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.