Day 158 – Stone Forest, Kunming

We had to leave by 9 so we could get to the airport.  We had a short flight from Dali to Kunming that only took about 50 minutes.  Since they didn’t have to get up so high, it didn’t even bother my ears.

The bus ride from the airport to the Stone Forest took about one and a half hours.  We had to bring snacks with us on the bus because there was no time for lunch.  It was an interesting ride and we had to go through four long tunnels.

When we arrived there, Marvin paid for us to ride golf carts to the start of the trail around the Stone Forest because it was a long way to walk there.  We appreciated the ride once we saw how long it was.  The formations in the stone forest are karst formations, similar to the ones that line the Li River area, but they don’t have the grasses and trees growing on them. 

 

The Dancers were all showing off their culture today.

I think it is important for the people in the minority areas to wear their costumes on Spring Festival.

Young men showing their prowess with their swords.

We did a “quick” walk around the formations, it really wasn’t that quick because of all the people there, but we only had an hour and a half that we could spend there.  I really think they need to put a “one-way” route around it because some of the areas were so small to get through that only one person could go through and if someone was coming from the opposite way it was hard to get around.

 

They love to write on their rocks.  Some of it is the name of the place and the other is a poem that was written about it.

I love this guy!! (Yes, the one in the hat!)

Some of it reminded us of Bryce Canyon, but it is limestone, not sandstone.

Almost wall to wall people.  It is the Chinese New Year, so everyone goes to where they can.

Threading the needle.

All sorts of small places to crawl through.

A view from the pagoda on the top.

Those of the group that were going to be traveling on to Vietnam and Cambodia were dropped off back at the airport so that we could catch our flight to Guangzhou and the others were taken to the Hot Pot restaurant for the dinner that the rest of us missed.  We had to get something quick at the airport because our flight was leaving in an hour and a half after we checked in. 

 

I thought this was cute, the way they were carrying him.

She was so cute dancing to the ethnic dancers.

More of the ethnic dancers.

The flight to Guangzhou took just under two hours and we have a hotel close to the airport for the night because we will have to leave again early in the morning.