August 13th After a drive through the mountains again we double parked outside the apartment to unload the car. Once that was done we headed off to find a car park, oh how we love going around in circles. We parked across the river to have lunch and visit the furniture shop, the latter only to complain about the stiffness of the drawers. “It’s normal” was the reply. Eventually, back on our side we found a space.
Walking back to the apartment we had to pass ‘tow-away corner’, not very empty today!
We were quite pleased with the results of the paint job and apart from dust we didn’t have too much cleaning to do. I tried a stitched panorama of the bedroom; it’s fine as long as you don’t look too closely. It serves to show the paint job at least.
Here’s the rest of the bedroom.
Remember last week we said that we were having new security bars fitted? Well, another good job done there; even includes a gate so that the air-conditioning external unit can be accessed for service or repair or even replacement. PS That is not our A/C unit in the photo, that is on the next building, which didn’t exist when we bought this apartment!
Soon my corner was ready for me to edit photos, write words and watch movies. Better photos of this area will follow when we are ready to leave. That will be after the new fridge and gas hob have been delivered and new tenants have been found.
Early evening we set out for dinner and to put the first of Huan’s adverts up on the communal notice boards. More will be done after breakfast tomorrow. Here are our dinners, no soup for me. Huan’s green vegetables are sweet potato leaves, very popular amongst the oldies. I don’t like them at all; they feel very strange in my mouth.
Back home, Huan carried the fruit upstairs while I went across the road to buy water. I might have just bought a coffee and had a fag at the same time though.
August 14th One of us is not a fan of sleeping in this apartment in Sanya, and it isn’t Huan. I never sleep well here, the mattress is thin and hard, and we never seem to get the temperature of the air conditioning or open window right.
Yesterday Huan, with her incredible superwoman strength, managed to destroy the dead lock on the front door. Maybe it was just old, but I think it’s more likely that the knob is not metal.
We were late going out, rain stopped play. Yes, it happens here in Sanya too. This morning our first job after breakfast, (sorry, no photos), was to find someone to repair the afore mentioned door lock. On our travels we found a lovely motorbike, check out the enlarged name.
Huan also had to put an advert on the market notice board.
We found a locksmith without too much searching; Huan showed him the photograph of what she had done. He accompanied us home and fitted a complete new lock for us. That’s another first for me, a whole new lock just because the dead lock part was broken.
Having had a late breakfast we skipped lunch and had a nap instead. Huan then had me busy fitting some chicken wire on the bottom of the window security screen to stop her panties or other assorted items falling through the rather large gaps. Tie wraps were the answer.
The end result may not be too pretty but it will do the job!
I had another job after that, unpack and prepare the gas stove so that any new tenants can do their utmost to destroy it. I chose the one that had free hose clips, free hose and a free cylinder top valve. All arrived except the valve. As of yet there is no reply from the Taobao seller!
Sometimes, when we are looking for somewhere to eat, we struggle to find something that will please both of us. As luck would have it, after quite a walk, we stumbled on one that was perfect and will definitely qualify for return visits in the future. Here’s our combined dinner. Only one dish (plus a bowl of rice) was for Huan. Can you guess which one? I bet you said the fish didn’t you. Well you’d be wrong, the fish was for me. Huan’s was the large round bowl containing pork, liver and blood pudding. We were well satisfied!
August 15th Today was ‘waiting for the new fridge to arrive’ day but we had enough time for little walk after breakfast. That was dumplings again, no photos. Our apartment in Sanya is not well located for cars at all but it is not bad for pedestrians. We are between the two rivers, Sānyà hé and Lín chūn hé, the second also being home to a nice park. Huan decided we should go that way today and suggested I take the camera. I agreed the route and declined the camera. This is the bridge that we crossed.
You may notice a lack of people on the bridge. It had already started raining! Mind you, at this stage it was very fine and didn’t worry us at all.
