Coda

Not much planned for the day. I had finished all my shopping the night before, including a visit to Temple Street Markets in Kowloon for some minor items like reading glasses. Besides breakfast the only other business in the morning was a haircut at a Wanchai barber. I checked in my backpack at Central, to be transported to the airport separately, after giving up the room just before midday, so that I could wander during the afternoon with only a daypack as encumbrance.


The night before I had an acceptable dinner at an eatery on Nathan Road. I had noticed that they served all day dim sum also, so I made a note to come back for lunch. It was a disappointment. The food was insipid. That was the reason it wasn't crowded, besides being open day and night. It's a place for people who just want a quick bite. Australia really does have good dim sum as many chefs have come here from HK.


In the afternoon I had planned to have a look at former site of the Kowloon Walled City, which was a little piece of Kowloon excluded from British jurisdiction. After the end of WWII, the flood of refugees from China to this political anomaly created a extremely densely populated and squalid area which became a hotbed of criminal activity until brought under control in the late 70s. Even after crime was brought under control, unlicensed doctors and dentists practised and the sanitary conditions continued to be horrible so after the Sino-British joint declaration, the governments started its demolition in 1987. Today the site is a park and museum.


However during my stroll through One IFC, I had noticed an arthouse cinema playing foreign films. The 2009 French rom-com De Vrais Mesonges had caught my attention and I decided that I preferred to spend the afternoon in an aircon cinema instead of walking around and getting a bit sweaty, even though it was a cool day, because I wouldn't have any change of clothing until I reached home. Besides, the Walled City will still be there the next time I visit. I enjoyed the film very much. Audrey Tautou is not just a graceful actress but also a funny comedienne.


After the film I picked up a couple of CDs from a shop in IFC, and caught the express to the airport. I had dinner in the airport as there was a good selection of restaurants there and also free WiFi. Locating a seat with a nearby power point was a bit trickier though. Close to midnight I boarded the flight and that was the end of my holiday.

Sound and light show

That evening I went to Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to view the Symphony of Lights, which is a 10 minute son et lumière show involving buildings on HK island and Kowloon. It holds the world record as the largest permanent sound and light show. This shot was taken before the show. In the middle is the One IFC building. The Bank of China is on the left edge and there is a junk with red sails passing.

A shot centred on the Bank of China tower which is angular compared to the others and has been criticised on feng shui grounds.

Panning towards the east of the BoC.

During the show the buildings are floodlit, laser beams play from the apexes of some, and the edge lights of the BoC building run in animated patterns.

The beams create spots of light on the buildings on the Kowloon side.

Apparently the show is more spectacular at New Year. I must come back with a tripod and stake out a good spot.

Retail therapy

I usually do some shopping at the tail end of a trip. It's the logical time; it would be silly to lug purchases on a trip. Also I usually need to replace sneakers and clothes by then.


Most of the delay was waiting for the carousel to regurgitate my backpack. The airport train took 24 minutes to reach Central, as promised. I changed to the Island Line for Wanchai. There were many people around even at that late hour. It was 0015 when I checked in at Mingle By The Park, a boutique hotel I had stayed at last time and liked, but I had notified them that I would be late. The room was very small. I could touch both walls if I stretched my arms, and it was only as long as a bed plus a shower cubicle. But it was spotless and had all the mod cons: sink and shower, aircon, TV, Internet connection (wired and wireless). For a pied-à-terre for a couple of days it was handy and a bargain in space-scarce HK. This time I was on the 5th floor and there is no lift. So I had to be sure I had everything for an expedition on leaving; no fun going back if I forgot something.

First order of business in the morning was to toss the used jeans and shirt in a clothes recycling bin whose location I had found from the Web. Then a breakfast of congee at an eatery I had spotted on Johnston Street on the way in. It was quite good, as expected. Eateries that don't serve decent food in competitive HK just don't survive.

I caught the MRT to Sham Shui Po, well-known for the Golden Shopping Centre for computers and accessories. It was around 1100 and was only starting up; most traffic is in the evenings. After a few rounds I found the external disk drive I wanted. I paid the RRP; there wasn't room for reduction. It's already cheap anyway when you correctly choose where to buy.

