Sanya Island!

I just got home from what has been, by far, the best vacation ever! We took a sleeper train on friday afternoon and got to Sanya early Saturday morning. The train had three levels of beds. The topmost bunk was the cheapest one so that, of course, was mine. Across from me was the sweetest chinese girl ever. She is 23 and doesn't speak any English at all. It gave me a great chance to practice some Chinese!!! We became good friends. We ate dinner together and she laughed with me every time I would clumsily climb 15  feet to get to my bed. It was a very clean train and it seemed we arrived in no time. (14 Hours) I woke up to find the sweetest note which read something along the lines of, "Hello Rose, This stop is mine and I am afraid to wake you. I want you to know I am happy to make friends with you. You I will never forget." I almost choked up when I found it. I wished that she wasn't gone so I could have given her a big hug. I loved that she said, "Hey Rose." My chinese name,  translates to rose. But when I read it in English I thought of my dad. Thats what he calls me. "Rose." 

First day at Dadonghai beach!

     

Sailboat on Yalong Bay

Anyways after some bartering with the taxi's we made our way to the Lama Temple Hostel. This place was SO perfect. It was only 3 dollars a night and a  ten minute walk from the beach. We dropped off our backpacks at the hostel but it was too early to check in. Rather than waste any time we just went straight to the beach! I was expecting it to be a little rocky and dirty, especially since our hostel was so cheap. But this beach, Dadonghai, was the most BEAUTIFUL thing on earth. The sand was so soft and the scenery was gorgeous! There is nothing I love more than a beach!

     I had no idea I would have this opportunity in China. When I think China I think street food, rice fields, and chinese pagodas. But this was like the Hawaii of China. The rest of the four days were filled with coconuts on the beach, clear waters, parasailing, diving for shells, eating LOTS of fresh fruit and smiling. Lots and LOTS of smiling! 

Found a rad fruit market with the BEST bananas!

   When we arrived we tried to book our train home and found there wasn't any until the day AFTER we needed to leave. Seeing as we are English teachers, this was not an option. So we decide to book a flight instead since it would get us home in only an hour and a half. Sleeper trains cost around 350RMB and our one-way flight was 550RMB. Its a bit more expensive but not nearly as bad as in the states. This way we would have more time to relax and enjoy Sanya! 
We didn't think about it again until we got up at 4:30am to take a taxi to the airport. We get there to check in to find there is no record of our flight. After much struggling and using my phrase book as a crutch... I found out that Shannon had booked our flight from Guangzhou to Sanya. (Instead of Sanya to Guangzhou {Home}) Haha. Oh boy that was not good news to hear an hour and a half before your "flight." Shannon felt SO bad but we told her it could have happened to any of us. So I will spare you the details but there was a lot of run around. A lot of checking other airports, prices, times, finding out if we could get refunds. All of which are things far beyond my maturity level. No, but in all reality. No matter what goes wrong... there is ALWAYS a way out. So I found this shady little bus station where, after some prayer, we found a sleeper bus that would get us home ONE hour before we taught the next day. MIRACLE! We were out 500RMB and then on top of that had to pay another 300 for the bus. (Plus Taxi Fares) So we all ended up being out of a lot of cash by the time we were done. But it had been a learning experience. I will from now on check, double check, and triple check all the bookings my teachers make. 

Holding a Crocodile!!!

The mangos are HUGE in Hainan. 

That was all I ate the whole trip!

     Its funny how things work out though. We got to the bus station and still had a little bit of time to wait. A man had stepped on my hulusi. (A chinese instrument I bought on the beach) It broke the gourd and he offered to pay for it but I told him it wasn't a problem. He persisted until he walked away abruptly. Thirty minutes later the same man comes back with a brand new Hulusi! He had ridden on his motorcycle to go buy me a new one. People in this country never cease to amaze me with their hospitality! I also sat next to a mom with her baby strapped to her back and her little five year old squatting on the ground next to her. I held a conversation with the mom for quite sometime. I really feel like my chinese comprehension level is really improving! I could understand everything she said! Her kids were munching down on mangos. Their faces and hands were all slimy and dripping with juice. At one point she was trying to wipe their hands off with a dirty rag. She couldn't reach the baby on her back. I had some tissues in my bag and got up to wipe the baby off. That baby. Oh that sweet sweet baby. She was grinning from EAR-TO-EAR! It was the greatest thing ever! I was wiping her off and playing with her chubby little hands. It was just proof to me that wherever you go, there you are. Doesn't matter if you book the wrong flight and can't find a train... your still somewhere. Somewhere where something amazing could happen. 

Met some girls from THAILAND! 

(They were very impressed I knew how to say a 

bunch of food items in Thai. Thanks mom!)

                  Usually sleeper buses are... not so glamorous. We got our bus and there was techno music bumping. The floor was shellacked, the beds were SO clean and all the comforters were cheetah print! It was like a party bus! So the lesson we have learned this trip is that good things happen. Even when things go wrong, you can find the good in anything!