Not wanting to miss the fridge we turned right over the bridge and
headed through the smaller of the two parks,
Soon we reached the bridge that has the same road number as the one that goes through the centre of Wuzhishan. My how this place has grown over the years. I have a friend who worked in ‘oil’ a long time ago and he used to visit Sanya, a small fishing town. He would be amazed!
At the bridge we both posed for our photographs. Huan stood next to a stone marker, I hugged a creature that may or may not be a squirrel.
Ten minutes later we were sheltering from the rain, it had decided to increase its force. Needless to say we had an umbrella, in the apartment!
Remember “Lotso”? Well here’s a building covered with “lots o’ Lotsos”. Huan tells me that it’s a bakery school, I wonder if they can do British Christmas cake.
Whatever the weather I would have had to photograph this car! As it was there was still drizzle but this car would look good anywhere. Now if I was rich would I own one? To be honest I have no idea. I remember years ago, when I used to buy car magazines every week, that while some motoring journalists loved Lamborghinis, others said that you needed to be a thin spaghetti shaped Italian to be able to fit inside!
Our timing was just about perfect. Huan went in to escape the rain; I went to the shop to buy water and toothpaste. The fridge man called at the same time. Once the fridge had been delivered it was time for a nap for me, my head was hurting for some reason, can’t even blame SWMBO.
Another walk was taken before and after dinner, involving a recce for tomorrow morning’s walk to the bank. I had suggested we go to a shopping mall that is at the end of our city block. On the way we saw that the police were busy again. This was one of seven trucks that we saw, who knows how many more may have been busy around our streets!
We found a lizard but I couldn’t get near enough with my phone. I kept the photo for Huan but it’s not good enough to share here. You may have noticed something in this morning’s photos that was again obvious to me this afternoon, not a snowbird to be seen!
At the end of the block we continued straight on to get a little
more exercise and to take a more roundabout route to the
On arrival almost the first thing we saw was a kung fu frog restaurant.
Of course Kung Fu Panda had to be around somewhere too. I could not get close enough to fit him all into the frame, hope you don’t mind.
After a lot of walking around the plaza we ended up eating at “Taco
James”. The manager had spent ten years in
This is his wall.
And this is our dinner.
What was our verdict? It was tasty enough, filling too. The taco shells seemed a little thin to me and not crispy enough but as I haven’t eaten tacos since before 2007 I could well have forgotten how they should be. Would we go back? Most definitely, for the food and the chat!
And what was our verdict on the
I’m not sure if I would try this place we passed on our way home though. Would you?
Back home I treated myself to another coffee and fag, sitting on the step break.
August 16th Oh what a night, mid August two thousand twenty four Etc. Huan slept fairy well, she woke up once I think. I slept very badly; it rained for what seemed like most of the night with the odd sounds of thunder too just in case I wasn’t fully awake!
This morning it was still raining so we waited for it to ease off before we went for breakfast and a trip to my bank. Today we remembered to snap Huan’s breakfast but not my fried noodles.
By the time breakfast was over and we had walked past Donald to collect a second umbrella the weather had brightened considerably.
Here’s one that I had to take. Well, wouldn’t you?
I may have made fun of the Grumpy Aunt when we passed that place but in the bank it soon became time for Grumpy Bob. I used the ‘intelligent machine’ to change some pounds into renminbi then went outside to the ATMs to draw out some of those renminbi. Back inside we went after that to feed my book back into the machine. It dutifully went through its programme but when the book came out there was no print on the side with the dates and the transactions. The totals were fine so we thought we would chat to information. They sent us upstairs to the foreign desk, not really necessary I thought. In the end nobody could do anything so we went back to the ATM and took a screen shot of the details. Of course financial exchange details will not show up for another twenty four hours! Aaarrgh! I’ll wait until we are back in Wuzhishan.
Leaving the bank we headed off in a different direction but still heading towards home. One day we might find out what goes on in this nice looking building.
Soon after that we crossed back over the river towards our place.
We walked downstream behind the greenery you can see on the left above.
Now here’s one that always makes me think. There is a set of steps leading down from the pavement to an intricately paved landing. I doubt very much if boats ever ply their trade from this landing though, they would a lot of difficulty getting close enough.