I was going to buy shirts and jeans at Ladies' Street (why is there no Gents' Street, we like shopping too) in Mong Kok but I found them sold in the street market outside the centre so I bought them there.

The sneakers I had to get in Mong Kok though. But first a lunch of wonton noodles at an eatery chosen at second glance after I failed to find the one I had eaten at last time. It was good too; you can't go wrong when you see lots of satisfied customers in the joint. On the way I went through what must be Pet Street, judging from the shops with fish tanks, puppies and kittens in display cases, etc.


The shoe store is run very efficiently. They have a stockroom upstairs and rectangular openings in the ceiling to drop boxes through. The girl assistant would yell Drop! to the stock clerk upstairs and seconds later catch the falling box with one hand. Impressive.


At this point I had my hands full of shopping so it was time to take the loot back. But first a visit to a natural food cafe reputed to have yak cheesecake. Unfortunately it was past mealtime and seemed to be serving main meals only now. Scratch that.


I had a siesta before going for the sound and light show at Tsim Sha Tsui which will be in the next blog entry.

Parting thoughts

My flight wasn't until 2130, which I didn't like because it meant getting into HK at 2300 and at the hotel probably after midnight, but nothing could be done about that.

Chris, the hostel owner, had kindly allowed me to checkout late since there were no other guests in my dorm. So I could leave my belongings in the dorm and come back in the afternoon for a quick shower before catching the bus to the airport. I spent the morning catching up with the blog. At about noon I caught the bus to Sanya's First Market, near the bank of the Sanya River.

At the centre of the market is the main building, containing a produce and wet market, selling meat and fish. It was dim and of course smelt like all wet markets do. There was nothing particularly interesting about this so I exited quickly. Upstairs is a clothing and fabrics market. Again not much of interest there. The streets around had fruit sellers by the roadside or in stores. I bought some bananas; and later some rambutans to compare with those in Malaysia.

I tried a couple of street snacks, a piece of steamed tapioca, quite tasty but floury, and a sticky rice flour ball containing palm sugar and peanuts, wrapped in banana leaves. The latter was messy and left rice starch on my fingers.

Originally my plan was to have lunch in the city and then dinner before going back to the hostel to leave for the airport. I now saw that there was no way I could spend a few hours around the markets. I pondered over this quandry for a while. Recalling the pastry shop I had passed, I decided instead to buy some takeaway food to eat for dinner at the airport before checking in. So I went ahead and had lunch in a fast food restaurant that served fried chicken but also a range of Chinese meals. I finished off with a fresh coconut from a stall.

Maybe it was the load of coconut juice sitting in my stomach, maybe it was also the warm day, maybe it was the anticlimax of the end of the Hainan part of my trip, but I felt nausea thinking about the crowds around the market. They looked like ants swarming purposelessly. All that activity, what for? In hundreds of other anthills that are called Chinese cities similar activities were taking place. Had 4000 years of continuous civilisation come to this? Why did I feel so misanthropic?

At about 1530 I caught the bus back to Dadonghai and went straight to the beach instead of to the hostel. There was a wedding photography session on the sand.

A kite seller walked the length of the beach with his airborne kite leading. A young man tried to interest a mutt in retrieving his thongs but the dog wasn't cooperating.

Chess players were crowding around a game. A restaurant was laid out for a reception, presumably of the wedding party. There was a light breeze blowing. All of this made me feel happier and restored my bonhomie towards the human race. No doubt millions of boring days have passed since humans set up on the planet, but there were and will continue to be moments of pleasure and levity. In such moments, beyond explanation, things feel alright.

Hainan was undergoing explosive change with buildings springing up everywhere. I'm sure it will be unrecognisable to me in a few years. Every morning you can hear the tok tok tok of hammering at nearby work sites. Even late at night, you can see the flashes of arc welding shooting out from sites.

