CSI - Dali

So we stayed in Dali for about 3 days. Nice enough place - I got the feeling that it was kind of like a Chinese version of Cesky Krumlov (for anyone who's been there). A beautiful little old town area with tonnes of funky little cafes and bars in traditional local houses. It's kind of on the touristy side but that's just par for the course here, stil an awesome place to relax for a couple of days.

Well that was the theory. We relaxed for one day, which was basically because of my gear being stolen and spending half the day at the police station. I tell you what it's no CSI Miami over here. First the police came to the hotel and after disinterestedly listening to the hotel owner tell them what had happened they desultorily shuffled into my room and one of them took a single photo of my bed. Without a flash. The dark and blurred print will no doubt crack the case wide open.

Then it was off to the police station - a dirty old room with some guy in baggy pants and an old jacket slurping tea and writing down a report so slowly that I got the feeling it was the only thing he had to do that week and he was trying string it out for as long as possible. He asked me (through the lovely girl from the hotel translating) a whole bunch of probing questions that had me sweating like the hapless suspect in a Law & Order episode. Well in actual fact he asked me how much my camera had cost and whether I had heard anything during the night. Then he ripped off half the report (no photocopier here) and gave it to me, a small ripped scrap of paper entirely in Chinese script. The insurance company will love it.

So that day was a relaxing one - straight to the pub after that!