8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 2

No morning call, no alarm clock. That's the beauty of travelling on your own. We sleep as and when we like and wake up at our own leisure. We have to find something to eat for breakfast and decided to explore the eastern side of Sanya River for a change. The night before we were roaming the western side and discovered a hive of exciting activities. The eastern side is quieter. There are a few tiny eateries patronized by the locals. We finally found a decent restaurant. It's a Taiwanese restaurant selling porridge, dishes and pickled dishes to go with it. 

After the first mouthful, our eyes popped out. It's not because the food was good. The side dishes that came with the 'lukewarm' porridge was so salty, our body reacted instantaneously to it. We didn't start our second day well as it was a disastrous breakfast. We walked back to the hotel to relax in the comfort of our room. We had plans to visit a few places including after sunset activities. In order not to overtire ourselves, we decided to leave around noon.

We were going to "the best beach" in Sanya that day. Dadonghai Beach is located at Dadonghai Bay which is just 2.5km away from our hotel. I wanted to take the public bus but Ron never likes public buses. We tried to hail a taxi but there was no taxi in sight. We walked a little further to the main street (Yuya Street) and then a little further still. Finally we decided to walk the entire stretch of 2.5km to the bay. We are used to long distance walking anyway.
(Alternatives: To go to Dadonghai Bay from downtown take public bus No 2 or No 4. Taxi is not expensive either) 

DADONGHAI BAY

It was not very hot but the humidity in Sanya was unbelievable (time of travel: Aug-Sep). It was twice as humid as in 'humid Malaysia'. I was practically drenched when I reached the bay. Because of the unbearable humidity we decided there should be no more 'long walks' for the day. 

Dadonghai Bay is a township with many hotels, restaurants, shops and malls which merge with the beach and the sea. It is a popular place for tourists because the beach is touted to be the best in Sanya and there are many commercial activities in the area.

I was feeling hot and decided to cool off in Summer Mall.

Summer Mall is a high end mall selling luxury brands but such things never interest me. I was there for the air-cond. and since we were hungry, decided to dine there.

To make up for the unexciting breakfast we opted for something which would most probably suit our palate. Usually Thai food doesn't fail. So 'Banana Leaf' the Thai Restaurant on the 3rd floor of the mall became our natural choice.

Paad Thai, Thai fried rice, chicken wings, Thai salad, Thai dessert and fresh fruit juice are all my favourites. It was a good meal and we overate that afternoon.

A short walk and we were at Dadonghai Beach. It is quite a lovely beach but obviously a little crowded. I do not enjoy crowded beaches but the visitors seem to be having lots of fun. (I learnt that it's a dream for many Mainland Chinese to see the sea as many have never seen one. Look at the map of China and you'll understand why).

There are many restaurants lining the beach, some offering seafood bbq.

A nice sculpture we passed by.

We strolled along the streets around the bay until almost 5pm before taking a taxi to Luhuitou Park. (The taxi fare is only 8 CNY as it is just nearby)

LUHUITOU PARK

We chose to be here just before 6pm to take advantage of a cheaper entrance fee as well as to  enjoy both the day view and night view of the city as Luhuitou Hill is a fantastic lookout in Sanya. Coming here too early would mean having to loiter around too long.
The entrance fee to the park is 38CNY+15CNY for the shuttle up the hill if you come before 6pm. After 6pm the entrance fee more than tripled to 180CNY.

The park is on a hill and you can save 15CNY/pp if you walk up yourself. The slope up is steep so we took the shuttle car up.

I really like the vibrant colour of this shuttle car and decided to indulge in its vibrancy a little.

The shuttle drops passengers at the gateway. From this spot we could already get very good views of the city below.

It was exciting to see the entire Phoenix Island and the cluster of high-tech buildings on it. 

We could see our hotel, Sanya River and the harbour from where we stood.

Luhuitou Hill has a "love theme" as there is a romantic love legend behind it.

There is  "Couple Tree".

There is Luck and Peace Tree

There is a gigantic stone sculpture of a deer and a young couple at the peak of the hill. This sculpture is given most prominence as it depicts the love folklore of this legendary hill.

There are small eateries.

There is a stage show for those who buy the 180CNY ticket after 6pm.

There are nice resting huts.

The main reason we came to the hill park was not for all those things but to savour the best views of the city.

Sharing What We Saw: The Day Views

Phoenix Island

 Sanya Bay Bridge, Sanya Bay And Phoenix Island

Sanya Bay Bridge

A lesser known bay

Another Side Of Sanya City

My favourite is the cluster of 'Beauty Crown Hotel Complex'.

It's so beautiful, I'll post another one.

Downtown Sanya

We sat at the peak and waited patiently for the sky to turn dark. Slowly..., one by one ....the buildings in the city were lighted up.

The Night Views

The city started to glow and glitter. 

33000 metres of LED strips cover the buildings on Phoenix Islands.  Daktronics Propixel elements are used to light up these luxury architecture and wow... What an impressive spectacle we saw that night!!

A display of changing colours and changing patterns by the seconds.

I always thought Hainan has coconut trees, and....full stop, but Hainan is such a modern and developed city. An eye-opener indeed.

The LED light display at Beauty Crown Hotel Complex is not less astonishing. The changing designs that come on are really mesmerizing.

From a flower to a woman dancing,..

to fishes swimming,..

to a tree sprouting,...

to Chinese characters,..

to boats sailing,...

different coloured trees,..

and many more...

The Park At Night

It was 8.15pm when we decided to exit the park. The statues are now beautifully lit.

We took a slow walk back to the gateway where the shuttle was waiting.

As we walked down we saw a heart glowing in the dark.

Dinner

We took a three-seater motorbike back to the hotel and walked out for a simple dinner. That was the end of our 2nd day in Sanya.

Related Posts: Click To View
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 1
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 3
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 4
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 5
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 6
8D/7N Hainan Itinerary: Day 7 & 8

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