:::: SHRIEKS OF JOY AND FURIOUS SPLASHING

SHRIEKS OF JOY AND FURIOUS SPLASHING

rouse me from my soporific sun bed. As the sun beats down, two lithe young couples pop out of the water, their dripping bodies clad in tiny bikinis and briefs. I decide to take a dip myself Swimming lazily across the infinity pool I look out to an expanse of golden sand to an azure sea, where Jet skis buzz and windsurfers whip across the water It's a typical tropical resort scene in Southeast Asia. But I'm not in Thailand or Bali, although the level of luxury is just as high. Surprisingly l'm in China at the country's only genuinely tropical destination-more specifically at the Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa in Yalong Bay on the south coast of Hainan Island, near the border with Vietnam.
This rugged island is thick with jungle. In centuries past it was no more than a backwater reviled by government officials, who were usually sent there as punishment for some transgression or other. Now Hainan is popular among Chinese eager to escape the mayhem of Bejing or Shanghai. Nowhere else in the Middle Kingdom will you find sun-drenched beaches backed by palm trees and paddy fields dotted with water buffaloes. If the brochures are to be believed, this has become the Chinese Hawaii is Hainan really like Hawaii? Well, no. At least, not yet..
Landing at Sanya's airport I am confronted with tacky giant pineapples sitting atop the arrivals building. Yet, the highways into and around the city are broad, clean and well- maintained. Still, construction sites are a dead giveaway that this is modern China. Thirty minutes' drive east of the city is Yalong Bay a golden sweep of sand that plays host to a phone-book listing of luxury resorts, including Hilton, Marriott, Ritz-carlton and Sheraton. In terms of grandeur, 7-kilometer-long Yalong Bay is the equal of such iconic resort locales as Phuket's Karon and Kata beaches or Bali's Legian and Sanur, while its hotels match and sometimes exceed expectations honed by these better-known getaways.
Midmorning, I take a barefoot stroll to visit the other resorts, stopping for lunch and some people-watching as I go.
Sanya attracts a curious melange of holidaymakers. Large families of middle-class Chinese let their hair down; Russian, Kazakh and Eastern European sun-seekers escape their winters; and urbanites from Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul are on weekend hedonistic binges.
Local Hainan women selling exotic seashells and other souvenirs wander among them all. I'm stunned when a burly Chinese matron, hunkered under a broad-rimmed traditional woven hat, shouts "zdrastouyte" at me. It seems that Russian, not English, is the lingua franca that beach-sellers use when addressing Caucasian holidaymakers in Hainan. I then turn and see two Chinese monks ambling down the waterfront, thumbing prayer beads as they stare unembarrassed at all the barely covered breasts and bikini bottoms on show I smile inwardly-unusual sights and surprises are a pleasant addition to the holiday mix.
Just 10 minutes from Sanya, Dadonghai Bay boasts another good strip of sand. Its hotels aren't as posh as in Yalong Bay; but new construction plows ahead. On the seafront promenade, seafood restaurants dish out local fare.
After a pleasant afternoon sojourn mixing with Russians and Chinese of all shapes and sizes, my sunset dinner which is dragged live from huge tanks in front of the tables, then cooked as I wait. Hailing a taxi back to Yalong Bay reveals a less palatable side to Sanya's tourism, however A string of aggressive taxi drivers try to charge me 10 times the RMB
40-50 fare, and it's only after a friendly local bargains on my behalf that I finally get back to my resort Warning: late at night it is unwise to take a taxi from the city alone.
Earlier in the day I had climbed the 18 l-meter hill that looms over Dadonghai Bay and is crowned by Luhuitou Park, which boasts a superb panorama across the city and vast Sanya Bay Luhuitou Park's winding paths lead past
ancient banyan trees and painted rock faces. Unsur|prisingly this park is popular with canoodling couples. More than once, I blunder into tender love scenes or heavy petting sessions, causing cringe-worthy levels of consternation and embarrassment on all sides.
I figure it's best to look out, not in. Across Dadonghai Bay the grounds of two luxury hotel resorts have opted for exclusivity with their own private beaches. Close to Luhuitou Park's entrance is the Banyan Tree Sanya Resort and Spy, which opened in April 2008, while on the far side of the bay is the equally luxurious and even newer Mandarin Oriental.
The fact that in such troubling economic times these and other luxury hotels still see a profitable market for tourism in the sanya region is noteworthy St. Regis, Shangri-La and Four Seasons all have plans for resorts around Sanya. "Hong 'The first time I meet a Crowd of 50 Plus Chinese tourists all decked out in HAWAIIAN shirts decks and shorts, I burst into laughter Kong was our major market before (the global economic crisis) but now Beijing and Shanghai are our focus'' says Peter Pedersen, the Banyan Tree Sanya's general manager Beautiful beaches and luxury resorts aside, it is Hainan's natural, cultural and historical attractions that really pique the interest of tropical resort-goers I looking for a change of pace. Sanya has enough sights to fill a few daytrips but they are spread widely and require a fair bit of driving. This is what happens when mass Chinese package tourism meets a "Hawaii-style" beach mentality I head west of Sanya city 25 kilometers around the immense curve of Sanya Bay to Tianya Haijiao-the "Edge of Heaven, Corner of the Sea'' to you or me--China's southernmost tip. This collection of large rocks on the beach has become the focal point of a tourism park, frequented by tour groups and families of Chinese who dress in matching Hawaiian shirts and shorts-an open declaration of their holiday spirit and a nod to the "China's Hawaii'' poster images. This is a much more familiar Chinese scene, the curving, dragon-topped temple eaves so like those in Beijing's Summer Palace, the huge Laughing Buddha image akin to one in Hangzhou its belly burnished to a shine by myriad hands as visitors rub it for good luck. Climbing well-worn steps to an ancient temple along with hordes of Chinese worshippers is a quintessential Middle Kingdom experience-though the tropical heat that lays like a suffocating blanket over us reminds us all that we are in Hainan, China's tropical south.
