Crowne Plaza Sanya

... There were several trilingual signs, Chinese; Russian & English This city serves a major transhipment port for trade between China & Vietnam. The language here is Cantonese, Mandarin & English and the currency is Chinese yuan. USD is not widely accepted and of course we don’t have any Yuan left. No big deal, we have not done much shopping anyway. Everything here is the same ‘made in China’ stuff we can get at home ...

... theme, I chose the town of Sanya, which is the southernmost town on Hainan Island. Sanya provided everything that I had hoped for in a tropical island: clear blue sky, clear blue water, fine white sand, and an abundance of stands selling tropical fruit and local street food. Sanya offers the full gamut of accommodations from five star resorts to penny-pincher youth hostels. I chose the youth hostel option, not so much for ...

... were no good snacks to eat in the airport, but I was very lucky and found one package of Oreos, which sustained me on our long journey. We flew via Hainan Airways to Haikou (the northern port city of Hainan) on a plane that had the least legroom I've ever experienced. The person in front of me reclined his seat and the back of it was literally a fingerlength from my forehead while I was sitting back.<br><br>Once we landed in Haikou, I had to use the restroom and ...

Was not overly impressed with Sanya. Sanya is 100% tourist. Mostly Chinese with a lot of Russians. The town is very pretty and the beaches are great. I enjoyed talking with some of the Russians. I guess I did not like the fact that it was one huge tourist trap, not my cup of tea.

... came right on time. The new highway is completed to Guilin but is expensive so by taking the old highway and then getting on the new one at a point he knows it only cost about $1.25. The ride to the airport was 2 hours but now it less then 1 ½ hours. The cost to go to the airport has gone up like everything else. It now cost $30 for the van up to 7 people. The cost of the flight from Guilin to Sanya is about $150.00 each way. It takes just ...

'I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not... I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic... I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.' -- Jackie Chan to an audience of business leaders on Hainan island.

... We'd laughed enough at the pyjama party so headed out the longest exit in the world - about 200 metres of shops - to find our cab guy. There he was, hanging out with the other taxi drivers. Drove us back via the beach of Sanya Bay. Some gigantic resorts, the biggest of all a mega Howard Johnson. Lots and lots of couples having wedding (honeymoon) pictures taken on the beach. One girl had this weird red creation on that you could have used a car cover for a very big ...

... then Taiwan people and that they have some very odd habits, but he didn't elaborate further past that comment. Basically that concludes our time on Hainan island. I have to mention the Rainbow Cafe which had amazing burgers! Yummmm! In general we found the people extremely helpful and friendly, thus restoring our faith in Asian people. Also, we were surprised to notice that there was not as many pesky sellers in Hainan and we highly expected there to be a ...

... jotain meinikia kun siella on aika paljon minun ikaista porukkaa. No eihan siella ketaan ollu. Kaikki oli jo lahteny jonnekkin. Joten paatin menna uudestaan rannalle. Kaupasta hain yhden kaljan kaveriksi. Viinia en kehdannut ostaa kun se maksaa melkein yhta paljon kun se maksais kotona. Ja ei taalta oikeen muuta saa. Sanyassa on muutenki kaikki vahan kalliinpaa ku muualla Kiinassa koska tama on turisti paikka (paljon venalaisia). Porukka oli ...

... a mangiucchiare per tutto il corpo le cellule morte della pelle. All'inizio fa un po' solletico, poi diventa piacevole. Oggi ho passato la giornata a girare un bici, mi sono fatto ancora un bel po' di km fuori dalle classiche mete, passando in mezzo a dei villaggetti di pescatori, dove il mare era pieno di barchette e reti. Nei prossimi giorni c'e ancora da visitare l'isola delle scimmie e magari andare in qualche altro bel posto...