Hello all – celebrity blogger Fran again. We arrived in Hainan on a sleeper train from Guangzhou which was an experience in itself. We got caught in a massive downpour and flooding in Guangzhou which resulted in Rich wading through knee high rain water (mixed with overflowing drain water – nice!) to find an ATM. I was nice and dry in the train station guarding the bags – thanks Rich. Unfortunately, it took about an hour to find an ATM that would accept our card which left us with about 20mins to buy a ticket and get on the train. Being without our STA tour guide at a train station with no English anywhere and no logical system was a bit frustrating. We finally made it onto the train with no ticket as a helpful ticket lady decided to escort us all the way through the security checks and barriers and shoved us on the train minutes before it left. Luckily we were able to buy tickets for two beds from the conductor.
Hainan is an Island off the bottom of China. There is no land connection so ingeniously the train is dismantled and put coach by coach onto a ferry. This involved quite a bit of shunting at 7am in the morning and sadly no view of the crossing other than looking into other train carriages – the next carriage got a shock seeing Rich and I in our pyjamas when we opened the curtains!
The train carriage inside a ferry – not something you see everyday!
Hainan itself was great. Everywhere in mainland China was very busy. They have so many people crammed into each city. Hainan was far less crowded though the traffic in some villages was still appalling!
How to get one family on a moped – who needs a Chelsea tractor!
The capital, Haikou, was impressive and modern with its smart buildings and wide avenues. As with all of China, people live in high rise apartment blocks but in Haikou these were less crammed in. John & Susu’s apartment was lovely – large open plan living area and two bedrooms. The living area was double aspect with a balcony either end. The position of the block was good too being adjacent to a water inlet from the sea and one block back from the sea front. The view took in other parts of Hainan, the sea and the impressive suspension bridge that was lit up at night.
The view from John & Susu’s apartment
On the first day, after Rich and I had freshened up, John and Susu took us to our first beach of this trip. It was great to feel sand under foot and the sea lapping at our ankles. We enjoyed a drink of fresh coconut juice on the beach front before heading to a lovely new Thai Restaurant overlooking the sea. We had great seats outside on the balcony which had a glass balustrade so our view of the sunset was not interrupted. The food was fantastic and after stuffing our faces and leaning back in the comfy chairs to watch the sunset I instantly had that warm relaxed holiday feeling – heaven!
Enjoying a coconut
The Thai Restaurant looking in…
…and looking out at the sea.
The next day was an early start to drive in land to go white water rafting. The central parts of the Island were beautiful and lush with tree covered hills and valleys. The journey took a little longer than expected with a puncture and a few wrong turns but it was definitely worth it. The rafting was awesome fun! The setting for the long water course was stunning. We went down some pretty scary rapids (I did quite a bit of screaming) and we had to empty our boats of water three times. The gentler parts of the route meant you could relax and soak up the surroundings of high green hills, terraces of rice plants, the odd small house, trees hanging over the river and the sounds of birds and crickets. It was almost like being in the tropics. It was very relaxing – well until we hit the next rapid!
The view driving inland
The first rapid…
The guivs imitating lego men
The calm sections of the river
and the not so calm sections
John & Susu make it alive to the end!
We definitely earned another meal at the Thai after all the paddling. Rich and I really enjoyed the walk back from the restaurant along the seafront. All the locals hang out here in the evening and it was the place to be with people chatting in groups, meandering along on mopeds, looking out to see and best of all – dancing. Groups of women of all ages gathered with a portable music system and started doing a group routine. It appeared anyone passing by could join in. Often there were forty or fifty people dancing. It looked like a normal community activity. No one batted an eyelid at what was going on. Sadly, I suspect such an outdoor communal activity would be ridiculed in the UK.
On our final day with John and Susu we enjoyed some Chinese tea served the traditional Chinese way. We then boarded our night bus (which again went on a ferry) and headed to Nanning on mainland China.
Time for tea
Hainan had a quieter pace and was more relaxed than mainland China. It was definitely prettier and cleaner with far less spitting (hallelujah!). No wonder the Chinese consider it to be China’s Hawaii.
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