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I woke up this morning to the pleasant sounds of Chinese guests yelling at the top of their lungs in the pool at 7am.Guess I will sleep on the beach.So I actually get up to look out the window from my balcony since it was way to dark to do that last night when I got in.It was AMAZING, but every time I go to take a picture, my camera lens fogs up.So I leave the balcony door open because my room is about 50 degrees. When I get back from the massive breakfast buffet, my room was covered in mist everywhere - from the mirrors & glass to the floor to the TV. I get ready to head to the beach at about 10am.
There was so much to do and do little time to do it in.I could go parasailing, rent jet skis, snorkeling, kayaking, etc.I had decided to go parasailing in the afternoon today and jet skiing tomorrow. As I lay on the beach talking to Cindy (it's her birthday), I am surrounded by women selling pearls.I forgot to mention the other day that Sanya is also known for its pearls.While it was nice to shop while lounging on the beach, I was getting short on cash and unless I can get one of the cabana boys to go to the ATM for me, I wasn't buying anything.
So I lay around for quite awhile reading another book, continuously reapplying my sunscreen (which was waterproof and sweatproof, but you never know).I keep drinking tons of water since it is so darn hot out.Here is a good Hawaii comparison - the mountains are smaller, but similar, however the water is definitely not clear.I am enjoying the nice break from polluted air though!So I go to get some lunch around 1pmby the pool, which I definitely have not described well enough.It is like a lush little playground.There are waterfalls, bridges, amazing flowers, comfy lounge chairs, and quiet little coves where you can sit down and read a book without being disturbed (which is what I would do later).I head back to my room after lunch for a break from the heat, to grab more water, to see if I am getting burned, and to reapply my sunscreen. Luckily, not burning.I head back around 2pm (trust me, I am giving you the times for a reason you will read later) for a walk along the beach to pick up the seashells I promised Emily.I spend about 2 hours walking along the beach and playing in the surf picking up shells.Some were the cool shells that I had to double check to make sure there wasn't anything living in them!!(I threw those back!).I get back to the pool and read for another hour (out of the sun) in one of the quiet coves I talked about.I guess the parasailing will have to wait until tomorrow.
Now, if my math is correct, I spent about 5 hours in the sun.Just 5.Consistently reapplying waterproof, sweatproof sunscreen, of which I used about half a bottle.I get into my room at about 5pm.I am SCORCHED.You can seriously see exactly where my sunglasses were (though not as badly as the infamous Rio de Janiero sunglasses burn of '05).My front isn't bad… but my back is HORRID.So I take a quick shower and want to go downtown to get some aloe and maybe do a little gift shopping.
I get to the downtown and I am starting to realize that all the other foreigners are Russian.It finally clicks that even in the hotel that everything is written in Chinese and Russian.So I am looking around and I see some of the same nesting dolls that I bought in Russia last month for 15 USD for sale in China for only 2 USD.Granted, I am happy I got them in Russia, because it's just not the same if I bought them in China, but still, I have a feeling that they are made in a factory nearby. So 8 grocery stores later, no aloe.No lotion.No Tylenol, aspirin, anything.I figured that they separate pharmacies from grocery stores like they do in China, but these grocery stores had bikinis, they had to have aloe… or not.So I found a coconut fish to add to my collection of coconut animals - I have coconut pigs from Malaysia, coconut turtles from Brazil, and a coconut monkey.Now I have a coconut fish from China.I chose the fish over the coconut Chinese man (I am not kidding, they really had those).I was able to find some cute Olympic games souvenirs (the torch went through Hainan) and some retractable pigs toys that will have to join the group of wooden toys on my desk at work (the other wooden toys are mainly from the Czech Republic, but these definitely are good enough to join that group).Still no aloe though. I start to see advertisements for this place called "Monkey Island" and I realize I will have to look into this further.
Somehow I manage to run into more pearl ladies (I had gone to the ATM) and I got a better deal than I had gotten in Beijing in March, which was impressive considering that was a REALLY good deal.So after I sat on the sidewalk adding to my ever-growing pearl jewelry collection, I kept walking. I found a pharmacy, but none of the boxes or bottles were in English, and of course the guy couldn't speak English, so I gave up.So I go back to the hotel and on the way I get on my Blackberry and look into this Monkey Island.There are about 2,000 monkey roaming free in this park.I see picture and I am decided that I will visit this tomorrow.
Back at the hotel, there is a bottle of aloe for 30 USD.This was 25 USD more than I could get back in the US, but by this point, my skin not only hurt, but it was feeling tight, so aloe was required.Some things you just have to suck up.
By this time it's about 8pm.I get some dinner and manage to fall asleep in bed reading a book. About 11pm I wake up to what sounds like gunshots.Nope - just tons of fireworks going off outside the hotel. I am too tired to investigate (or enjoy) and further, so I get back in bed and fall back asleep immediately.
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