Trip to Kunming

A short visit to the beautiful city of Kunming in south-western China earlier this month proved to be an interesting revelation of the complex mixture of modern development with old world agriculture in a sometimes chaotic setting. The interesting sights around the city are recorded in the pictures attached.

The Stone forest or Shi-lin is located approximately 90 km south of Kunming and is a spectacular but very touristy site that covers a fairly wide area of karst landscapes that include stony outcrops, caves, lakes, chasms, gorges, etc. The amazing landscape is mostly a result of weathered limestone and geological movements. A trip by car takes about 2 hours and within minutes out of Kunming city, portions of the rural countryside emerge with draught animals (horses, donkeys, water buffalo & oxen) commonly seen along the highway drawing a wide variety of loads.

The enormous caves, deep gorges of Jiu-xiang are another incredible site with awesome displays of stalactites and stalagmites. There is plenty of walking and climbing involved within dark caverns which are often gaudily lit which I think takes something away from the natural beauty of the place. Before entering the main cave network, visitors are taken on a boat ride along a narrow passage of water within a canyon with towering sides displaying erosion and the slow drip deposition of limestone.

The Expo 99 site is a pale shadow of what it must have been 6 years ago. Today it is over commercialised and the international exhibits are not really well maintained. A few pretty sections still remain as in the picture on the right taken near the main entrance to the park.

The excellent collection of bamboos is one of the highlights of the park. Sadly the portion on rare and "famous" plants is a letdown. The bonsai collections are interesting and well maintained.

Daguan park on the south-western corner of Kunming city is also located on the nothern tip of Kunming lake or Dian chi. The wooden pagoda-like tower on the left side of the picture on the right has historical significance for poets and historians. The glories of the area and it's cultural history are recorded in an ancient poem that is displayed in the old building.

Just Getting Started

After mulling over the issue for quite a while, I have finally decided to start a web-log or blog as I am told even if this word is not found in my copy of the Oxford dictionary. Well, I guess what I did last summer is as good as any topic to begin my somewhat unwieldy start into the world of blogging.

So here's a pic of yours truly hiking through the beautiful Welsh countryside on a cloudy summer day. The heather had just started to bloom and stood out brilliantly amidst the low growing bilberry shrubs and bracken. The bilberries were actually delicious and taste like little blueberries. Came across a lady and her young child collecting them for food - it is hard work searching out the little berries on the steep and stony slopes. The views from this hilly part of Wales overlooking Barmouth on Britain's West Coast were both spectacular and breathtaking.

I guess that's all for now. Look forward to more blogging in the future!