Sanya:: Happy 17th anniversary

Several months ago- just after our trip to Phuket in April- we decided that we needed to do something special to celebrate our anniversary.

After all, doesn't 17 years seem like something special to celebrate??!!!!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet, amazingly patient, thoughtful, clever, fixer-of-all-things-broken husband!!!!!

Mark found a JW Marriott located in Sanya– on Hainan Island, China. We had such an amazingly fantastical time at the JW Marriott in Phuket that we decided that we had to go there!  After all, Hainan Island is often touted as the "Hawaii of China".  

 

It's Friday night- the day school let out for summer- and we're getting ready to board a Capital Airlines flight at the Tianjin airport.  We're lucky this time!  It's a direct, four-hour flight! (Tianjin to Sanya) That seems like a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to some of the recent long flights we've been on!

Ready to board the flight???

Do you smell something???  (sniff, sniff, sniff….) This airplane smells like human urine. Pee!!!!!! GAG!!!!!  Gross!!!!! It's the Pee Express! Well, the good news is that we're only stuck on it for four hours.  The bad news is that we're stuck on it for four hours!  

Did you get a snack?  What did they give you?  I got a big roll of sandwich cookies- with fake strawberry frosting in the middle.  Do you like your cookies?  I can't decide if I like them or hate them.  But why do they hand out such a huge roll of cookies?  Who on Earth can eat so many in one sitting (other than an American teen boy)??? 

Phew!  We landed!  Let's grab our luggage and find our driver.  

Thank goodness that was easy!  And WOW!  I knew it'd be warm here but it is really REALLY hot for being past midnight!!!

*****20 minutes or so later driving********

We're checked in!  They say they've upgraded our room.  Let's head up to the room.  Check out what awaits us:

It looks a tiny bit cramped but at least there is a spare bed for one girl and a small couch for another girl.  Not exactly what I had envisioned when they said our room was upgraded.  Makes me wonder what the room we originally booked looked like!

Awwwwwww…..

Two Towel Swans! Nothing says "romance" more than two kissing towel swans. And of course rose petals in the shape of a heart. 😉

Nighty Night!!!!

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How about we head to the breakfast buffet first?  Hmmm….the buffet just isn't quite as nice as the one in Phuket. Grrrrrr…….Did we really have to tell three different servers to order our coffee drinks????  Or what about the juices they offered to bring to us???  It seems as if they just wanted to know if we wanted anything to drink but weren't going to do anything about it. The service here is VERY different than that at the JW Marriott in Phuket.  Thank goodness for Maria- I'm not sure what the hotel would do without her!!!!!  She's a hostess from Russia working at the hotel.   

Okay.  Perhaps I should quit comparing the two JW Marriotts. Sorry.  It's just that we were in love with the general friendliness and kindness of all the staff at the resort in Phuket.  We kind of assumed that it would carry across to this one in Sanya.  How wrong we were!

 

Enough griping!  I'm ready to head to the beach!!!!  Are  you?? After all that IS why we're here, right????

 It rained last night and that marble floor is slicker than snot!  (is snot slick?)

And the snails were out in abundance!

Finally- we're at the beach!!!

 

 Naturally, when I think of a beach and beach-related activities, Segways come to mind. Or not.  Seriously????  Can't we enjoy the beach without these things zipping around?  Yes- you can rent one.  I promise you I've got better things to do!

 

 Annika's favorite beach activity: digging holes!!!!

 Since the waves were too strong for Ava to safely swim in the water by herself (red flag day) let's check out the hotel's swimming pool, okay?  

This pool IS awesome!  Hardly anyone here and it has so many nooks and crannies and grottos to explore!

Ummm….okay, I like the palm trees next to the pool but do you think perhaps they could take down the coconuts growing????  It seems like a head bonking waiting to happen.  I suggest we steer clear of that part of the pool.

Such a fun pool!

