Day 7

Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, I was up by 6:00 am and went for an early breakfast and tried meet with the organizing committee. I went to the office but it was locked. So I waited for a while and left. By now the bus had arrived. In all we had 90 pieces of luggage. We had to put it all in the belley of the bus.
As I went about organizing the people, they had filled in the belley. My luggage was left outside. They said that there was no more space. They were about to close it. I rushed and used my packing skills, reorganized the whole side and got my stuff in with more space for three more suitcases and slammed the door.
We set off for this epic trip. Imagine four people with 27 Bengalis. Just close your eyes and think of you traveling in a cart filled with bottled that cluttered all the time. Now imagine if all the bottles came alive and were trying to win an argument. We are not finished yet, now think how it would be if those bottles were divided into four groups and you were sandwiched in between.
When two of them spoke they picked up three arguments. Believe me they were all highly educated people. Most of them very senior, who held high positions. They were fighting for seats inside a bus, putting a luggage was a problem and traveling was also a problem.
All this settled in a while. We were smooth on the road. Now they started to sing those wonderful Bengali songs. They had trained voices and they sang the whole song. It was now beginning to be fun. I also sang a couple of party songs that set them dancing.
One very important thing had to be decided. What kind of food did we want? Veg or non veg! Some said veg only, some said non veg without beef or pork. Some said Halal. Wow, as I said earlier, there were three people having five fights. They finally decided on veg for all. I was a bit annoyed but decided to go by the group’s sentiments.
We went to the restaurant as soon as we reached Shilling. The woman who I hated most put two of her bags in three seats and had booked them. I had to say, Oh my, even here they were stuck up to places. Once the food was served we had a good spread of vegetables, all boiled or sautéed. Now she went, Chicken Nahi, bol dhiya Kya!! (haven’t you ordered chicken). I said to myself, Hey just shut up and eat. You have been hogging a lot of great food the whole week, now why do you want chicken. Just eat quick and get on the bus. We came here to see the stone forest and not to keep eating.
After much persuasion I got them all into the bus in one piece. We set off into the stone forest. Before getting in we had to hire a battery operated car. It would cost 200 yuan for 10 people. This is what we were told. Once we got there we saw the carts, they were all 14 or 13 seaters. As soon as it came by, our Bengali brothers and sisters jumped into it without any hesitation. Now the 4 non Bengalis were left to wait. No cart would take us. So we decided to walk.
The Stone Forest was fantastic. It reminded me of a national park we had been to in the US. Tall rocks cut by water millions of years ago. I used my geological memory to reason out what could have caused this. I figured out that erosion along with water that had drained gave the rock such magnificent shapes.
The rocks were cut so sharp, they stood atop needle tops defying gravity. Miles and miles of sedimentary rocks, limestone that had been smoothened by human touch. On the crevices that we walked we touched the rock and it felt like marble silk. Human touch could even turn rock into a smooth place.
There were spectacular views. I wanted to capture every bit of it but I had a tiny camera that could not do much. I had borrowed the camera from a student the previous evening. It really meant a lot to me. That she trusted me and gave it. But because of the debacle in accommodation, she showed up the next morining and asked for the camera. She said that she was going home and needed it. Without speaking a word I just returned it.
Just before boarding the bus she asked me what time I would be back. I said at 6:00. I said that I would be back to meet all the volunteers to bid farewell. She was excited and said take the camera. Give to me in the evening. Wow, it was relief.
With that camera I kept clicking away.
Sunita and I walked around the whole park, relaxed, admiring the beauty of the forest and sharing our stories of the National parks we had visited. On our way back we caught up with the battery carts. They asked us to get in but we preferred to walk. We were asked to get back in a hurry. We were then taken to a local market and given about 45 minutes to shop. I was cursing Dr Manick. I said we paid so much money not to come and shop we could have seen much more of the park. But my friends were convinced of the shopping. They said that they would have liked more time to shop. With little choice, I forced all of them into the bus.
On our way back we visited a carpet factory. They had made the most exquisite carpets and embroidery I have ever seen. Picture perfect embroidery and great carpet work. They showed a 1 foot by 1 foot carpet that looked like the Persian carpet, it cost 35,000 Yuan, just multiply it by 7 to get the prices in rupees.
Our next stop was the tea making place. This place made green tea. A woman would come and make tea for us to taste. After which we were expected to buy. Knowing us indians the made tea and just left the place. While my friends waited to be served, I figured out that we should just take it and drink it. So we did. We drank about 4-5 cups of the best green tea. We thanked them and left.
Now it was time to get off in Kunming. Many of us butterflies in our stomach. We were not sure about accommodation. We had to find a place. But the lady I hate most wanted to be dropped at the hotel. He was so persistent that she took the whole bus there only to be dropped off. So we did.
In the meantime Dr Manick, asked sunita and me to pay 20 yuan for the battery cart that we did not ride on. It was a bit unfair but I did not want to argue about it and just gave it. Gopal a companion said, yeah it hurts you leg when you have to pay for what you have not enjoyed.
Well now we got back. The funny part was that we were all accommodated in the place where I was refused place the previous day. We all had the same room numbers.
We went for a walk, had dinner and got back by 9:30. My volunteer friends were waiting for me. They wanted me to go with them to a karaoke bar. They were planning to spend the whole night. I agreed to go with them. I left my room at about 10:30.
At the bar, they had rented a room. There was a huge tv with a Karaoke console. They played the songs and sang the whole night. I joined in the eating and drinking flower tea. It was loud but good. I was marveled by their singing skills. I managed to stay awake till 2:00 am. I dozed off on the sofa. They went on with their loud songs. I woke up every 20 minutes, smiled at them and went back to sleep. I then woke up at 6:00 am and got back to my room.
After all the lobbying and advocacy for a place to stay that night, I finally stayed out.
Now I am all packed and ready to meet my sweet heart.