We had vowed to see the Stone Forest rain or shine, so despite the 80% chance of rain in the forecast,we hired a car to drive us there - about 2 hours away. On the way, the driver was quite insistent that we stop off and see this temple on the side of the mountain. Turns out, it was quite impressive, though there was not enough English signage for me to give you the name. I will look it up some time. There was a giant gold happy Buddha to greet us.
Absolutely beautiful flowering trees among the statues...I mean this is January!!
Some of the most colorful and best preserved temple guardians we have seen in China yet.
A strange mandala of some kind...see Helen's reflection?
You would NOT want to mess with this guy...I think the temple is in good hands.
Finally we arrived at the Stone Forest..and no rain! Only some wet drippy rocks, which added to the effect (and the excitement, as the stone stairs were a little slippery. The stone forest is a major tourist area, although by arriving at lunch time and foregoing lunch (I had packed peanut butter and crackers) we avoided nearly all the tourists.
A lot of the larger stone formations have names...this one is named Ashima, who was a girl in love with a boy in the true Romeo and Juliet style legend. The local ethnic group here is called the Sani, and there were tons of costumed Sani people all over the place, giving tours, etc. We scoffed at the idea of a tour guide, after all there was an English map and lots of signs....
Sophia took some time in the backpack, and we fed the ravenous carp in the Lotus Pond.
Then we discovered the "Deep and Narrow Valley and the real adventures began.
These formations were made by water..some of the area was under water and everything was delightfully damp and moss-covered.
There were numerous caves and crevices, and the paths led deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. Lots of stairs.
Sophia, powerful two year old in her yellow boots, did a fair amount of climbing on her own, especially when the low clearance made it impossible to keep her in the backpack.
Thomas led us in..and without a guide, he eventually led us out...but in the mean time there were some moments when the map and signs did not match up, and I felt a rising tide of panic....we were supposed to be at the car in 20 minutes...where were we? Suddenly we spotted the first human we had seen in a half hour or more, and found that our path had led us out right by the entrance to the park!! So while we didn't see the whole forest, we saw the deepest and darkest part and were all pretty satisfied with that.
We came back to go for a swim in the hotel pool which was quite cold. Only Thomas and Helen ventured in.
In the evening we had a meal of Yunnan specialties..although they were out of the herb and chicken dish I wanted, we ate pretty well..I really liked the fried cheese (its a sheep's cheese, but tasted like feta..fried with a sliced of Yunnan ham..delicious. Thomas liked the huge side of roast beast..I think pork..that we ordered based on the menu pictures. On our after dinner walk we saw this man making chalk pavement drawings...
Tomorrow morning we leave Kunming for the smaller and more remote town of Lijiang, where we will spend the rest of our vacation. I really have had a very positive impression of Kunming. I have said that I couldn't imagine anyplace other than Xiamen where I could really enjoy living..but I would love to live here. The pollution has not been a factor (although hard to tell, since it rained)..it was warm and pleasant, especially when the sun came out in the afternoon, the people are laid back and friendly, and the city has a nice open feel in the modern downtown area, and a diverse and eclectic feel in the old city market. Overall -- I would really recommend it for a visit!
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