San Ya

So we just got back this morning from our trip to San Ya. San Ya is the southern-most city in China so it is known as the warmest, with the prettiest beaches. It was exactly what we needed just to get out of the cold weather we've been having here for a little while.
The trip there was kind of a disaster. It was only suppose to be a 15 hour bus ride but the whole trip ended up being around 25 hours long. We switced buses four times and rode the ferry once. If you've never experienced a China sleeper bus then, you are lucky. But the point is that we made it. We got there late on Saturday so we mostly just unpacked and then went to look at the beach that was a 2 minute walk from the hostel we were staying in. The beach is amazing! The great thing about San Ya is that it is a really big Russian touristy place. So we weren't the only white people around! Yet, we still got stopped many times on the beach with people wanting to take pictures of us. It was kinda weird when a Chinese person would come up to you speaking Russian though.
Sunday we mostly spent it basking in the sun next to the ocean. I told everyone that as long as I could lay and read my book on the beach I would call it a successful trip. I got lots of amazing time to do that. Monday was the best day there. We ended up paying 300 yuan (about 40 American dollars) to take the whole entire day to go surfing!! We had a personal surfing instructor that drove us about 2 hours away to be able to get some really big waves. The beach we went to was completely empty. We had it to ourselves the whole day, it was fantastic. If there is one thing that I learned the whole day it was that surfing is hard! I got smashed pretty good by most of the waves but I actually did get to ride a couple of them which was pretty much amazing. I think every single muscle, bone, nerve, tendon, joint, etc, etc.... that is in my body hurts. I wouldn't mind just spending the rest of my life on the beach. Become a surfing bum.
Tuesday was another day spent in lesiure. On the beach we swam a little. I got to go skinny dipping which was pretty exciting :) Then we got to hold an alligator! Freaky but exciting. We spent most of the day shopping. Real strings of pearls there were lower then 5 American dollars. I've got a lot of bling to be able to bring home!At the end of the day we got to fly home. Although it had it's mishaps it was much better then the bus. I'm glad to be home though. I missed seeing the little kids, not so much yelling at them, but playing with them. What a great vacation..... I love San Ya!