Megan:
The day started off with a very long and very curvy bus ride into the mountains. We arrived at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and we rode up to Yak Meadow in a gondola. The altitude we were at was high enough that our guide, Dr. Wu, had us purchase oxygen. On the way up the gondola I saw many heart necklaces hanging in the trees where riders had thrown them. I later learned that they were charms that people would throw into the trees.

When we arrived in Yak Meadow they had two yaks that you could sit on and take pictures. Almost everybody had their picture taken with the yak. Then we went and visited the Buddhist Temple. This temple is very significant to the people that live in this area of Yunnan province. There is a walkway leading up to it with many golden cylinders lining it. When you walk up you are supposed to spin each cylinder and for each one you spin you say a prayer. When you walk into the courtyard both sides are lined with the cylinders. You have to go a certain way around so that all of the cylinders are spun the same way. You can also walk into the prayer room; there are candles and incense all over. The monk was peacefully chanting, which lured people into praying. If you left a small donation and said a prayer you received a thin white scarf. When you leave the temple you have to go the opposite way than you came in so you can finish spinning the cylinders on the other side of the courtyard and the walkway. It is then the custom to place your prayer scarf onto a rock pile near the temple.

While at the mountain, Dr. Wu met a young Tibetan Yi woman working there who lived nearby. She invited up to visit her village and her home. Her home was a simple, single story building with four rooms arranged around a courtyard. We looked into the main gathering room first. Here there was an interesting juxtaposition of Dali Llama pictures with a TV and DVD player. We then entered room entirely set aside for family prayer. We ended our visit here by meeting the young woman’s grandmother who charmed the entire group despite the fact she could not speak English or Chinese!

After this, we headed for Dali. Much to our surprise, the winding bus ride took three hours. The old portion of Dali is walled and we were lucky to stay in the walled section. We arrived at one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen. It was designed to resemble a Bai home where all the rooms opened out into a beautiful courtyard. It was definitely worth the bus ride. We went to dinner and then back to the hotel to get a very pleasant night sleep.

Bai house entrance: Bai houses are all built with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms.