Sanya, Hainan Island

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Spring Festival Vacation- Feb. 9- 16, 2010.
We took a 36 hr train ride from Shanghai to the southernmost city in China- Sanya. When the train reached the end of the mainland the entire train was loaded onto a ferry! I took almost two hrs to break the train into sections and load it onto the boat. It only took 30 minutes to cross the waters and get to the island.

Sanya is great, it is called "The Hawaii of China". It is a popular tourist destination for Russian, Japanese and Chinese travelers. Many restaurant hosts would approach us speaking in Russian assuming all the white people are from Russia. They would be better off speaking to us in Chinese!

We spent every day lounging on the beach, drinking out of coconuts and eating fresh fish off the bone. It was a refreshing escape from the cold wet megalopolis of Shanghai. After a week of sand treatment we flew home and were welcomed with sleet and traffic!

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Photos

"We Want You"
To come visit us in china- The official guest recruitment photo.

Lodging
Cheerful little hostel. 5 min walk to the beach. However, I could have done with out the 5 flights of stairs.

Breakfast- ròu jīa mó
ròu jīa mó could be the world's oldest hamburger, since the history of the bread dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC)

Fast Food- China Style
Clay oven baked bread filled with chopped pork, stewed for hours in a soup consisting of over 20 kinds of spices and seasonings. 3 RMB ($0.50)

Sanya Beach
The beach is clean and free with plenty of public restrooms.

The Crowds Come Out at Night
The Chinese dislike the sun, so the action on the beach really happens at night- sandcastle building, swimming, and of course, fireworks!

Eating Fish With a Face
I was timid about eating a whole fish until this trip. There is a skill to it- to maximize eating the meat and not the bone. You bite gently and pull along the curve of the bone- delicious!

All Finished
That's skill- down to the bone. I really don't mind the face and tail being intact. Rumor has it that fish tastes better when cooked whole- I'd have to agree. I learned to eat the face and tail of a shrimp, even the exoskeleton- the whole damn thing. It's so crunchy and tasty!

Street Food
Only on the coast have I seen this much sea food sold on the street.

Comments

[Johanna Arendt]

Awww! I love this :)