The Chinese are undergoing the most wrenching transformation of their society, trying to make up for centuries of backwardness in a generation or two. Old and new mingle in a strange mixture. You wonder how the young people avoid going crazy. But you never need worry about the Chinese, through hard times and good they will land on their feet. 4000 years of experience as a civilisation counts for something after all.

In retrospect I would have planned my itinerary different. I would start and end at Haikou, which is slightly closer to HK, and take the high speed train down the east coast to Sanya, and visit Wuzhishan and nearby areas as excursions from Sanya, making a J shaped itinerary. Then I would return to Haikou via the HST, which would be faster and cheaper than going down the middle. But I didn't know about the HST when I was planning and Sanya was on my brain from the ads in HK last year.



I caught the bus to the airport, which took some 45 minutes to negotiate the traffic in Sanya's centre. Fortunately I had a seat at the back and didn't have to shift for anyone as the airport was the last stop. I ate the takeaway food and the rest of the fruit as planned. Not a moment too soon it was time to board and head off to HK for a couple of days of retail therapy.

Back to Sanya

Breakfast was a feast. I estimated some 20 or 30 different offerings.

I tried a bit of many things. One thing that I really like without any seasoning or condiment is steamed taro. BTW, that's not me at the counter, hahaha.

I had a nice spot near the waterwheel. I took my time with breakfast, maybe 45 minutes or so.

I filled up the hot water tub for another enjoyable soak. Then I took a walk around the grounds. There were stone statues presumably in the style of the regional ethnic group.

There were many varieties of tropical plants and they were labelled.

There were several clusters of rooms or villas in the resort each having their own swimming pool. Here's one presenting the spectacle of a coconut tree seemingly growing in the middle of water.

The counter clerks were a bit slow with checking me out. They told me to take a seat but didn't process my bill until it was almost time for the shuttle to leave. Chinese hotels have a modus operandi of requiring a deposit equal to your room rate plus some extra for any incidental expenses. A lot of the items in the room are not free but will be put on your bill when they ask the maid through the intercom to do a final check of your room while you are waiting at the front desk. In my case since I paid with a credit card, they had me sign a slip for the deposit when I arrived and then when I checked out, they had me sign the slip for the actual cost then returned the provisional slip to me.

The shuttle was actually 6 seat sedan with a driver and three other hotel guests going to Sanya. For some reason the driver wouldn't put on the aircon and the front passengers had the window slightly down only part of the time. As a result, it was stiflingly warm inside the car, maybe 27 or 28C even though it was cool outside. The heat annoyed me.

About 70 minutes we were in Sanya and just 5 minutes from my first hostel in Hainan. The girl at the front desk was a bit surprised to see me, because I had told only the owner of my return. It was quiet in the hostel and I had the whole 4 bed dorm to myself.

I was quite full from breakfast so I went down to the department store again and bought a coke and a chocolate doughnut for my caffeine fix.

In the evening I decided to have another go at Luhuitou (鹿回头) Hill. I asked Chris how to get there. Apparently I was on the right track the first time, but gave up too soon. But it was also late in the evening then. This time I started at 1730 with about 90 minutes of daylight left.

The core legend of Luhuitou, according to the Li people, is this: A young hunter spots a beautiful golden deer and pursues it for a long time, eventually cornering it near a cliff where the only escape would have to been to leap from the cliff. Just as the hunter was about to let fly an arrow the deer turned its head to look around and turned into a beautiful young maiden. They fell in love with each other, married and lived happily ever after.

Now the variants which I've read elsewhere, which can be mixed in as desired: The hunter was under instructions from the king to capture a golden deer. The hunter chased the deer for 99 days. The hunter took pity on the deer and lowered his bow. The maiden liked the demeanour of the young man. After they married, the maiden rallied her kinsmen and they overthrew the tyrant king. The Li people then set up a tourist park and raked the dollars in. Hahaha, sorry I made the last one up.

The legend no doubt arose from the headland resembling a deer turning its head around. Anyway it's a romantic legend, sniff. Today the hilltop is managed by the Li people who charge for entrance and for riding the people transporters. These painted rocks are scattered around the park. They look a bit Central American I must say.

