March 5: The "Hawaii of China" (Hainan, China)
After Hong Kong, we crossed back into China for the second half of our double-entry visa. We really missed Thailand, so we decided to go to "Hainan", which locals call the "Hawaii of China." We took an all-night bus and a ferry to get to Haikou on the island of Hainan, and then a five-hour bus ride to Sanya, the tropical city on the south of the island.
Here is our journey through China thus far. Hainan is the little island that is actually cut off - too far south! We are now almost as far south as we were in Vientiane, Laos!
Christi is so excited to be out of the cold and wearing just a T-shirt and sandals that she's dancing in the streets. Hey, it's China, why not?
Tauru is happy too, because he can again sport Tim Lee's shirt! Yay!
The view of Sanya - it's rural by Chinese standards - I see grass!
Every night is a party here. This is the "Summer Gastronomy Square", complete with Merry Christmas signs, New Year's lanterns, and a giant Christmas tree. The crowd? All Russian tourists. Actually, most signs and menus were in Russian. Strasvitya!
Yaaay! We found dark beer in Asia! Let's party!
Doh! It's actually beer mixed with instant coffee!!!
(Their "red" beer was mixed with grape Kool-Aid!)
Oh, China...
Wow, sushi! Once we found this, there was no turning back. Time to party on! Sushi? Of course it's of Chinese quality -- we braced ourselves the first night to see if we'd get sick or not. But all was good!
(Note the sign in Russian - all the menus are also in Russian.)
Boy is it a relief to be in a place that looks like this after two months in China. Memories of huddling in huge coats and Russian "party hats" are fading away...
Do we have to go to Beijing tomorrow? Really? (It's our next destination.)
To the left it looks like paradise.
To the right, Christi is running away from Fat Man in Little Speedo.
Tauru is embracing old-world China. Here is the razor he's been using all month. Those blades could kill! Christi tried it once, but she ended up looking like something from a horror flick.
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2008
2008
January
10: China Part I
16: China Part II
26: China Part III
February
6: China Part IV
End: China Part V
March
5: China Part VI
9: China Part VII
12: China Part VIII
24: We Make it to Tibet
April
2: We Arrive in Kathmandu
25: Back in Pokhara, Nepal
29: A Hotel in Pokhara
May
4: Back to Kathmandu
31: Trekked to Everest Base Camp
June
21: To Calcutta, India
25: More of Calcutta
July
12: Quick Trip to Thailand
August
8: Back to India
10: The Golden Temple
12: In Dharamsala, India
21: Marijuana in Manali
September
9: Northern India
22: More of Inida
October
3: Aswan & The Pyramids
4: Abu Simbel (Egypt)
7: Onward to Luxor
13: White Desert in The Sahara
20: Egypt's Awesome Beaches
November
30: 40 Days in the Desert
December
13: Jordan & Syria
18: Then Turkey
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