Blogs from Sanya, Hainan, China, Asia - page 5

After walking 25 minutes with my broken collar bone to reach the hospital, we were greeted by the problem of not having any idea where the emergency department was. It doesn't seem obvious to this hospital to put a sign up, so we were walking around asking random patients, who also didn't have much idea and seemed to send us walking around a maze of corridors for a long time before we found it. At the emergency department there was no clear front desk or waiting system, just a small table with a nurse and a gaggle of people standing around trying to get seen. Eventually we managed to 'push' through (not easy with one working arm) and showed the nurse the problem. The way it works is that before they will do anything for you ... read more

We went to a tropical beach paradise tourist town called Sanya for three days. Sanya is everything you'd expect of a tropical beach paradise resort, with a weird twist. In comparison to our non-westernised university town, where we get fascinated stares and cheery shouts of 'HERRO! hehehe' everywhere, in Sanya we were barely granted eye contact from miserable fruit sellers as they overcharged us for unripe bananas. When they did talk to us, it would be in Russian. The place is full of rich Russian holiday makers who act a lot like the English in Ibiza, and chinese couples posing in wedding outfits on the beach for photographs a few years before they actually get married. The Chinese hate to be exposed to sunlight, so the whole concept of going to the beach to lie there ... read more

Добрый день товарищ, I've been doing nothing since we last talked. Life has felt genuinely dull as of late. I've been stuck in the country without a passport and fantasizing of going anywhere outside of Zhongshan. The last month I've practiced the art of cooking (burning) Chinese delicacies. I succeeded in being banned from cooking for Carmen, so mission accomplished I'd say. I have also buffed up on my spoken Chinese. Pumping up on new phrases and idioms I'm looking native fit. My tongue is now a rippling bulge of Chinese muscle spitting out the common word with dazzlingly accuracy. Foreigner and local alike fawn over my prowess. Even my Cantonese is starting to make progress, it's taken 2 weeks short of a year, but I can actually mutter a few words. Although truthfully to me ... read more

After a couple of months of cold, rainy weather we decided to spend a few days for our anniversary in Sanya on the South China coast. After a mere three hour flight and ½ hour cab ride we found ourselves in very warm if mostly cloudy tropical paradise. The sun did not show up the whole time but we were able to spend each day on the beach or at the pool. No trip in China comes without a few stories. The staring took a new turn on the plane as a boy who must have been about 10 years old stared at us from the seat in front of ours for at least an hour. We usually get stared at for a few minutes and then they lose interest but not this kid. We were ... read more

海南。Hainan The trip started by us waking up at 5 in the morning because it would take 2 hours to get to the airport. But still there was time for McDonalds breakfast. At the airport everything was made super simple by the tour guides who took care of everything. When we arrived in Hainan it was raining but still plenty hot. There we met our tour leader, he later became known as “the touch man”, such a touchy man, whenever he talked to us he always had to be touching someone, turned into quite a fun game. On the bus we had the first of many many games of Uno and at our first stop I was finally able to buy a swim suit which had been such a mission for the last week. Unfortunately swimsuits ... read more