 

Here's our little sweet spot: underneath the gazebo.  There's even room for you!  Thank goodness for the roof!  We just had a nice, big roaring thunderstorm.  Plenty of room to cuddle and huddle together under the roof.  And of course let's order lunch and have it delivered here.  :-)  We'll have to take a break from swimming in the pool sooner or later!

How about a little break from swimming?  Do you want to get a pedicure with us girls???  Or you can get a body massage with Mark.  Which would you prefer???

(Ava fell asleep while she was getting her pedicure!  I guess a morning of playing at the beach and swimming in the pool wears out a soon-to-be first grader!) 

Check out the lovely plumeria flower Annika found!  That is a bright PINK flower!

 Let's get some sushi at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel.  They offer other things too in case you don't like sushi.  It just seems easier than leaving the resort.  And I honestly don't feel up to navigating around with our tiny bit of Chinese.  After all, this is supposed to be a vacation!

 

And now how about evening drinks at the Blue Bar?  

Stare into the light and you shall see your future….or a bright light!

Good Night!  Hope you sleep well! 

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I hope you've eaten some breakfast!

Time to check out the Kid's Club.  There's a water slide for the kids.  And only for the kids!

 

SPLASH!!!!!

Mark relaxing in one of the lounge chairs in the Kid's Club. Grab a chair and come relax with us while the kids play.  So…here's something that made me scratch my head- so you need a card to get into the Kid's Club building- leading you to believe that the entire club is secure (as in fenced in) but it's not!  There is a plant hedge surrounding the Kid's Club with small openings that we saw the hotel workers pass through.  Boy, I sure don't feel comfortable leaving our girls here.  Plus, the Kid's Club attendants didn't seem very enthusiastic about watching the children that were there.  AND, they charge for everything!!!!  The Kid's Club at the same resort in Phuket was SO MUCH NICER and we felt safe leaving the girls in their care AND they didn't charge for watching the children!!!  So, it doesn't seem like this resort will help us have the romantic get-away that we were hoping for. Grrr…..

A lovely view from our hotel room- Blue Skies!!!!  Blue Skies!!!! In China!!!!!  WOW!  Such a lovely sight!

How about movie time with fresh coconut juice in our room?  Mmmm….I just love fresh coconut juice!!!!!

 

And the grown-ups need some down time too!  It's hard work playing in the surf and in the pool for most of the day!  But instead of coconut juice we might need a nice beer to go with our chill out time!

 

Oh my!  Check out the LOVELY bouquet Mark ordered for me!!!!!  Isn't it pretty???  However- he did order 17 red roses to celebrate our 17 years of marriage and two lilies to signify the two lovely additions to our family! Hmmm….so what are those other flowers doing in the bouquet??? Not exactly what he ordered.  

 

And here is the red rose bouquet from the hotel:

Ah…let's meet at the Blue Bar for drinks, okay?  

Here's a lesson for us Americans that love milkshakes.  Be wary of ordering them in Asia!  You might end up with this concoction poor Mark got.  He asked for a chocolate milkshake and got something that tasted like milk, chocolate syrup, and ice (not ice cream).  So it was a very watered down chocolate drink.  Blah. Blech! 

Ah, and here's my lunch.  Hainan chicken.  For some reason I had (wrongly) assumed that Hainan chicken would be more like fried rice with chicken.  Oops.  My mistake.  It's too bad the chicken was undercooked.  I might have enjoyed it but I'm honestly not comfortable eating undercooked chicken (especially here in China).  I know what you're thinking- I shouldn't eat sushi either.  Except I'm positive they handle sashimi grade fish very carefully.  