At the end of my stay I reflect on Sanya's hopes for a sun- soaked future. The cultural sites offer both a glimpse of old China and an insight into the sometimes vulgar, often amusing and occasionally profound facets of the modern-day Middle Kingdom and its people. Hainan over Bali? Sanya instead of Samui? For most I suspect this is a big ask- outside the resorts, infrastructure and attitudes are still a lithe raw; a touch unsophisticated.
But for me the joy of travel-even on a cosseted resort holiday-is in embracing contrasts and idiosyncrasies. For me it was Sanya this time, will be Samui next, Bali hopefully in the not too distant future. .. and yes, Sanya again before too long. campaign. The first time I meet a crowd of so-plus Chinese tourists all decked out in Hawaiian outfirts their sun-yellow; lime-green, sky-blue or fluorescent pink clothing patterned with a phantasmagoria of flowers, palm trees and tropical fish, I burst into laughter I'm instantly ashamed. The joyous group quickly swallows me up, its bolder members enraging me in broken conversation and the inevitable group photo.
Inscribed on Tianya Hajiao's jumbled rocks are
calligraphic poems by Qmg dynasty officials who lamented their posting to the "End of the earth" Everyone has their photo snapped in front of the inscriptions, before bustling off to explore the gardens, take short trips around the bay or shop for tropical souvenirs made from shells or coconuts in the mayhem of the crowded market.
Another 15 kilometers west is the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone, a huge complex of gardens, newly built temples and shopping streets.'' Although far from culturally profound, this is a perfect example of the Chinese penchant for mixing theme-park style tackiness with natural beauty and genuine spirituality On a man-made island just offshore stands a 38-meter-high statue of Guanyin the goddess of compassion. Here, the holiday mood is momentarily set aside. Tourists make offerings of money incense and prayer under the benevolent gaze of the giant statue.
Many of these same tourists will travel into the.
mountainous interior to visit ethnic Li and Miao villages- often tacky affairs aimed at trapping the tourist dollars-or to climb the 1840 meter Wuzhi Shan, Hainan's highest mountain, where more authentic Li villages encircle the mountain base. Instead, I venture 90 minutes up the eastern coast to the shirnei Bay region, where in November 2008 Le meridian opened a beautiful new resort on yet another pristine but slightly wilder beach. Not far away from the resort, there are hot springs and mountain retreats where monks built temples and cave dwellings. At Dongshan Ling a cable car whisks me up to Chao Yin Temple, a centuries-old classical structure filled with statues of fierce Chinese deities and peaceful Buddha
GUIDE TO HAINAN
WHEN TO GO
Hainan is at its most comfortable between November and March, but its coastal breezes ensure it has year-round appeal.
GETTING THERE
China Southern Airlines (csair .com), Hainan Airlines (hnair.comj),
Dragonair (dragonair.com) and Hong Kong Airlines (hkairlines.
com) fly to Sanya from China's major cities. Korean Air flies from Seoul, while most other Southeast Asian cities have air connections to the island via Guangzhou.
WHERE TO STAY
Banyan Tree Sanya A hideaway that will appeal to honeymooners.
6 Luling Rd.. Sanya; 86-
898/8860-9988,* banyantree.com
pool villas from RMB2,494.
Hllton Sanya Resort & Spa
Ethnic Hainan architectural elements, hip and unusual room designs. Yalong Bay National Resort District.. 86-898/8858- 8888,' hiltonsanya.com; doubles from RMB1127.
Kempinskl Hotel Sanya Located
at the western end of Sanya Bay close to Tianya Haijiao-sanya Bay West; 86-898/3889-8888: kempinski-.sanya.com; doubles from RMB 1278.
Sheraton Sanya Resort The
first international hotel on the island seems venerable now though it only opened in 2003.
Yalong Bay National Resort
District; 86-898/8855-8855 starwoodhotels.com/sheraton..
doubles from RMB1299.
Le meridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa A resort one third of the way up Hainan's eastern coast. Shimei Bay Llji county Wanning; 86-898/6252-8888: lemeridien.com/shimeibay;
doubles from RMB 1195.
Mandarin Oriental Sanya
Lavished with local teakwood, boasts stunning views. 12 Yuhai Rd., Sanya 86-898/8820-9999,' mandarinoriental.com/sanya|'
doubles from RMB 1590.
The Rltz-carlton. Sanya The
latest addition to Yalong Bay boasts a design modeled after
Beijing's Summer Palace. Yalong
Bay National Resort District; 86-
898/8899-8888; ritzcarlton.com'
doubles from RMB 1299.
sanya Marriott Resort & Spa Lush gardens and a convivial, relaxed ambience that is popular with families. Yalong Bay
National Resort District; 86-
898/8856-8888.. marriott.com;
doubles from RMB 1271