Gina's Adventure in the Middle Kingdom

Standing on a beach in a small fishing town on the coast of the South China Sea, the waves lapping at my ankles as my friends and I watched the sun rise up from the calm, morning waters, I thought to myself, how on earth did I end up here? A girl from an equally small fishing town in Scotland, now thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, holidaying in HouHai...
HouHai is situated in the southernmost province of China, Hainan, and is a short bus ride from the provincial capital, Sanya. But unlike the crowded beaches of Sanya, which sees tens of thousands of tourists every year, it is easy to find a place to lay down your towel in HouHai, where it is virtually untouched by tourism. The idyllic beach front is lined with rows of quaint hotels and beach houses, offering affordable accommodation for the weary traveller. HouHai is also a hub for water sports enthusiasts coming for day trips from Sanya, the beaches offering up some pretty perfect waves for both amateur and professional surfers alike.
My friends and I hadn't planned on the trip to HouHai, the four of us originally booking to stay in the hustle and bustle of Sanya, but under the recommendation of two new travelling friends, we decided to join them for a short three day visit to HouHai. We spent our short trip having a welcomed rest from the never ending train and bus journeys of Spring Festival travel, simply soaking up the sun and catching some waves.
On our second day there, we were digging into a dinner of rice with fresh and locally caught shellfish and watching the locals gawk at our group of sun-crisped foreigners, wondering why we were there. Lost perhaps? And as I sat there, baking in the evening sun and soaking in the atmosphere, I began to think about how different my life had been only 18 months prior, when I had been back in Scotland, still living with my parents in Peterhead. How different things had been. From sitting in the Dolphin Cafe, enjoying a classic battered fish and chips with my mum and brother, watching the trawlers coming in from the frosty North Sea with fresh loads of haddock and cod, to sitting on the seafront of a foreign country, eating fish I wasn't even sure on the name of, with people had had only known for a short time, from all across the world, the large trawlers replaced with tiny wooden fishing boats bringing in the daily catch. It was strange to think, that even hundreds of miles from everything I knew, I could find similarities of home.