Stone Forest

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The tour of the Stone Forest starts early. Pick up from my hostel was at 8am. And yes, a girl did check into my dorm late last night. A student from Shanghai who is on the trip with her 'tong xue' , a boy who is staying in the male dorm next to ours. I had breakfast at the hotel wing for 15CNY. The sliced bread they served were oddly sweet tasting. Like milk bread. It was not awful or anything. Just..... not what i was expecting. At 8am sharp i saw a girl looking around the lobby. I went over and confirmed that she was my guide for the tour. We went up a mini van and left for the next pick up. The tour guide's name was xiao lee and our driver Mr Yang. A couple in their late 20s-early 30s from Guangdong joined me in the van and later a family of 4 from Beijing joined us too. The family of 4 consisted of a mid 30s gentleman who is a teacher, his wife, and 2 girls aged around 12 and 10 respectively. The journey to the Stone Forest was about 50minutes. xiao lee shared many interesting stories about Yunnan, the Stone Forest and the ethnic culture around here. Ladies were not called the mandarin equivalent but rather 'ah-shi-ma'. Gentlemen were either addressed as 'ah-hei-ge' or 'ah-bai-ge' or 'hei-bai-ge' . The difference between the 3? 'ah-hei-ge' is used to address a honest, loyal man. 'ah-bai-ge' is used to address a man who sponges off the 'ah-shi-ma's. And 'hei-bai-ge' is a 2 faced man who appears like a 'ah-hei-ge' but actually is a 'ah-bai-ge'. I love tidbits of information like these.

When i was about to doze off, xiao lee told us that we'll be making a stop over at a jade showroom. You know what i am talking about. One of those 'shopping' stops. I went in, walked around with no intention of buying but all the intention to copy one of their designs. The place was not too huge and i was done with my walkabout soon. Stepping out for my poison, i saw many more tour coaches pulling up. 10minutes later, the family came out followed by the couple. We waited around aimlessly for xiao lee to appear and head off. When xiao lee appeared and we were back on the van, she told us that there would be 1 more stop at another jade showroom and then we will be on our way to the Stone Forest. oh yes, the joy we were all feeling when we heard that. The next jadeshow room did not have that posh air about it, and from the looks of it it looked like it has not saw a fresh coat of paint for a few years. The obligatory walkabout was done. I got a pack of corn snacks and headed out for my poison again. The corn thingy tasted weird and i just kept it in my bag. 2 sticks of cigarettes and 4 rounds of pacing the carpark later we left; finally headed directly for the Stone Forest.

'Geologists say the Stone Forest is a typical example of karsts topography. Approximately 270 million years ago - during the carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era - the region was a vast expanse of sea. Over time, the movements of the lithosphere gradually caused a retreat of the waters and the rise of the limestone landscape. Due to constant erosion by the elements, the area finally developed into the present-day Stone Forest.' http://www.travelchinaguide.com

The Stone Forest is indeed a sight to behold. The view of stone upon stone upon stone upon stone may sound boring to some but each stone over here is unique in its own way, carefully crafted, polished, chiseled by nature itself. A few of these stones look like animals, human, plants. xiao lee said this before she pointed out the 1st stone to us, 'If you choose not to see, you will never see what i am pointing out no matter how hard i describe it to you. You decide for yourself if these stones look like anything to you.'

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