CHINA'S HAWAII

Sanya, China. It is the most southern part of China, literally, you can't get any farther south. It is on this Island, which is down by about the middle of Vietnam. Sanya is at the very bottom of the Island. We left here on a rainy Friday after class and arrived Saturday morning after a crazy 2 bus rides and a ferry. We are so SO lucky that my head teacher's husband, Shaw, speaks Chinese- or else we might still be lost in southern China. The bus drivers were just really vague about the ferry and how we were going to actually get from one stop all the way to the next, but we did it!


This is what the bus does to us!

Once we arrived there wasn't any hesitation- we got right into our swimming suits and headed for the beach. We were lucky our hostel was only 5 minutes from the ocean (and when it comes to hostels ours was a pretty nice one too.) Now, I have never been to Hawaii, but if this was anything like it, then man I love Hawaii. The sand was soft and clean, and the water was WARM! I only have the water from Island Park, and California's oceans in spring, so this was so surprisingly warm. We spent the whole day relaxing in the sun and sand. Once it was dark we went and looked at the little shops around the city, but for the most part just spent the time relaxing. After trying to tame 5 year olds all week long it was a well needed "unwind" time.



Sunday was again spent laying on the beach and taking pictures of the flowers and the palm trees. It was my first Easter without a celebration- but we did try our best to spread the Hoppiness around.



A highlight from the trip was when we rode in a taxi pulled by a motorcycle. We tried cramming us all in so that we only had to take two- it made all six of us girls squished into one. What a ride! Not only were we scared of driving through China's streets, but there weren't any guard rails and we were all about to fall out at any moment.


Our motortaxi

We left on Tuesday and had such an easier time with the buses getting us back to Zhongshan. Though, the ride was so bumpy that it felt like we were in a popcorn machine the whole time. The pot holes on some of the roads are so big we could go swimming in them, and I swear the bus must have had a flat with how much we were bounced around. I now know I prefer stirred not shaken.



When we got home it was raining and has been raining since, so we miss Sanya more than we probably would. But my mom should be proud of me because I knew that the sun would be bad, and I lubed up. I am proud to say I didn't get sunburned, (well not like everyone else.) I did have a red nose and my shoulders were a little red but I'm the only one not peeling now. Go sunscreen!