There is a very good booking office in Dali. It is called "Micheal Yang Travel Booking office" on Boai Road. He said he is listed in the Lonely Planet ( I'm just taking his work for it as i don't have one ) but since it's publishing he has had to move for about half a year from his original address. He is now located on Boai Road, near "Foreigner Road" inside the old town. You can reach him at 267-81-89 or email
hotmail.com|michael-yang44 You can get cable car tickets return for 60Yuan instead of the regular 82Yuan that is charged everywhere else and YES they are legit.

i've heard so many people talk about how hard it is to get cheap accommodation during the spring festival. or that you can get a really cheap room at about 200Yuan. For my boyfriend and me, that's not cheap at all, that's EXPENSIVE. we've never paid that ever, not even in hongkong. We mangaged to get a cheap room in lijiang for 50yuan after bargaining it down from 100yuan. it had a private bathroom with hot hot water, a tv and overlooked the courtyard. It was CLEAN, i would know after cleaning in numurous 5 star hotels the last few years, and only about 100 meters from the bus station and the old town. if you're hungry, there are plenty of cheap resturants nearby where you can get food for about 3yuan. it is called Ri Yue He Hotel and you can see it from the bus station. very good accommodation and very cheap. I would definitely recommend it.

Yes, Shanghai is EXPENSIVE, especially if you want cheap accommodation. But I've managed to get accommodation for 50Yuan after some hunting around.You have to be PATIENT and ask lots of people. My boyfriend and I are buget buget travellers, so we never ever look at the guide books for advice on lodgings 'cause we always know they'll be expensive, even when the book says it's cheap. But honestly, if you want something that's CLEAN, you'll probably have to fork up the extra money. Minimum 100Yuan. But I didn't mind as long as the bedsheets were new. There are people on the trains who help with lodging as well, and they don't care about charging extra for foreigners ( at least not in my experience ). Stay away from YMCA if you can. They're like the a 5 star hostel, but with 5 star prices. Not worth it when there are equally good accommodation around for cheaper. Hope this helps.