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Bangkok to Brighton by tuk tuk: Stone Forest, China Thursday 15th June: The Stone Forest, Yunnan ProvinceJo writes... "Today was the best roads we have had so far in China, although the road quality wasn’t consistent. At the beginning we drove through some serious off the beaten track routes, made up of a stony dirt track. Sam and I exited Ting Tong and left Ants to navigate the best route herself. We now know for definite that we cannot drive on the Expressway during our time in China, which is pretty soul-destroying. Consequently our average speed is reduced by at least half and we will be forced to miss at least two sights that we had in our itinerary. We are hoping that our time in China can be increased by 10 days, because driving for 11 hours a day is not practical or safe.  The last three days have consisted of driving, sitting in the back of TT and sleeping in hotel rooms. For me the days seem to blur into one long drive punctuated by 'different but same same’ Chinese cities. The advantages of this are twofold: we get to see some amazing scenery rather than flying down the Expressway and we get to stay in cities that are very Chinese and not frequented by foreigners. The disadvantages are that we are very tired and under constant pressure to make up the time that we have lost from driving at an average of about 30km/hour. We are currently three days behind on our proposed itinerary.Today we tried to pull a slightly cheeky one. To cut corners on the ‘old road’ (i.e. slow road) we tried to enter the Expressway so that we could exit 300m from the entrance onto the old road so that we would miss out a few miles. We pulled up to the Expressway entrance and several vehicles pulled up behind us. What followed was several phone calls to the managers at the Expressway as the lady at the toll booth did not want to let us enter. The cars and trucks behind us started beeping frantically and one driver looked at us with pure fury in his eyes. In the end we were told that our sly ploy had failed because there were some police just down the road and we would get in serious trouble with them when spotted. So, Ants had to reverse TT back into the flow of oncoming traffic and we had to carry on and find the old road. This is when we ended up driving down the aforementioned dirt track. Oh well, at least we tried... Eventually we came out on the old road and to our great surprise there were no potholes and we could cruise along at 40mph. This made for a smooth journey and a total driving time of about 3 hours, which made such a pleasant change. However, we were still very tired from our previous few days and felt steamrolled.  We parked TT outside our hotel in The Stone Forest, unloaded and then actually had time to go for a walk and be proper tourists. The Stone Forest is a huge area filled with amazing natural limestone rocks and trees. The scenery is like nothing I have ever seen before and quite spectacular. The rocks have been there for 270 million years and at that time were under the sea. Their structure has resulted from millions of years of natural erosion, the retreating ice age and earthquakes. The latter makes some of them look like someone has glued an extra piece to the top, where the earthquake has obviously fractured the rock. We went on a well-trodden and paved tourist trail through some of the rock formations. There were quite a few other tourists, all of whom were Chinese. We took some very cheesy photos (well, I did) and ended up buying a load of authentic hand made articles from the local Yi people, a minority in China to which our guide belongs. A very weather-beaten old women clad in the local dress offered us some aprons and bags for sale. I bought an apron and have been proudly wearing it all evening. I think the locals think it is a bit strange. We spent an hour tasting teas unique to the Yunnan province and purchased two different varieties, one that is good for digestion and the other for your liver and general well being. A couple of the teas tasted very strange; there were about three different flavours that hit different parts of your mouth; the tip of the tongue, middle of the tongue and finally the back of the tongue. Then we went out for a meal with Sam and the lady who had sold us the tea and we enjoyed the best meal we have eaten in China; it was absolutely delicious. I honestly believe that some of the best food you will eat in a country like this is not in the posh restaurants and 5 star hotels, but just at a small local restaurant." Love Ants and Jo x Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update from Vientiane, Laos Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update from Vang Vieng, Laos Click here >> to Ants' and Jo's update from Luang Prabang, Laos Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on arriving in China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on troubles in China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on China Under Construction Click here >> for Ant's and Jo's update; dirty tukkers in China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on Western China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on the Silk Road Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on the Great Wall of China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on sand tobogganning in the desert Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update from Turpan, China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's final update from China Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's first update from Kazakhstan Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update from Almaty, Kazakhstan Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's first update Lake Balkash, Kazakhstan Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update on their impressions of Kazakhstan Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's first update on Russia Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's thoughts on Russia Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's update from Europe Click here >> for more rainy rumblings from Russia Click here >> for beach life in Russia Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's arrival in the Ukraine Click here >> for Ukrainiacs and mechanics Click here >> for Ants' and Jo's adventures in The Crimea Click here >> for Ants and Jo at the end of the road  Why are Ants and Jo undertaking this crazy trip?The girls are completing the 12,000 mile journey from Bangkok to Brighton in an attempt to raise £50,000 for the mental health charity Mind. Here at gapyear.com, we fully support their efforts and wish them the best of luck in their challenge. We'd also ask that anyone who has a spare few pennies sponsors Ants and Jo, as it really is a fantastic cause. Click here >> for the full story More about Mind  Mental health problems can affect anyone, rich or poor, young or old, shattering the lives of those affected and the lives of the people close to them. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Each year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people take their own lives. Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales working to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress. Click here >> for an interview with Ants and Jo Click here >> to sponsor them now - every penny counts... Click here >> for Ants and Jo's website Click here >> to find out more about Mind Click here >> for more fundraising information |
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