There were lots of white pigeons and a few "immigrant" grey pigeons at one plaza. Obviously they were also selling birdseed for the pigeons.

That evening, looking for dinner, I happened upon Marcop the Itaian Resauant, er I mean Marco Polo the Italian Restaurant, mentioned in guides. The prices were reasonable and I hankered for a bit of western food, so I ordered a Pizza ai Gambetti (Shrimp Pizza), reasoning that the shrimps would have to be locally caught and therefore fresh. I also asked for a Tsingtao beer.

The pizza was thin crust and very good. The cook, a real Italian living in China, came over and congratulated me on finishing the 25cm pizza. He said that it was a lot to eat, even bigger than the pizzas in Italy.

Narada Resort (Baoting)

I didn't think I could make it to Baihuashan today. Breakfast at the hotel was a la carte and not included. Pity, it looked good from what the guests in the dining room were eating. I couldn't think on an empty stomach so I walked to the bus station and saw a couple of hawkers outside so had a bowl of rice noodles in soup. The sign on the other stall confirmed what I suspected, they moved the bus station after my guide was published so the hotel I had been looking for was near the old station. Possibly future planning, to locate the new bus station a bit outside the town, and also near the junction of the new highway to the coast. I asked at the counter about buses to Wuzhishan (五指山), Five Finger Mountain. It's either 1020 or 1400. That decided it, I had to leave at 1020. I surfed a bit at the hotel then packed up and left.


The minibus is a rural run and full of people going home from the relatively large town of Qiongzhong. It swayed from side to side as it took bends. Towards the end of the run, a woman sitting on the floor had to use a sick bag. Fortunately I am relatively unaffected by car sickness, it's boats that get me. And I didn't have a full stomach.


Wuzhishan looked bigger than expected from the guide. There seem to be a lot of new apartment blocks so a lot of building has been happening. Also I saw a branch of Bank of China, whereas the guide claimed there was no foreign exchange ATM. I got onto the service to Baoting just in time. There was a bit of bother with the barcode scanner at the gate.


At Baoting (保亭) they dropped me off at the outskirts of the town. It turned out the centre is about 1km walk in. I found the market and had a plate of fried noodles at a shop. This town is a bit poor from the mess at the market and streets. I got a little attention walking around with a backpack. Also the woman at the restaurant, spotting my backpack asked me if I'm selling things. I guess they don't see many backpackers here,

Luckily I noted the Chinese name of the Narada Resort ahead of time for telling motorcycle taxis. A couple of taxis didn't want to take me there but eventually one offered to do it for 30RMB because it's 7 or 8 km outside town and he would have to come back with an empty car. I tried to bargain him down to 25 but I didn't persist because 5RMB is less than a dollar to me and maybe food on the table for him. Anyway on the way there were people waiting on the other side of the road for the bus or a motorcycle taxi so I suspect he got a fare for the return trip.

The resort was luxurious, it was the top rated hotel in the district, but showing a little sign of wear in the tropical climate. I got a room with breakfast. It seemed like there were two worlds, the people who live in Baoting and the people who can afford to stay at these resorts and come in cars or coaches. I booked a place on the daily shuttle service to Dadonghai in Sanya at noon the next day so I was all clear for the home stretch, no more struggling with public transport.

The bathtub was actually outdoors, on the balcony, with a modesty screen around it of course. The hot water comes from the spring. I had a nice soak in it.

The resort has excellent swimming pools of course.

The round one in the middle is the hot water pool.

Qiongzhong

I set out for Qiongzhong (琼中) in the middle of the island. The girl at the hostel said to take bus 17 to the West Station. Turns out she was wrong on two counts. Bus 17 didn't pass the stop I waited at so I had to go back to the hostel to ask again, and another girl told me that 30 would also do. Back at the stop I noticed that West Station was listed on the route details for 30. I should have looked more carefully and saved myself a walk. The second mistake was more serious. When I got to West Station, the ticket counter told me Qiongzhong was served from the South Station. So I had to catch another bus there. One hour wasted. Sigh.


