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Harald from Norway
The moon was down...
...almost invisible in the heavens, when they lit the bonfires along Sanya Bay, and the Li-Miao Ethnic March Festival got under way. Thanks to a word from Sanya Lifestyle, here I was with a delicious spare rib in one hand and a lukewarm Carlsberg in the other. 5 yuan for the beer, but the rest was all on the house (whose house, I still don't know).
The nearby streets were closed to traffic, and most of Sanya must have been out there taking part in the festivities. Whole calves (and sheep) were sizzling on the megagrills, where the cooks - armed with impressive-looking knives - threatened murder and mutilation when eager hands and arms engulfed them, ripping away at the half-cooked meat. Stands along the street supplied hotdogs and a multitude of other foods, while musical groups of different colour, nationality, and quality did their blaring best to blow out your eardrums.
The real fun was down on the beach, I found. There, around the bonfires, the young Li and Miao braves and maidens were putting on a dance exhibition worth the name. In their colourful traditional costumes of red, yellow and black, the boys with headbands and the girls with fancy hairdos and jewellery, they were a sight for sore eyes. Under the watchful eyes of small groups of grandmothers, some heavily tattooed, and all dressed to kill in their traditional finery, they sang, clapped hands and danced for hours. And yes, anyone was welcome to join in .So now I can do (I think) at least one Li dance: the one which goes one-two-three and an itty-bitty hop. At intervals you yell at the top of your voice "Xi, yang, ya" which means just what it says: You're having fun. The sparks from the bonfires flew heavenwards, competing at times with the impressive fireworks which "the house" also paid for C undoubtedly at vast expense.
The most impressive dance was the one where two groups were holding 5-metre bamboo poles between them and banging them together to the rhythm of the singing. You dance across the poles between the groups, and you better know where and when to put your feet down, or you' ll come away with a memory you'd rather be without. I admit to chickening out on that one. But plenty of others risked their ankles. Some came away with
memories too.
The good-natured crowd flowed like molasses up and down the beach, eddying around points of interest. The police seemingly had little to do except to chase away the motorbikes trying to sneak by. Lovers, young and old, strolled on the sand along with families with their kids and grannies. The warm evening felt like an embrace, and the waves breaking on the shore were the perfect muzak for the scene. What struck me was the sense of something genuine, not the often glaringly-faked "tourist trap" events you find everywhere. I fervently hope the Li-Miao festival will retain it .
We found a taxi to take us home, at long last. And I had a new song to practice in the shower. It goes "Xi, yang, ya".
What can I do for you?
"..if you've 'eard the east a'calling, why, you won't 'eed nothing else". The gramophone scratched its way through "On the way to Mandalay" while - as a little boy - I listened in wide-eyed admiration to the deep-water sailors talking about Yokohama, Buenos Aires and Murmansk as if it was their home turf. Later I had my own short career on the blue waves. Because on the coast of Norway where I grew up, any 18-year-old who couldn't casually throw in "When I was in New York", during a conversation would have been almost beneath contempt.Among all the printable and unprintable information that came my way in those days was this piece of advice from an old-timer: "If it is about food or money, stick with the Chinese. They are square (= fair, dependable), and know a thing or two". Little did I dream of having reason to remember it, until fate suddenly had me sitting in Hainan`s Sanya City, with time and a laptop on my hands, roaming the Internet.
Fiddling around I punched in Sanya and found the link to "Sanya-lifestyle/Friends of Sanya". And out stepped Jenny Yang. Charming and likeable and easygoing. Resourceful and practical, and with a "can do" attitude, she immediately became my key to getting around, getting to know people and places. She is "in the know". She has the right connections, or can get them for you. Whether you want another PL (= pathetic laoway. Dont worry, you 'll figure it out), the Mayor (or whatever he is titled) of Sanya, a good place for tennis, a fair-priced flat, a good hotel, plane tickets, business opportunities.. she knows where to go and what to do.
Looking for a good restaurant, where you can literally "knife-and-fork" down your western food (if you're still a little hesitant with chopsticks), and the staff even speaks a little English?
Jenny will point you in the right direction. She'll even take you there! She took me to a fish restaurant floating out in a local harbour (you go by water taxi), with the owner little trawler moored alongside. Your dinner swims in cages under the floor and is cooked on your table. Though you may eat the shrimps alive and kicking, if you are man enough to do so! The locals do it without flinching (the shrimps however... but that's another story). Seafood is normally expensive by Chinese standards, but not so here. It is the kind of place not mentioned in any guide-book or brochure and, unless you are both inquisitive and Chinese-speaking, you will never find it on your own. Travelling around in various parts of the world, I 've found it often pays to go and eat where the locals do. They know where food is good and fairly priced. The problem is having the time and possibility to find these places. No problem here in Sanya, if Jenny holds your hand.
Sanya has much to offer, but language makes it difficult to quickly find your way around. The beaches of course are the easiest. Golf is a big thing here, but where and how to go, and what to pay? The Nanshan Dongtian park/Cultural Zone is a must and, by all means, the Nantian Hot Springs. Set aside a day for that one! Yes, you'll find these on your own, but you may find it a lot easier, both on yourself and your wallet, if Jenny gives a hand in arranging it and getting the tickets for you.Being on your own in a foreign country leaves you open to exploitation by "the crocodiles", as they are called in Africa (young men preying on tourists, the girls are "barracudas"). But how do you separate the crocodiles from the good Samaritans? (The sharp teeth?)
The big travel bureaus of course are normally a safe bet. But there is something to be said for dealing with things on a person-to-person basis, instead of with an organisation. Drawing on the experience of others also helps. Whether you come on your own, or with a group, staying for a short or a long time, I think you can do a lot worse than throwing in your lot with Jenny. She really is square , dependable and knows a thing or two. And I'll repeat that over the phone, if you like!
Enjoy Sanya, says Harald.
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