Hainan – HurricaneMaine

Relaxing in Hainan

When I “planned” this vacation, I really didn’t plan it well. There were many places I could go from the well known Sanya to other areas. I didn’t want to be among really large crowds which I would find in Sanya. I really wanted to enjoy a beach without crowds. (*Even though masks are not required here, now that travel is really opened up here in China I thought it still a good idea to go to more remote places like Xiangshui Bay. They are expecting cases to increase again as asymptomatic people move around.)

People who know me also know I generally always keep moving and doing things. A remote area means more time in travel to go places or just learning to relax for awhile. I chose the latter.

This place is beautiful.

The first two days I did go places for part of the day then decided I would stay put. I spent my days reading using my Kindle app, swimming in the pool, laying out by the pool or beach, long walks or runs on the beach, boogie boarding, and taking naps. At first it was difficult to just relax but I’m glad I did. I’m the most rested I’ve been in a long time.

Even my run was relaxed. 9 km/hour.

Boogie boarding here is a bit different than when I lived in VA Beach. There you could walk out far from the beach and still touch sand. Here the water is deep close to shore. But fun nonetheless. It has been a long time since I’ve done that.

Images from a long beach walk:

I found a restaurant off site less than a km away where all the waitresses were nice. I went there every night. One night I decided to buy the live fish and sea urchin and have it cooked for me.

My whole meal was 121 RMB or about $17.70. it was delicious.

Other food I ordered while here:

I will miss this vacation as it was very relaxing. I met some nice people who were very friendly, only three other foreigners the whole time, and enjoyed lounging by the pool. Now back to relax a few days in my apartment before school starts again.

Nanwan Monkey Island and Daidai Island

This is actually one island but two different parts. Advice on the internet (and if which I agree) is to go early and arrive sometime close to 8 to avoid the crowds.

In trying to buy tickets (they wanted me to purchase from the app but you need a Chinese ID to do that) a person nearby who spoke English helped. She was so helpful. Nikki mentioned her friend told her to go to Daidai Island first. I decided to follow them and her family was very sweet. She has twin daughters and her parents were lovely. They invited me to Chongqing and Chengdu! It was nice to meet sometime new and share experiences.

Take the ferry across to the island.

Then you board s shuttle bus to go to the beach. Most of this part is photo props but there is a beautiful beach, diving, and places to relax. In fact Daidai means to stay and rest awhile. In a translate app from the person I bought tickets it translated as dumb. It seems we don’t have a literal translation for that.

The longest cable car in Asia takes you from Nanwan back across.

Lots of places to relax. Nikki’s family (mother and daughters) having a snack.

I love this. Nikki’s dad taking her picture.

From Daidai you take the shuttle bus past the ferry to the entrance of Nanwan monkey island. This avoids a lot of crowds.

Many come to the part at the entrance where you can purchase food to feed them. They are a sight jumping around and waiting for someone with a plastic bag to steal from!

Many of the monkeys come and go but they know eventually there will be food.

I was not interested in the shows as the Macaque monkeys are not well treated. I snapped this picture and decided to walk around and find them enjoying freedom in the trees. I left Nikki and get family there but could not find them later. We are keeping in touch on WeChat!

Those in the show so not look happy about their captivity.

Where the circus is held the monkeys seemed to like playing as no one was around.

At various places through the park..

Hide and seek. Do you see the mom and baby?

The swimming hole is a popular place for them to congregate, swim, or grab a drink.

At a pavilion people would get in the structure and monkeys would jump around on the outside. I’m not sure what that was about but I didn’t stay to find out.

After waking around awhile I headed back to the cable car. This is the longest cable car in Asia. It goes over the Danjia Fish farm. This is a village where no one owns land. They live on a mass of floating houses and fish farms and make their money from the sea. Since there life is so unpredictable and fragile they are called Danjia which means “egg people” as their lives are fragile like eggs.

Xiangshui Bay, Hainan

I decided to go to Hainan on October break which is billed as the Hawaii of China. Of course I know there is no comparison and this is still a tourist trap but I felt I should check it out. My other option, Chengdu, is not allowing feeding of the pandas right now due to covid and I’ll wait to see if that changes. (Honestly I don’t know how the world could go back to normal.)

I took the metro to the airport. It is a straight shot and cheap. Usually it is mundane and routine. Not this time. I really need to be that person who videos things. There was a scary yet spectacular fight between a man and a woman. Skip this part if you want: Both ended up with injuries and it took multiple of us to keep them apart. But when it was really crowded, they got into it and I yelled STOP. It got everyone’s attention as it was in English and I gestured to the packed car to show there were too many people here. A few of us got between them. It stopped it for a bit but when he left he spat on her. In the age of covid….

I landed in Sanya then took a train to Lingshui. It is easy here as the train station is right outside the airport.

As for Hawaii….

The Marriott is beautiful, the pools are nice, but just like the majority of places in Hainan, you can’t swim in the ocean. In the park across the bay I could see people in the water. I decided to run there the next morning and wore my swimsuit to cool down in the water. It becomes deep quickly. In defense I can see why there is surfing but no swimming. I know there are a few areas that you can if you look.

Views from the 11.6 km run.

There are a lot of places where development here has stopped due to Covid-19. The jungle quickly takes over.

This flower was pretty. There were fire ants that reminded me to just keep moving!

The beach I ran on where i stopped to get in the water.

First evening.

A little restaurant one km away from the hotel is where I ate the first two nights. They all want to help with my order and it was a way to use their translation apps. I’m amazed at the people who assume I just arrived in China and do not have WeChat or Didi apps. They forget people are here to work. Of course I practiced Chinese too.

Squid Teppenyaki and a pickled vegetable that was pretty spicy!

A friend recommended Gangmen Harbor.

I’ve thought about going off the path a few times but this reminded me not to.

It was pretty but a long drive for a short visit. As the Didi driver left I wondered if I would have trouble getting another car out here. I was right. After two failed attempts I decided to walk as I noticed that we traveled through a couple small villages.

I was definitely a source of amusement. I stopped for drinks and eventually noticed a taxi that would definitely have to be going past me again. I was lucky… These small towns have narrow streets and many bikes.

This trip has been easier without having to show documents over and over. People here are still taken aback at seeing a foreigner and I have not seen any others while here. The guard at Gangmen Harbor did ask me where I was going (in ‘hinese). I replied sight seeing. He at least stepped aside.