Lots of rain tonight and it is still cloudy, foggy and a bit drizzling rain.
As it is under three hours I will wait until lunch time and hope the sun comes out. I have planned to arrange for a lunch stop in the ancient tea horse route town of Weishan, but with the rainy conditions, I will most likely stay on the highway and go straight to Dali.
The two Indonesian drivers are also going to Dali, so we might catch up to get onto the highway together. They stay in another hotel so will see what their plans are for tomorrow.
One of the benefits of driving solo is, that in situations like today you can decide as it fits.
Slowly I’m getting into the daily rhythm of motorcycle touring again. I arrived in Dali an hour ago after another great ride through an endless number of tunnels on great highways. I was a bit lucky with the weather. It was raining overnight until morning. However, at 10 o’clock it cleared and the sun came out and the weather forecast was optimistic that there is no rain the next two hours.
It all worked out on dry roads and sunny stretches through mountainous landscapes again.
Dali is a bit bigger than I expected with dense traffic. First city traffic since I started. Every country has its own traffic etiquette, and China is no different, at least the traffic is slow. So far, I have not seen any other big bikes in China and I can clearly sense that car drivers are expecting that bikes, any bikes, staying on the right (bicycle) lane and do not cross into the other lanes too often.
The hotel is a bit elevated with a view to the lake. Nice rooms with all modern facilities, got a room with a lake view.
It’s a charming place with some attitude
Time for planning for dinner.
Found my dinner place, clearly a step up from yesterday. Very local garden restaurant with lovely patio sitting and a very Yunan style kitchen. Great finishing for the day.
The dinner was really great, Duans Kitchen is a Yunan food garden restaurant with an English speaking owner. I loved the food and the great conversation. One of those things I appreciate a lot. They are part of the wonderful experiences and memories when travelling.
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