Dali Charm ... how sweet it is

The water from the Cangshan Mountain range runs through the town of Dali. Unlike America, China doesn't bother to put up fences to protect anyone from the water. It's such a pleasant feature of this little city.

A father and his little boy watch the traffic on the street.

A man walks down Foreigner Street, where the Sunshine Cafe is situated.

I felt as though I could sit in front of the Sunshine Cafe on Foreigner Street all day and look at the people walking by.

On Foreigner Street no cars were allowed, so almost all the traffic was foot traffic. Occasionally, you'd see a motorcycle or some kind of cart carrying a vegetable delivery, but other than that, it was just interesting people walking by -- monks and schoolchildren and tourists and locals, all fascinating to the Western eye.

Water from the Cangshan Mountain range comes down into the streets of Dali and cascades through open portals built into the streets. In fact, in front of the Sunshine Cafe, there was a 6-inch-wide trough of water that ran under the outdoor tables, right under your feet, all day long, all night long; how funny. The girls would use the water to mop the floors each day.

We would have our cameras at the ready and just take shot after shot of people walking down the streets. This was how we spent a good deal of time relaxing during our travel to China.

Here are more pictures from around Dali.

This truck came along once or twice a day. You knew it was in the neighborhood because it blasted the "Happy Birthday to You" tune over and over and over, like an obnoxious ice cream truck.