Sanya! That's where we went last week. It's located in the island of Hainan, which rests itself at the southern point of China and is neighbors with Thailand. Our hostel was nestled at Haitang Bay, which is an area away from the city center. We were able to get a real Chinese feel there, since it is not touristy in the least bit. And by that I mean there are no Western restaurants in sight! For dinner we feasted on street food, which consists of veggies and meat on sticks that get roasted right there in front of you. But being away from the city center also meant having a nearly empty beach to lounge on and play in every day.
Our time in Hainan revolved around the beach. We got lots of sun, chased crabs, went jet-skiing, dove in the waves, and played in the sand. Our hostel's patio was really nice, we were able to relax in the low-lit area and listen to the waves crash on the shore. But the hostel itself wasn't very nice, probably the worst hostel I've stayed at amenity-wise! Oh well.
So we stayed at Haitang Bay, a secluded area with lots of crabs and seashells. There's a big rock we swam out to, and I cut myself up a little with all the shells and coral that covered the rock! But it was really fun to jump off of. We also ventured to another bay, called Yalong Bay. This was a public beach that was covered in umbrellas, and they had jet-skis to rent so of course that's the first thing we did! It was 150RMB, and that gave us a ride up and down the bay and Chinese guys who came with each of us to make sure we didn't kill ourselves, and that we came back in a timely manner. It was really fun to go fast, and I think we may have scared those guys just bit. :) At this beach we also took advantage of the big waves, and were diving in them and swimming for a while. It was really fun to swim around with Chinese people, and I think they're amused to see us swim too. But, in that aspect, nothing will beat the other public beach we went to...we were all lounging there when a Chinese Muslim woman came up with a motorcycle clad in pearls and jewelry. The girls started to look at the jewelry, and apparently that's pretty darn fascinating because before we knew it we had drawn a crowd of Chinese people. They just stand there and watch us, maybe pass a few comments between each other. It was quite amusing for me to lay there and watch the scene. Typical China!
Our vacation was really fun, but it was great to get back home and wash all that sand off (sometimes sand can be a pain, don't you agree?) Like usual we jumped right into teaching the next day. We only have seven teaching days left. Also! I forgot to mention that last week we went bike riding around a reservoir. It is a beautiful area with a really nice trail and bikes to rent for only 10RMB, which is less than $2. It's also really close to our school, and I wondered why we never got over there sooner!
Ta ta for now,
Maegan
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