And then the crowds came. How they have flocked to Dali for the big festival. I arrived too late for the opening ceremony, but I was told that you couldn’t get near it anyway. The stands were packed for the horse races and good luck trying to move up and down the line of booths. It’s a big crowd, but a well-behaved crowd. I was never pushed and I never sensed that someone was trying to take anything off of me. I would squeeze the pocket of my jacket on a regular basis to make sure that my wallet was still in it. Same with my camera case. If they stole my backpack, all they would get is a bunch of books and my sunscreen.
I’m impressed by the assortment of items that are for sale, but nothing jumps out and grabs my attention. There is a lot of food and drink (of course), clothing, shoes, medical remedies (natural or otherwise), gadgets, widgets, wing-dings, and pretties. I like to look at the people the most. There are such interesting faces to see and photograph. I like the chubby little pink faces of the small children that have fallen asleep on their parent’s shoulder. I also like the older women with kindly, brown, wizened faces who are dressed in their traditional Bai (local tribe) garments. I should ask to take their pictures, but I’m too much of a coward. So, like a crazed gunman, I just shoot randomly into the crowd.
Even a well-behaved crowd starts to wear on me after a while. After exploring only one street’s worth of booths (it was a long street, too) I had to get away. I started walking back towards my guesthouse where the crowds thinned, but the walkways were still congested. It took my a while to get to the point where I was walking by myself, and then I was half-way back to Xiaguan. It was probably the warmest day I’ve experienced since reaching Dali, and walking around in a jacket and hat becomes slightly uncomfortable, but I press on. The stomach bug that I’ve been grappling with has been claiming most of my energy lately. The exercise makes me feel a bit stronger, and it helps to clear out the cobwebs in my head. The ones you get when you lay about with nothing to do.
On the return trip, I make a detour through town to get some items at the super market. I love that you can get Oreos cheap here because they pack them in Indonesia. It’s that western “gotta get a chocolate fix” mentality that I just can’t shake. I would also like something salty, but the potato chip flavors don’t appeal to me and the crackers are all sweet. Anyway, after going for soup noodles and Oreos, I headed toward the city gate and just before I reached it, I saw this child. He was crouched along the edge of the street and just staring into space. Like he was pondering the mysteries of the universe. I think that he was put there by someone who wanted to collect money for some reason because he had a sign in front of him that was written in Chinese characters. The expression on this child’s face was that of an old sage. He seemed perfectly content to sit there quietly and work out his mental puzzle. I tried to take a picture without asking first, and the little booger closed his eyes just as I snapped a shot. He must have been trained to do this, but, then again, I should have asked first.
