Re: The Stone Forest of Yunnan at 7:52 AM

So, I mentioned recently of places I hope I get to go back to before I die. This is officially one of those. This place is outta control. In some parts, it's a total labyrinth. And in others there are beautiful meadows with giant stone monoliths everywhere. The dense maze parts were way fun. It was really people friendly, but still very natural. A lot of walk ways were so skinny we had to fold up the stroller and it wasn't uncommon to go up or down more than a couple hundred stairs in a row. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Way cooler than any city I've been too.

I put as many pictures as I dared when sending an email from Gmail (that's how I update my blog) and even though it doesn't give a full experience, it should be a good taste of what I saw.

First off, it was way touristy. Which causes some problems. I don't think Chinese people see White people that often, because every where we go people stare at us and take pictures of us. Especially when I travel with little white kids, it's amazing how people will gather. It's especially amazing how Chinese people's personal bubble's are significantly smaller. A lot of Chinese people will come and poke and prod the kids. I guess that's not weird here.

Second off, it's really normal for people to spit here. So apparently going green means using spit bags instead of spitting on the ground. I guess spit isn't biodegradable or something. We got a big kick out of those.

Third off, I'd like to tell a short story. So towards the end of the day we figured we should probably start heading back. We were traveling the outside of a big loop that went around some of the denser parts, and I saw a path going in to center again. I'm thinking, hey we're on the outside far away from the entrance let's cut through the center and make this faster. Even though I'm usually really good with directions, turns out this wasn't one of those times. We totally got lost, which was ok, because getting lost in Zion or Eden isn't really a bad thing, and after an hour plus of wandering at the end of a long day, we popped out pretty close to where we went in. Any time I suggested a short cut for the end of the trip I always heard Boo's in response. But, turned out to be an awesome day.

Overall, the Stone Forest outside of Kunming gets 5 Stars. It's amazing what good company and beautiful scenery can do to boost your happiness meter.

I still have a few more posts to cover the rest of our holiday. Stay tuned!