March 19, 2014 ---- The bus ride from Lijiang to Dali actually takes about 3 hours, and the train takes only 2 hours but does not run often. Nathan and I had to take the bus because I didn't plan carefully and missed the morning train. We didn't get to Dali till almost 4 p.m. and went straight to the train station to store our luggage before exploring the city.
Dali is bigger than I thought. The city seemed very developed and had great transportation. We took a bus (no bus number) from the train station straight to the Three Pagodas which took almost an hour. We had only an hour and a half to explore before the temple closed at 6:30 p.m.
Chongsheng Temple is huge! The entrance gate is on the foot of the hill and the buildings and Pagodas are located further up the hill. You might have to walk the entire day to see everything in this temple. Nathan and I did our quick visit to every single building on the main walk up to the very last one on the back of the temple in an hour and it took us a half hour just to walk back down to the gate. It was Nathan's favorite temple in this trip.
The last bus was supposed to leave Chongsheng Temple at 7 p.m., but it left 15 minutes earlier. Luckily Nathan and I got on in time. We got off at Erhai Lake for dinner and evening stroll before taking an overnight train to Kunming. The lake is bigger than any lake I have ever seen, and I wish I had more time to bike along the lake.
Bus Ride: Lijiang--> Dali
Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas
Erhai Lake
Dali Train Station
