bridal couples. But otherwise it's all very gendered. The guys take photos of the girls, never the other way round.

We were probably the only people just taking photos of the lake...


We decided to walk back to the ride-hailing spot, rather than catching another shuttle. Past tiny fields growing all sorts of crops, and past loads and loads of flowers...



And there was no problem getting a Didi back home.

Excellent day. Nicely rounded off with a cup of that awesome Pu'er tea...