It's a lazy Saturday afternoon at home and it's freezing cold and windy outside, that's why I cuddle up next to my heater and write some holiday recaps to keep me warm :) - starting with Sanya.
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| Sanya, Hainan |
Sanya is apparently the southernmost city in the PRC and renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination, therefore I picked this place instead of Shanghai or Fuzhou (sorry YY)! Anyway, here a little summary:
Traffic
The traffic here in Sanya is a big Chaos (yes, with a big C). There seem to be no rules, it's so dangerous, crosswalks have no meaning, everybody is honking all the times, which have 3 different meanings (that's what I figured): 1) get out of my way 2) watch out, I'm overtaking/coming from behind 3) U want a ride? Even if it's a scooter, they can transport you. Talking about scooters - I've seen 3 persons one it and a kid standing backwards. Taxis are mostly a rip-off. Since I couldn't find the bus stop upon arrival, I chose for the taxi, who offered me a ride to the hotel for ¥60, which I found reasonable since based on my research it costs around ¥80. After a few minutes into the road, the driver asked for the address and figured it was veryyy far. Then literally halfway through he stopped and said this is half of the journey, I have to charge you ¥100, if you want to proceed. In my poor Chinese, I said no way, you initially said ¥60, you can't charge me more all of a sudden. But I did not have much room for discussion, since my luggage was in the trunk and I didn't want to be left in the middle of nowhere. The busses (more bus drivers) are crazy, the busses are disgusting. On my last trip back to the airport (for cheapy ¥5), the bus driver kept letting people into the bus although it was majorly overloaded, which made him stopping at stops a few meters further to only let people out. However, people were still trying to get it and forcing the doors to open. In the end, it was a mixture of acrobatic act (trying to hold on to the handhangers above) and the constant attempt to avoid being dry-humped by greasy men behind me. The questions is: do you rather want to be ripped-off for ¥100, but have a cab by yourself and arrive at the place you need to be or pay ¥5 and interchange, wait, accepting to be pushed around and risking life voluntarily?
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| Sanya by night (fascinated by the lights) |
Beach
I stayed in Sanya for 2 full days and I think 3 ought to do it. There are a lot of mainland China tourists (that spoil the holiday feeling) and also many Russians. It's a small island, which mainly accounts for beach and water vacations. I've been to all three of them and they weren't as beautiful as I expected them to be. First, Yalong Bay which has a diving/water fun area, then a lot of parts, where you could have your own piece of beach, which I liked. I could only endure 2 hours of sun enduring the massive heat, while reading my book and trying to relax. Second, I went to Sanya Bay to see and photograph the sunset (which is the place one should see it in Sanya). It was nice, but not extraordinary. Third, I saw Dadonghai beach on the first night, which is more the going out place with a lot of food stalls and beach bars. Also not so spectacular, so I'd recommend Yalong Bay for the privacy with a real coconut! ;-)
Swimming I haven’t done in either of the beaches, since nobody could watch my stuff with all my belongings (I didn't leave anything in the hotel due to lack of safety, in my eyes) and I wouldn't dare to just leave it on the beach, like a Russian woman, who put her Louis Vuitton on the sand and went for a swim! I just went 30minutes in the hotel pool in the evening, which was fricking cold, yet refreshing.
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| Yalong Bay |
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| Sunset at Sanya Bay |
Hotel
I picked the hotel after careful consideration - that's what I thought. Seems so many reviews in ctrip.com and Tripadvisor can be fake! It was a 3* hotel in (near would be more accurate) Dadonghai with no lights during day, which even caused problems for the bell boy to find the right room number due to the dark hallways. The breakfast buffet was horrible, leftover leftovers and fluid congee, dry bread or oily fried dishes. The only thing that I liked about the hotel was the pool, especially when it was lit at night.
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| Not recommended: Sanya Searainbow Hotel |
Food
Except from the fresh fruit and coconuts, I was quite dissappointed from the food. I don't know if it was because I ordered the wrong things, but I expected so much more. Too bad the Hainan Chicken Rice is from Singapore!
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| Sanya food |
Conslusion: Sightseeing-wise, I haven't done much, just photographed the Sanya totem and heaven stone in passing. However, Sanya does not have that much to offer. I went at the end of November and it was surprisingly warm and sunny at 28 degrees (C) - I even got a sunburn, but it was very windy, especially in the evening, where you need an extra jacket! One full more day would have let me "sightsee" more and spend one more day at the bay. So, what's left to say is: been there, done that. Don't think, I will return to Hainan.