By this time it was nearly 1130 and I had to wait for the next bus at 1220 so I decided to grab a bite in the form of a cob of corn and a sticky rice dumpling from a street vendor.


The ride was uneventful, I dozed off from fatigue and also the landscape wasn't particularly remarkable. The road doesn't begin to ascend the hills until near Qiongzhong. My nose had stopped running and I wasn't sneezing anymore. So I was allergic to the pollution in Haikou. And Haikou is supposed to have cleaner air than most other Chinese cities. This did not bode well for travel in China.

I strode out of the bus station looking for the hotel mentioned in the guide which was supposed to be nearby. After 15 minutes walking I still hadn't found it. Checked the notes again. Ok, maybe it was the other direction then. No good. I gave up and asked at a luxurious looking hotel what their rates were. It's about 60AUD. That sort of money now would only get you a poky motel room in a small country town back home, so I took the room. The room was even better than the one at Boao. The air was cool due to the elevation.


In the afternoon there was a small gift of a basket of fruits, this time just an apple and lots of cherry tomatoes. I had bought some to try in a supermarket in Haikou thinking there were some interesting fruit, but they were just cherry tomatoes. I wonder why the Hainanese think they are special.


Unfortunately Qiongzhong is a one main road town and stretches a long way. I walked a fair way towards the town centre and still hadn't found it so I had a dinner at what looked like the most acceptable restaurant of tofu on an iron skillet with rice. Edible but not memorable.

In rather dim light in the outdoor park next to the hotel, which seemed to be still under construction, local women were dancing in formation to prerecorded Mandarin pop. They just repeated the same song again and again. Seemed to be their way of getting exercise and having fun. There was a second group dancing in a circle to different music. And that was my night in Qiongzhong. Some travel days are just less scenic than others.

There was no way I could visit Wuzhishan the next day though I might be able to spot it; it requires a hike. But maybe I could visit Baihuashan (百花山) falls the next day. And for the night I could stay at the Litchi Hot Spring Hotel in Baoting. I had no reply from my enquiry to the hotel's agent so I emailed the room discounters I had used before for Boao. They said that there were no vacancies, but maybe I might like the Narada next to it. The price was around 120AUD. Oh what the heck, might as well soak in luxury to end this trip so I accepted.

Haikou 2

This monkey, Spanky, lived in a cage in the hostel courtyard. According to the label, he was orphaned when his mother was eaten at a restaurant. He was raised for the same fate, but fortunately a kind person rescued him. He has to be kept in captivity because he wouldn't survive in the wild. He looked morose, but he's alive and that's something. Humans can be horrid.

I decided to visit the old town where the markets and old shops are. I walked across the channel separating Haidian (海甸),  the island which is part of Haikou, from mainland and reached the old city markets. This was an empty shopping street due to exclusion barriers but it was a rare treat not to have to be on the alert against electric scooters.

I walked around the block, taking pictures, but had to look to find the entrances to the market lanes.

There were the usual dry and wet goods. Hainanese was spoken everywhere.

I found a food court where meals were paid with stored value card. There I had Wenchang Chicken. It was more or less what I expected. There was too much skin. I had a sticky rice dumpling with the chicken since it wasn't accompanied with broth flavoured rice as Hainanese Chicken from South East Asia would.

I had a look at the Haikou electronics centre. Electronics means in this case, mobile phones in the front of the ground floor and computers, mostly laptops, inside and on other floors. Interestingly prices were actually not that good compared with Australia.


Then another long walk to Carrefour where I did some shopping, then had a Chocolate "Cindy" at Maccas. Probaby due to 新地 (new earth) coming from Cantonese where it sounds like sundae.

In the evening I walked around the block looking for restaurant, found that a recommended one was actually inside a hotel with a long driveway. I would look out of place in that kind of place. Instead I went to the hawker strip and had lotus leaf rice, then an ice concoction which I couldn't finish so took remainder back to hostel. I talked to a German couple who had studied Classical Chinese before coming to China and told them about the food court in case they wanted to try Wenchang Chicken.