Blogs from Hainan, China, Asia - page 21

The Great Sanya Exploratory Mission My last report from Hainan wasn't very positive, I admit that. In fact, it was really harsh on the poor little island considering that I'd only been there a few days. Being the conscientious guy that I am, I decided to do some more detailed research into the workings of the island, an aim that I almost totally failed to succeed in. I've spent somewhere in the proximity of 12 days in Sanya now, the beach side metropolis that practically is Hainan, doing virtually the same thing every day. David (my Israeli roomate) and I wake up late as the sun is too strong for us to go to the beach any earlier than 4pm (a lesson learned through painful sunburn). Just down from our expensive yet fun hostel is a ... read more

Ahh, I love the beach! I woke up a bit late this morning so Randy and I decided to go into town. We’d missed the bus so we decided to take a taxi. I asked the driver to take us shopping, or to town, something. He didn’t really understand what I was saying and showed me a map and pointed at something…Randy and I gave up trying to tell him where we wanted to go so we just agreed to wherever he pointed and away we went. It was nice drive along the oceanside but we were getting a little concerned that it looked like there was no civilization. Once we saw a little town ahead, and 40 RNB later we made the taxi driver stop and we got out and started walking around. The ... read more

Voyage vacances de Pâquesurl='/Videos/3239.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3239.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Spectacle de singes à Monkey Island Et voilà la fin de notre voyage, Sunny Sanya comme ils disent aussi, superbes plages, 300 jours de soleil par an, une eau à 25-28 degres super claire, et quelques collines et montagnes histoire d'avoir une belle vue, la belle vue quoi! C'est là où nous avons passé nos 4 derniers jours de vacances, entre la plage, notre auberge Blue Sky, un resto américain super bon avec billard, baby-foot et fléchettes où on a pris presque tous nos repas (parce que la cuisine chinoise ça va un temps!), et quelques excursions, le tout en soleil et entouré, qui l'eut cru, de plein de russes! Parce qu'en fait se sont développés à Sanya plein d'hotels qui visiblement font plein de pub en Rus... read more

Would saying it "was too good to be true" be too cliche' to say right now? Might you see where this is going. The "price was too right" for our upcoming weekend with a Chinese tour group to China's second largest island (behind Taiwan?!?!) to be spelled out in long days along clear beaches sipping coconuts and perfecting our already pretty perfect tans. We embarked on our journey with high hopes, each of us being exposed in minor incidents to the idea of the Chinese tour, that we would prevail. As soon as we touched ground. we had plotted, we would ditch the tour for hours upon hours of ruining our beautifully white skin and adding fat to our bodies with cup upon cup of coffee. We weren't sure what the Chinese tour group had planned, ... read more

Hainan, February 4-9, same latitude as Hawaii, was the exile for disgraced officials, now is a balmy vacation paradise. In 1988 Hainan became a SEZ (Special Economic Zone) and now 80% of the economy comes from tourism. The southern coast of the island, around Sanya, has the best beaches in China.... read more