Sanya #6: Houhai Bay

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Today I was heading to Huouhai. This is the place that I had originally wanted to stay, but the place I had wanted to stay had sold out by the time I got round to booking it and the other places I looked at were more expensive and not as nice looking as the hotel I am staying in now. After a leisurely breakfast, I headed out to the bus stop. It was bit of a chew on to get to Houhai and involved changing buses. The first bus was really quiet with only a few passengers and we drove through some small villages. I got off in what felt like the middle of nowhere and headed over the road to the where I would catch the other bus from. You know that a place isn't frequented often when the road signs are hidden by the trees. I waited a while for the next bus, not knowing how long it would take. After about ten minutes it turned up. It was full and one of those buses that you are not allowed to stand on, so the bus driver made a kid sit on its parent's lap so I could have its seat. It wasn't too far to the bus depot in Houhai. I was shocked when I got there, I knew Houhai was popular but I didn't realise quite how popular. It was about a five minute walk to the beach along the side of a heavily congested road. There were also loads of little shops/stall selling beachy tat.

The beach was nice and one end was definitely a lot more popular than the other. So I decided to walk to the quieter side first as it was further away from where I had entered the beach. I was surprised that the bay was so small, it was probably only a few kilometres from end to end. I had expected it to be bigger. I had a lovely walk along the beach. I got some great views of the village, Tenghai Fishing Village, which is where all the accommodation and restaurants are. There were also properties right at the edge of the beach and the place had more of a European holiday resort look to it. There were a few sailboats out on the water. The sea looked quite rough in places and I could see the waves crashing off the shore at the end of the bay. There also seemed to be a lot of development going on on the hills surrounding the bay. On one, there was construction work and it looked like a hotel/resort was being built there. While it did mar the view, the people that will eventually be staying there will no doubt have superb views of Houhai Bay. The other side seemed to be undergoing some kind of excavation work. There were also a few surfers in the water. I think that they were having lessons as they were in pretty shallow water. Houhai is known for its surfing community and Bohemian vibe, which is why I had wanted to stay there. I made it to the end of the the bay. There was a small concrete pier so I had a walk out on that and watched a few people fishing off the pier. There were lots of tetrapods covered with shells, stones and bit of ocean life. I could see another pier off to the side, but it was impossible to get to as there was a stream/ small river blocking the way and I could see what I think were signs telling you to stay away, probably belongs to the military.

After my rest on the pier, I headed back along the beach. I loved how quiet this part of the beach was. The other end of the bay was the complete opposite. It was a hive of activity. There were tonnes of people there in the sand and in the water. There were also a few touts around and I got approached, once again it was all in Chinese. Since I was right next to the village, I decided to go and have a walk around there. Ideally, I wanted to find a coffee shop to relax in. I saw one coffee place, but it only had a bar so I kept going looking for something better. I hit the main street of the village and was shocked. It was rammed. The street was filled with people and there was the odd vehicle trying to get down it. There were loads of restaurants and food stalls. Honestly, I thought it was pretty nasty. It was a bit dirty, lots of water in the street and it was smelly. I didn't feel the Bohemian vibe that I'd read about, the only vibe I got was tacky Spanish resort catering for British lager louts abroad but the Chinese version so less alcohol and more seafood. In wandered some of the smaller streets of the village, but didn't find any coffee shops, there was one bar that looked like it would have been okay for coffee but it didn't look very open. I think staying in Houhai would have been fine for a day or two if I'd been with some Chinese friends, but travelling alone I feel like I dodged a bullet and much preferred where I was staying.

I headed back to the bus depot. The buses come about every thirty or forty minutes if I remember correctly. I hoped that I'd timed it right. I sat in the sun and waited for the bus. My wait was about 15 minutes so not too bad. I didn't have to change buses on the way back so that was a plus. The journey was okay and once again the bus didn't follow the prescribed route, but took a different road. I wonder if they only do this in peak tourist season, my map app is out of date or if it's a work around when the traffic is bad. I topped off at the bakery and got myself a sausage bun. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a real sausage in it, instead of a hot dog which is generally the norm, I was also happy that it wasn't the sweet style of Chinese sausage. After taking a rest, I started packing my stuff up and getting myself sorted for my departure the next day. I had noodles and a meat bun for dinner, which were delicious.

I enjoyed my break in Sanya. Although I had heard of the place, it had never really been on my radar of places to visit in China. The beaches were beautiful and I got to see a different side of China. However, it doesn't feel geared up for international tourism and with all the beaches of Southeast Asia so close by I doubt many international tourists would choose to come here. Also, public transport is a bit horrendous. There were other places in Sanya that I would have loved to have visited i.e. Nanshan temple but it would have been a three hour journey one way. I hope to return to Hainan in the future and have set my sights on Haikou, the provincial capital.

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