One of my guilty pleasures is taking high tea in a luxury hotel. There’s something about getting dressed up and heading out to enjoy oneself midday like a fin de siècle lady of leisure. The tradition of afternoon tea began in 1865 at the Langham in London and continues to this day. While I have yet to […]
Asia
The Best Meals We Ate in Dali, China
Confession time: Aside from the delicious meals enjoyed at our lake-side hotel, we didn’t eat any Chinese food in Dali. Living in Shanghai, we can get top-notch versions of all of China’s regional cuisines, so it just wasn’t a priority for us. Moreover, in the wake of Lijiang’s scant restaurant selection, we were pleasantly surprised by the […]
Dali, China: A Place You’ll Want to Dally
Dali, China is an ancient city in the country’s western Yunnan Province, a couple hours south of Lijiang. The area was settled by the Bai people, a tenacious Tibetan-Burmese folk who established the Nanzhou Kingdom in the 8th century after successfully defeating invading Tang dynasty forces. A Bai chief minister staged a coup at the beginning of the 10th […]
Erhai Lake and the Pastoral Scenery of Dali, China
We spent our four nights in Dali, China at the delightful Windoo Resort, situated on the western bank of Erhai Lake. Stretching 40 kilometers in length at an elevation of nearly 2,000 meters, Erhai is the second largest lake of its kind in China. Ferries make frequent trips across the lake for those wishing to […]
The Three Pagodas of Dali, China
One of the most iconic sights of China’s southwestern Yunnan Province is the Three Pagodas of Dali, found 1.5 kilometers north of the ancient city. The striking towers were built in the 9th and 10th centuries at the base of the Cangshan Mountains, with Lake Erhai visible on the horizon. Miraculously, the brick structures have […]