Our Trip
We landed in Shanghai as a family on December 31, 2006 and three weeks later we had our first experience with Chinese New Year (CNY). Being newcomers to Asia we did not know that travel plans for key Chinese national holidays like CNY were made and finalized a year in advance, so with only a couple of weeks to plan, we opted for a trip to Sanya – Hainan Island.
When we arrived in Sanya it was hot and humid. Our destination was the Marriott Resort and Spa. Along the way many of the streets and sights reminded us of the Chinese street activities we had seen in our brief stay in Shanghai, but since this was the beginning of CNY and it was already about 9:00 pm many of the traditional fireworks displays filled the Sanya sky. Little did we know this would be a week-long occurrence and then some.
Upon arrival at the Marriott, we found it to be very nicely adorned and the entire lobby level was open to the South China sky. In the background a Filipino band was playing top 40 hits. We checked in (a lengthy process when you travel internationally in Asia), dropped our bags in the room and returned to the lobby lounge area to check out the band, grab some snacks and relax.
Upon arrival to the lounge area Sophie (5-years-old at the time) had this magnetic attraction to the 3 Filipino singers – all young and beautiful. It was past 9:00 pm (bedtime for the kids was around 7:30 pm) and at 11:30 pm we literally had to drag Sophie away from the “dance” floor that she solely occupied.
Fun Facts & Tips
Situated south of the China mainland and about a three hour flight from Shanghai. Hainan island is often referred to as the “Hawaii of China.” We stayed in Sanya at the Marriott Resort and Spa which is located on Yalong Bay about a 45 min. drive from the Sanya airport.
By the time we made our hotel reservations and flight itineraries, hotel prices had tripled and airline prices doubled. But we all really needed a beach vacation after arriving in Shanghai three weeks before. Culture shock was setting in and it was time to go have some fun. We’ve since learned to explore China on the non-Chinese holidays thus saving lots of money and avoiding the crowds of Chinese tourist.
A fun thing to do on this island is to rent some bikes and go exploring. Once you leave the hotel strip, the water buffalo freely roam the streets and farmers and locals are everywhere. This was our first real taste of local Chinese lifestyle and how meager their homes and life can be.
Welcome to Hainan Island, China
Scott, relaxing at the pool.
For all but one of the next six evenings this would be the routine – band begins at 9:00 pm and plays until midnight. Sophie would be a fixture every night except for the Monday evening that the band had off.
Sophie danced and danced – and she had everyone’s full attention – including one of the singers in the group. The band was a house band for the Marriott resort and was booked for six months. One of the singers had a daughter back home in the Philippines about Sophie’s age, so Sophie became her stand-in daughter for the week. Sophie and the singer were virtually inseparable as she sang and shared the stage with Sophie and Sophie would dance all night long.
The resort was beautiful and well-maintained. Had it not been for the Chinese guests one would never had thought one was in China while on the resort property.
Our education into Asian cultures had commenced. In China it is very common for young children to run around naked at the pool – since many Chinese parents do not believe in diapers, their children are trained to urinate wherever they see fit, sometimes in the pool and sometimes outside the pool along the edge in the foliage. It was our first eye-opening culture-shocking experience.
The beach area was nice and the water was clear – except for floating pieces of garbage and black plastic bags. Apparently, a garbage barge lost part of it's load and the trash was washing ashore and tainting our island experience.
If the floating trash didn’t catch ones attention then the Asian ladies in the ocean – walking in waist-deep water and carrying umbrellas did. Another cultural nuance we learned on this trip was that between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm we could have our pick of the locations around the pool because it is too hot and sunny for Chinese women in a society where the whiter the skin, the better.
All-in-all the resort experience was a nice introduction to Asian beaches. The Marriott resort was a nice experience and many other internationally-branded resorts were located on the same stretch of beach, including Sheraton, Hilton and other local entities. The Ritz-Carlton recently opened a resort property and I’m certain it is as exquisite as their other Asian properties. Feel free to check out our pics.