Having recovered from the sporting excesses in Shanghai, took a flight from Shanghai to Sanya. The flight was only a couple of hours & again incident-free. I arrived late at night to a brilliant hostel in the south of Hainan Island, a place called Sanya.This place is known for its beach so I was very pleased to be spending 10days here. The next morning started with a run which I continued with throughout my time here. Depending on the weather, it was either up & out by 6.00am if it was sunny, or around 10.00am if it was cloudy. Cloud & rain did wonders for my times!
The beach was great but there was quite a strong current in the South China Sea but managed to cope & do some serious work on my tan which had been neglected since Borocay. Had a couple of nights out at a sports bar called The Dolphin which again enabled me to stay connected with the sporting world. This time The Open & I could listen to TMS again for the cricket-yet another glorious victory for the England boys!
Had some mixed weather but as it turned out this was a good thing as I managed despite using factors 80 & 30 to get myself a bit on the pink side. Went into the local town on a couple of days when it wasn't bloody boiling. Not much to see there but was probably the ony place I had visted so far in China where I felt this was an ordinary town not really geared up for tourists & great because of that.
Flew from Sanya to HK & this flight was a couple of hours delayed to due the torrential rain. Not a problem though as Neil had left keys to his apartment at the reception desk. This is a pilot (yes I know!) who I met in HK. He very kindly invited me to stay at his gaff. The only slight problem being that he actually wasn't going to be there for the first night as he was flying back from Paris! No problems with the arrangments & had an opportunity to cook for the first time in 9 weeks & also have a bath!! Bloody marvelous.
Next morning went food shoppoing as I had offered to cook for us as a thank you & also gave Neil time to catch up on some kip. Did us an Italian meal which was great as it started at around 3.00pm & ended at 11.00pm! Not lost my touch on the cooking front I can confidently say. Next day I flew to BKK again without any issues apart from the £250 camera that I bought as yet again I had managed to drown the last one in the bottom of my bag. Don't ask but wine was involved!
Back here on the Ko San Road was a strange experience as I hadn't been here for 3 years. I suddenly had a great urge to smoke. Obviously I didn't succumb to temptation but was wierd. Had a couple of beers & a Pad Thai just to get back into the swing of all things Thai. Spent the next few days chiling by the pool & getting ready for my long anticipated return to the island of Ko Pha Ngan which I can't wait for. Will probably be full of the worthy types where you can't move for them here with all their ethnic clothes, piercings & tattoos!!! And there will another first for me on KPN where I will be gatecrashing an old school friends honeymoon!!!