Our timing was not far from perfect; the rain started again mere minutes after we arrived home. We were both soaked anyway, (sweaty bodies), so showers and naps were called for. Lunch wasn’t necessary, breakfast had been late and Huan had bout some Xinjiang bread to nibble on. Later we visited the same restaurant as the day before yesterday, here are our dishes. Your question of the day is to identify a) whose is whose and b) what are we eating. We did of course also have a bowl of rice each.
August 17th Over one hundred and fifty photos to sort out for today’s post. This was a ‘do nothing and go to the park’ day. I woke up to the sounds of Huan doing something in the kitchen. When I got there I found the shelves had been covered with silver coloured paper.
Once again we were a little late going out for breakfast but we knew roughly where we wanted go. On the way we passed what could be every old man’s favourite shop. Not only does it brew beer but it also has various other kinds of hooch too.
Soon we came upon the exact place I had been hoping to find. There used to be one of these shops underneath our apartment here, ideal for a quick snack. Ours is now an electric moped shop but this one has all the necessities, hot snacks, cold snacks, microwavable snacks, hot drinks, cold drinks and even alcoholic drinks, basically everything you need. Moving bottles around to take the last photo I was politely asked to refrain from any further snapping.
I did get our breakfast snack though.
Soon we were over the bridge, into the park and faced with our first subject of the day.
The view was good too.
And then we found another little bird.
No ‘normal’ lizards were found today but skinks were present.
Huan was also keen on crab spotting today; some were easier to see than others.
And then yet another bird was found.
We’ve seen this sign before but I had to check again today. If you happen to be on your boat when you see this sign then I do believe you may have a little problem!
Huan took far too many photos of me returning back to the path so I used six to make this.
We headed into the ghost town, even emptier now than on previous visits.
There were no people but there were plenty of crabs, here are two more for you.
The other side of the ghost town was also more deserted than last time.
It’s a shame really because the whole complex could be really nice and if restored to working order would probably also entice tourists and exhibitions back again.
Another skink was found next, quite a chubby one.
It was our lucky day for birds today, I found these two chatting at the top of a tree. No, I wasn’t there, they were! Shortly after they were joined by a third and then a fourth. Pictures were taken of all but we, (the Royal we), think this one is the best.
The squirrel huntress was also successful today.
Then we found an unusual creature, a wildcat! I know, it looks like a house cat, a domesticated feline, but there are no houses here. What’s more it wouldn’t come near us.
We then found a sign that was new to us telling us that there was a coconut grove down a little path. The sign was rusty so we have no idea how long it has been there. Down the little path we went, where we met someone who thought I was Russian. It happens a lot in Sanya.
Inside we found that indeed there was a coconut grove. Not only that but most of the trees were quite young so maybe it hadn’t been here when we had previously visited.
Today was definitely a day for birds.
They even provide ‘hides’ in this park although I wouldn’t say this one was very well concealed. Presently the view has no birds but I guess the egrets will arrive before too long now.
The park is known a ‘healthy’ destination, here’s Huan showing that it is true!
What was I saying about birds? How about this one, just checkout his Mohican haircut.
The huntress then struck again!
I’m not sure what this area is for but it looked nice, lots of seating areas too.
Almost at the exit of the park, or our exit anyway, we found this stone. Huan tells me that this is the sign that tells us this is a ‘health’ park.
Just before we crossed the river we found yet another bird. This one is pretty enough to warrant more than one picture. I think it’s probably a kingfisher.
After such a lovely walk what else could we do but have a nap! We skipped lunch again today. On our way to dinner we spotted that the river was lower than we have ever seen it before, it must be low tide time.
On our way to dinner we passed through the duty free complex just to see if there was anything new there and to check the car park prices. Both answers were in the negative, the place still looks very run down, the car park is too expensive for more than a short stay.
On we went to the ‘International Shopping Mall’ which is very old and doesn’t have much to offer at all. However, it does have food, for use it was “Eighteen Bowls Restaurant’. Our ordered peanuts actually came first along with the egg timer. All your dishes should be received within fifteen minutes or your dinner is free.
