Stone Forest

Got up in the morning on the 16th with good intentions, but as I slowly puttered around I realized I really didn't want to do what I had planned. There were 6 Belgium's hanging around in the lobby, so I chatted with them for a while. They said they were going to go a park in Lijiang, so I asked if I could tag along. The park turned out to be kinda small and not much to see, but it was a relaxing day. I had dinner with a German guy and Spanish girl and went to bed early.
Got up early to catch the train to Kunming. The train was leaving at 9:20 am for a 7 hour trip. Everything went according to plan and I was once again on the road. Met a guy from Singapore on the train, so it turned into a more interesting train trip than usual. Always nice

to talk to someone and pass the time. After arriving I caught a taxi to the hostel and once again went to bed early. Met a guy from Italy who was going to the Stone Forest in the am so we decided to go together. Alexandro just walked up to me in his speedo underwear and asked me if he could go with me. Was a little uncomfortable but realized it was the Italian way! Two is always better than by yourself. Got up at 7:00 am so we could leave by 8:00. Got lost getting to the metro station right away which was my fault. Not a good start but after a bit of fooling around we caught the subway to the East Bus Station and caught an express bus to the Stone Forest. Took 2 hours to get there, but it was worth the hassle. Very interesting place with lots of great unusual scenery. Seems to be standard for China. Spent the day wandering around the forest looking at all the different rock formations. The Stone Forest is a very old collection of rock formations they estimate to be started 290 million years ago. Almost as old as Mike Crawford! Very unique and quite a must see if you

ever venture down this way. Alex (the Italian) was taking pictures and video for a blog he does, so it was interesting watching how he goes about his work. Left the forest around 3:15, but soon we were stopped on the highway for an hour waiting for a stalled car to clear. Our 2 hour trip turned into a 3 hour trip back. We really didn't care, but we were hungry. Had a burger for supper and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Another great day in China. Day 25 in this big place. Hasn't really disappointed very much! What will happen tomorrow is anyone's guess!