Weekly photo challenge – solitary

This week’s photo challenge is on being solitary.  To me, solitary sounds more interesting than alone – solitude is something positive – a chance to contemplate life and ground myself for a few moments.

I think it’s easy to do that type of contemplating when you’re by the sea.  The first photo is when we were at the sea in Shenzhen watching the waves crash onto the shore.  Li climbed down on the rocks and watched the waves while I snapped the photo.

The second photo Li took of me as I was enjoying the peace of the lake near Dali, in Yunnan province last November.  It was a long day and I remember just focusing, closing my eyes and relaxing while I heard the birds and waves.

Both of those photos are historic ones – but yesterday when I was in the office I realized that someone had put a teddy bear on the ledge by the window.  The bear really looked like it was contemplating life and looking out over the Shanghai skyline.  I had to take a photo.

May we all enjoy our solitude.  Which is your favorite?

To see other bloggers ideas on “solitary” please click the link at the beginning of my post.

Exploring – Dali, Cangshan

The second day in Dali we spent climbing Cangshan mountain, spending the better part of 6 hours exploring the hills before we headed back to Kunming for the evening.  Prior to getting there we had to take a cable car for what seemed like close to 30 minutes which heightened the suspense.  It was remarkably uncrowded as we climbed up and down, snacking on pine nuts which are the area’s specialty.  The blue sky and white clouds provided a backdrop that is pretty rare in Shanghai.  Good for the soul.

Enjoy the photos!

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Exploring – Dali, Yunnan by Night

Dali is populated by one of the larger minority ethnic groups in China, the Bai people.  We decided to have dinner during our night in Dali and sample some traditional Bai fare.  This included a special type of fish stew cooked in a clay pot and a dish with fresh water snails and chili sauce. 

After dinner we then took a walk through the town to see what was up.  There was so much going on – street vendors including one selling cheese melted on a stick, a movie shown on the side of the city wall (which was a classic, famously set in Dali) and a water channel down the street flanked by bars. 

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It was easy to see that it was going to be a late night for many people.  We decided to finish it with a quick massage and then smile up at the twinkling stars before heading to bed.  We had a mountain to climb the next day.

Exploring – A Dali hotel

Our hotel in Dali was very special, a converted ancient house that had been transformed into a hotel.  It was located in the center of the old town on the acclaimed “Foreigner’s Street”, right in the middle of the small town hustle and bustle.  From the photos, you can see the traditional structure with a large courtyard in the center and then multiple levels of open air walkways that led to rooms surrounding the courtyard.  There were water features, comfortable chairs and fresh flowers all over, with beautiful views of the mountains.

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Because now is the low season, the streets of the town and the hotel both were uncrowded and the price for such a room was remarkably reasonable – 215 RMB for one night (about $40 USD).  I can see why people say Yunnan is a little piece of heaven.

What’s the favorite hotel you’ve lived in?

Exploring – Dali, Yunnan by Day

After such a crazy October, a few days of exploring outside of Shanghai made for a welcome change of pace.  In the middle of November we spent a long weekend in Yunnan province.  Yunnan (云南) translates to “South of the clouds” and is located in the southwest part of China, close to Thailand.  The first part of our trip went to the ancient city of Dali.  Dali is a tourist mecca, known for comfortable summers and comfortable winters.  Mountains are to the west of the town and Erhai Lake is to the east, so the feng-shui is excellent.  These photos are from our first afternoon when we wandered around the city and to the shore of the lake.

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The thing that I appreciated most was the brilliant blue sky as we strolled through town.

More photos from our Yunnan trip will be coming shortly.  Between the two of us, we took over 700 shots, so it will take me some time to sort through them and decide which are post-worthy.  Please let me know which ones you enjoy the most!