Once again, I'm back in China for a short solo trip within Yunnan province. Since I had bought an annual pass for Shilin last year November, I decided to return to visit the Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林). I chose a different hostel this time round and it turned out to be not as good as I expected. The ventilation is bad and the room is quite cramped. In fact, I couldn't sleep last night due to the mosquitoes flying around and the lack of adequate ventilation. Thankfully, the lady staff in charge of my room is quite nice and friendly.
As usual, I took bus K9 to East Bus Station before taking the Shilin Tourist Bus to Shilin itself. In total, it took 2 hours and 15 minutes to travel from Kunming City to Shilin Scenic Area. As I wanted to visit the lesser known Naigu Stone Forest, I tried asking around the tourist centre for directions but it seemed that nobody knows about it!
As I uttered a silent prayer for someone to assist me, a lady walked up and asked if I wanted to visit the neighboring touristy sites. I asked if she knows how to go to Naigu and she said she could drive me there and back for CNY80 per round trip. She also gave me her number so that I can message her when I am done.
The 8km ride took about 15 minutes and indeed it was hidden away behind the Major Shilin scenic area. The entire area area was devoid of tourists and the only people I saw were the visitor center staff and the farmers who were planting flower saplings in the field in front of the stone formations.
It was the perfect timing to take out my drone. The weather was sunny with minimal wind. Flying the drone there gave me a perspective I had only seen speriodically in advertisements. The grandeur of the stone formations, the immensity of the land area occupied, the different shapes and sizes.
Hiking through the area took 3 full hours and it was about 7km for a single loop, up and down stairs and rocky paths. After a while, the path started involving more stairs and it got narrower. Certainly not an easy walk, especially for anyone who is not used to walking for hours. There is absolutely no amenities along the path, hence I would advise against drinking too much water.
After the entire 3 hour walk, I was back at the entrance area and seeing a beautiful field of lavender, I took the opportunities to take photographs and fly my drone around. The rain suddenly came pouring and I had to take refuge in the visitor centre, before calling for my driver once the rain stopped.
Heading back to the main scenic area was rather quick and soon I was waiting for my long-distance bus for Kunming. This time round, as I had boarded my return bus at about 3pm, I was back in Kunming East Bus Station at around 5:30pm. Being early meant I could still explore the area surrounding my hostel before it got late.
Missing comfort food, I decided to order Ajisen Ramen for dinner and it was cheap at 70CNY for a bowl of ramen, a plate of gyoza and an additional marinated egg! Since I ordered for takeaway, I enjoyed the rest of the night eating dinner in the hostel while watching a show on the television!
After the entire 3 hour walk, I was back at the entrance area and seeing a beautiful field of lavender, I took the opportunities to take photographs and fly my drone around. The rain suddenly came pouring and I had to take refuge in the visitor centre, before calling for my driver once the rain stopped.
Heading back to the main scenic area was rather quick and soon I was waiting for my long-distance bus for Kunming. This time round, as I had boarded my return bus at about 3pm, I was back in Kunming East Bus Station at around 5:30pm. Being early meant I could still explore the area surrounding my hostel before it got late.
Missing comfort food, I decided to order Ajisen Ramen for dinner and it was cheap at 70CNY for a bowl of ramen, a plate of gyoza and an additional marinated egg! Since I ordered for takeaway, I enjoyed the rest of the night eating dinner in the hostel while watching a show on the television!
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