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Published: February 14th 2011
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Oh hey!
On a hilltop with the stone forest below. I got off the train and bought an overnight sleeper bus ticket to Lijiang for 10 pm that same night. I debated whether or not to go to the Stone Forest (Shi Lin/石林) and I eventually concluded that I didn't have anything better to do at 6 am in an unfamiliar city. I took bus #60 to Kunming East Bus Station where I bought a ticket and caught a bus within an hour. There were only 5 people on the whole bus and it only took about an hour to get there. At the park I used my expired MIT ID to get a ticket at the student price. They said, "It's expired" and I just repeated, "I am a student and want to buy a student ticket" and they gave it to me.
First I ended up at the small stone forest which had a lot of landscaping, pristine planted grass and "chuan minzu" in the area. The karst rock formations were definitely cool but it was mildly disappointing because the fake surroundings made them look fake too. Initially I thought that the small part was the entire park. Also that section was filled with Chinese tour groups with
Old Man
Supposed to be, anyway. loud megaphones and flags which detracted from the peaceful nature experience.
However, the other ~4 parts of the park were basically completely empty except for me, and the scenery surrounding the karst formations was more natural. First I climbed to the top of a hill where I was surprised by the vastness of the park. Huge sloping fields of feathery gray peaks. Next I went to this scenic district in the field of karst below and followed a winding path through narrow eroded passageways, under scary rocks that looked like they were going to fall, and past particular formations that someone had decided looked like something. There were apparently coral and other fossils from before the time of the dinosaurs embedded in the rocks.
As I was walking, I saw a sign for "The Eternal Mushroom" and I knew that would have to be my next destination! The trip led me past more awesome fields of karst and also some farming land and irrigation systems. It is said that Kunming is the city of eternal spring. Walking about, I smelled fragrant trees and flowers, heard birds chirp and bees buzz, and enjoyed the warm sun on my face.
The sky was bright blue all the way across, not like "blue sky days" in Wuhan where the sky is a gradient from blue at the top to pollution gray at the horizon. They had probably not minorities dressed up in minority costumes driving golf cart tour vehicles that I elected not to take. In addition though, I saw many real minorities dressed in traditional costumes doing farm work. I suspect they really livei there and were not planted by the Yunnan tourism industry, but you never know!
I headed back to Kunming to explore the town, but everyone I asked said that there wasn't anything interesting to do there! I just ended up walking around for hours and hours. I guess I kind of agree that Kunming doesn't seem to have a lot of local character. Maybe a big portion of its residents are actually from elsewhere and only came to find work. I did manage to find a dinner of guo qiao mian/过桥面/over the bridge noodles, which Wikitravel said was a local specialty and of course the internet is always right. Everything was served separately - a bowl of hot broth, a bowl of noodles, a plate
of raw meat and veggies and even a raw egg in a dish. I had to ask the water what I was supposed to do. First you add the raw stuff to the broth and let it cook, then you add the noodles and eat it. Pretty tasty!
Still had time to kill before the bus to Lijiang, so I got a much-needed hair wash and cut. My hairdresser was a guy from Guangdong who had come to Kunming to work. Everyone there was very sweet and we had a nice chat. In general, I left with very good feelings towards Kunming and its residents. It was a clean, not too crowded, and manageable city. Everyone I talked to was very helpful. I had some confusions trying to get to the bus station and at one point got on the public bus going in the wrong direction, realized my mistake, got off, and ran back to the stop. By the time I got back there, the original bus driver had looped back around, and he waved me on and let me ride again for free. It was absolutely impossible to catch a cab at that time, so I am
Eternal Mushroom
On a hilltop in the distance. lucky I finally stumbled upon the correct bus stop. I made it to the bus station in plenty of time and set off for Lijiang. Finally got the chance to lay down and sleep! From my bed in the bottom bunk, I could look up and out the window and see more stars than I had seen in many months.
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