Let's go check out the Activities Desk at the resort, okay?  Perhaps there's something for us to do.  Like the last itinerary listed on this board:

I think we'll take a pass.  You can go ahead and check it out though.  You'll have to tell us all about the performance!!!  Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway.  The receptionist at the activities desk doesn't seem the least bit interested in helping us.  She seems rather bored though.  Now, normally I'm the sort of person that wants to go explore and check out a new location.  I just don't feel that way about Sanya.  Perhaps if we were fluent in Chinese we could participate but as it is it always feel like a struggle to go anywhere.  Plus, we really wanted this to be relaxing vacation and not an explore China vacation (there will be plenty of time to explore China on other trips).  I did read some reviews online of snorkeling outfitters in Sanya and I read that the trips are only in Chinese and that they don't offer life vests. PASS! So, we're definitely not going on one!  So very, very different than our experience in Phuket.

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Mmmm….love, love the turquoise and apple green colors in the lobby!  The Bored Lady at the Activities Desk is sitting way in the back.

 

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Time for breakfast!  Naturally it wouldn't be complete without fresh coconut juice!

 Ah yes- do you remember me mentioning to you about Maria, the super friendly hostess from Russia?  Here she is with Ava:  

We did like Maria!  She made us banana or mango smoothies and they were yummy!!!!

Time to play at the beach again!  It seems the last four days we've had a very simple schedule of eating breakfast, playing on the beach, swimmming in the pool, down time in the room and dinner.  

Oh, such a lovely sight!  

The lounge chairs on the beach in front of the resort.

One of the nicest things about playing here on the beach in Sanya is that there are lots of Russians here- so we're not the only Westeners on the beach.  That means we're not an unusual sight for the Chinese.  Hooray for not being a weirdo!!!!

 

I just love the blue colors and the clouds:

Ava trying out her camera: 

Mark finally got what he wanted: to rent a boogie board and ride the waves!!! Earlier he asked at the resort desk for a boogie board and he was given a soccer ball instead.  Ummm….a boogie board and a soccer ball are NOT the same thing!  LOL!!!!!

YAYYYYY!!! Yeee haw!!!!  It does look like Mark is having a blast!

How about a stroll on the beach?  Beach combing is one of my favorite activities at the beach (other than playing in the surf!)!!!!

A picture of serenity, no?

Some Engrish for your amusement:

How about a swing on the resort hammocks???  (It's almost time for us to head to the airport and fly back home.)  

Don't rock the hammock too hard!!!  You might fall out!

Okay…we're back inside the Sanya airport now.  Our flight has been delayed for about twenty minutes or so.  And welcome back to being the odd-looking family.  Sigh.  

Fun way to pass the time:  playing a rowdy game with cards!  Lots of loud laughing and hollering going on behind us.  At least these folks aren't grumpy about the flight being delayed.  

Another tiny bit of Engrish: This lady's romper says "Don't Hate Me".  In big, bold and pink letters.  

This little Chinese boy was very interested in the girls but too nervous to actually come up to them.  And there's something unusual (to us Westeners) about his pants- they're split in the crotch.  What???  Well, I've heard that the Chinese start potty training their children once the child reaches six WEEKS.  So, that's why it's hard to find diapers for slightly larger babies here in China.  The Chinese don't use them!!!  For the most part it does seem pretty clever but how can you guarantee that the child won't have an accident on a long flight????  

Time to board the flight!!!

This seems like the rowdiest, noisiest flight I've ever been on.  Don't these people realize how late it is???  Oh well.  At least it's a happy sort of rowdy.  And Thank the Heavens the plane doesn't smell like pee!!!! 

Thank goodness we're home!!!!

Now, here's what we think of Sanya (and remember, this is OUR opinion)- it's too expensive, especially when you compare it to the same resort in Phuket.  The resort here in Sanya wasn't as nice or as friendly on the whole (there were a few people here that did in fact make an effort to be friendly and helpful but it seemed they were battling and at odds with the sort of indifference and lack of interest most Chinese people seem to display). I will say that if I had several days of vacation time our time and money would be better spent going to Phuket than to Sanya.   Sanya was okay but if you really want to get away- well, you need to get away!  Sanya is still China- make no mistake.  And…the only people that can call it the "Hawaii of China" are people that haven't been to Hawaii!  (I will agree that it is a tropical island though)