Just Mei: December 2010

Breakfast

We woke up at around 6am to get ready and after checking out from the scariest hotel, we headed to the restaurant for our first breakfast in Hainan Island.

The whole set.

Porridge with salted vegetables.

I wonder if every family in China has white porridge as their breakfast? The last when I went to Shanghai and Beijing, they served the exact same type of porridge as well.

You Tiao

I would give it a 8/10. Not bad! Nom Nom Nom~

Original Hainan Dumpling.

Woo! This was the best Hainan dumpling I’ve tasted! 10/10. Too bad I have gastric or else I would have finish the whole plate!

It was raining that morning and the temperature was around 20°C.

♥ Dad and Mom ♥

Hmm.. I wonder why I saw chickens every where in Hainan Island. No kidding, EVERYWHERE! Even in the garden of the hotel! =.=

First Stop: Danzhou Stalactite Cave Geological Park (石花水洞地质公园)

It took us around 2 hours to reach our destination which was longer than usual according to the tour guide as the road was under heavy construction.

That was our destination! 1.5 hours away from we were.

The ride was extremely bumpy as well!

Here’s a video to show you guys how bumpy it was:

Bumpy Bumpy ride~

We passed through a few small towns on the way. I really love passing through small towns as only then I get to have a glimpse on how the locals in Hainan Island go about with their everyday lives.

One of the junction that we passed by.

Houses along the street.

An old lady serving noodles for her customers at a stall.

It was a Sunday morning and there were a lot of locals out on the street hanging out and going to the morning market.

A local buying buns from a stall.

The morning market.

One word to describe the whole scene – CHAOCTIC!

I spotted these 2 cute little girls by the street. Aw..

Didn’t I told you that I keeping seeing chickens everywhere? Here’s another one!

Buffalo by the road.

Here are some photos taken from the bus while we were heading to the geological park:

Muddy and deserted street.

Somehow it made me feel like I was passing through a street which had just been struck by a tsunami..

Look at the colour of the tar road!

Cars parked by the road. Look how many layers of the dust had accumulated due to the construction.

After 2 hours of bump bus ride, we finally reached our destination! =)

The entrance.

The map of the geological park. (Which I find challenging to understand =.=).

I really love visiting parks and anything which has to with the natures. Hence, I was super excited about this stop! Woohoo!

Heading towards the cave! Woowoo!!

Look how beautiful the green trees were!

And look how sweet and beautiful this couple look in that picture!

Was dad wearing a bell bottom pants???

Us, the whole gang from Malaysia, posing in front of the cave. =)

The cave and us walking into it. Thrilled! =)

Here are some photos taken in the cave:

It’s really amazing how prolonged period of water flowing can form these different patterns of stalactites.

Dad and Mom.

The stalactite on the left was said to resemble that of a Buddha statue.

But I really don’t see any, do you?

Whether you see or don’t see the resemblance, taking photographs first was more important! Smile with tongue out

And this, they called it Elephant Trunk. I think it looked more like a penis. =.= Eh Hem!

I saw this whole stretch of crystals inside a wall of a cave. Fabulously beautiful!

I don’t remember what was the reason for this black spot formation but I find it kind of amazing to look at. =)

Dad, walking through the cave.

After around 30 minutes of walking, we came to a stop where we needed to take a boat ride to leave the cave. Awesome! =)

I couldn’t get any clear photos of the boat ride. Ish!

Mom and Dad on the boat ride.

Scenes from the boat ride.

It was pitch dark in there and after 5 minutes on the boat, we finally see the sun light. =)

The exit.

I think mom enjoyed the ride a lot. Looked at her sweet happy face!

Mom, taking a deep breath.

The exterior of the cave.

I really loved the peaceful scenery. =)

Here are some snap shots of us from the park: ♥

Can you spot us?? Smile with tongue out

Dad and mom, being my models. Smile with tongue out

The 3 of us.

Next Stop: LUNCH!!!!!

I was again, feeling super hungry. The driver even lost his way to the restaurant and waster around 30 minutes. =.=

While we were getting to the restaurant, I spotted locals selling live piglets by the street in bamboo baskets!

Amazing! I only saw the fake ones which is made out of flour during moon cake festival while I was younger. @@

Anyway, let’s pay our attention back to the lunch.

It was the best meal ever served during this whole 6 days/5 nights Hainan trip.

The restaurant was located a long a street in one of the small town which we had passed through.

The interior was not fancy at all. It was only occupied by simple wooden tables and bamboo chairs.

But the food that they served was superb! It was more like home-cooked food but with ability to satisfy every single taste bud on your tongue!

Awesome awesome lunch!

My favorite rice noodles cooked with dried squid, chilies and spring onions. Yum Yum Yum~

I went to visit their kitchen and it wasn’t a nice thing to do if you are really hygiene about your food.

The kitchen was dirty and with chicken in cages at a corner.

Poor chickens. I think I ate their friend for lunch.

The washing area.

We hanged out outside the restaurant for a couple of minutes while waiting for our bus driver.

The ladies while waiting.

And I saw a lot of things that made me go OMG.

First, I saw a girl who went and poo poo just outside the restaurant!

Her dad quickly ran towards her and asked: “Ah Mei ar, what are you doing?????” and carried her up.

I was thinking “ar, thank god. Her daddy is bringing her to the toilet.”

But I was wrong. Her dad just moved her to a few meters away and let her finish her business by the dusty road.

*Cultural Shock*

Daddy and poo poo girl.

Secondly, I met the pet dog by the owner of the restaurant. Guess what is her name?

Xiao Mei.

Yes, that’s my name. =.= And dad even called her a few more times on purpose just to annoy me before we leave. ISH.

Thirdly, I came across this signboard along the street.

“It is good to give birth to only one child”

Wow, I know about the one child policy in China but I never knew that they advertise it like this..

The town looked a lot like scenes you will see in a World War II movie.

Dusty, empty, scary.

The town.

The very popular motor taxi of Hainan Island.

The Final Stop of The Day: Nanshan Hotel (南山迎宾馆)

Heading to Nanshan at around 3:10pm.

I took us more than 3 hours to reach the hotel. Along the way, we stopped by a petrol station to use the toilets and I would definitely crowned it as the SCARIEST TOILET made in history!

Look at the toilet sit. What is this??? There was no flush, there was only the water from the tap above which was available for you to wash your urine or feaces away. OMG!!!!

And right beside the toilet sit was this, a window for you to look at the tall grasses while you pee. Who on earth designed this?? Imagine if it was at night that you need to use the toilet! OMFG!!!

Some snap shots of the scenery I enjoyed throughout the bus ride:

It took us 5 hours to reach our hotel. The highway was under construction, making the journey extra slow.

It is a 5-star hotel and it was the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in Hainan Island and also one of the best if compared to the ones in Malaysia! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The reception.

The lobby.

The Café.

Lotus in the pond.

Painting behind the reception.

The hotel is famous for its 108m tall Guan Yin statue that is located right in front of it.

It embraces Buddhism and everything in the hotel including the design, facilities, activities and even songs played in the corridor are associated with the religion.