We almost forgot to take the obligatory food picture but Huan reminded me just after we had started. As you can see there’s quite a spread there for the two of us. According to today’s exchange rate the price works out to £8.30p, so cheap as well as tasty and filling.
And that was it for today, apart from the hours I had to spend on the computer of course. Hopefully the boss, and you good people, will consider that I have used my time wisely.
August 18th Our last day for this visit
so another walk to another park, after breakfast of course. Huan had
This is a lovely view of the river where we can no longer walk at the edge but have to walk on the pavement up above. I suppose it is ecologically better that way.
Just to prove the point we spotted a couple of egrets, on the opposite bank of course, too far away to get any decent photographs of them.
Too many photos were taken again today so a few collages were made. This one is rivers.
This is the park we were headed for, the People’s Theme park. We had seen a cultural part of it before, today we were investigating the other side of the road.
Inside we found another name (?) and some Muriels. The second one was quite difficult to make any details out from a distance so I added a couple of close ups.
Inside we were none the wiser for what this place is really for. Another visitor told us it was for children which seemed doubtful by the level of the books save for one little corner. It appears to be a place for ‘migrants’ to find jobs in Sanya but no one could really enlighten us. Never mind, I ‘gave a talk’ in the lecture hall!
There are some ‘standees’ for want of a better word, for the army and the women’s Army.
Outside there was more than one flight of stairs so we thought we would head up high to take some photos of the surrounding area. This was the first one.
That turned out to be a stairway to nowhere! Here’s the princess on her way down again.
This one looks more like it.
Sure enough it took us to the top where I could create three panoramas of the surroundings. We are in the middle of the city so long distances are problematic but as you can see, there is plenty of green wherever you look.
Huan found flowers up there too.
And look here, an undecided me on the way down, and up, and down, and up and down etc.
Trying to find our way home along the other side of the river we found another park.
And another long distance egret.
We also found a place to cool down, a shopping mall we had never heard of. It had some interesting stuff inside, someone like me and then some famous statues with a sporting bent.
Soon we were definitely on the right side of the river for home.
Huan’s looking down eventually paid off and she found the skink of the day.
That was it; we had walked enough for the day, about twelve and a half kilometres. Once again we were soaked to the skin and needed naps and not lunch. For dinner we kept it simple today, burgers and chips from this place.
While we there Huan had her first call from a possible tenant. It was all I could do to make her stay and eat her dinner first. When we did get home and the lady turned up, one of the first things she said was that she would need a new bed! Huan pointed out that the bed was in fact new. She thinks this lady may have known the previous tenants. Whatever, the lady was not ready to rent before the end of the month, or perhaps she didn’t like the price and didn’t want to say. We’ll still be on our way back to Wuzhishan tomorrow for a few days, things to do and all that.
August 19th Packed up and ready to go, after a noodle soup breakfast first of course, for both of us. Oh for a nice B&B with a full English everyday! Some photos of the kitchen area taken before we headed off for northern climes.
Corner’s Deli was out next stop where we spent nearly ¥2,000.00 on cheese, sandwich meats and other assorted stuff that we can’t buy in Wuzhishan. It sounds a lot but it should last us for the next four or five months or so.
Lunch was on the highway, at the Baoting rest stop again. Huan had corn on the cob; I had some kind of bread made with yoghurt. One or two snaps were taken outside, nothing special.
At home it was nap time for Huan and data transfer for me. I don’t think I missed anything and the home computer should now be 100% up to date. Evening time was another meal out, home cooking starts again tomorrow. I spotted this in our car park on the way out. How would you like to see this looming up in your headlights on a dark foggy evening?
Once again, to keep it simple, it was our local buffet restaurant. Here are the dishes.
Definitely time to wrap this post up now, far more photos than
usual, maybe even more waffle too. We will be back to Sanya again soon but for
now it is admin at home. We hope you enjoy this bumper edition from
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