Feels just like home

Flying to Haikou

Today we return to Haikou to begin our stay in Hainan Island.  There’s a gap in the airline’s schedule with either somewhat early morning flights or one mid-afternoon.  We had chosen an 0840 departure and had to wake at 0500.

The Didi driver ordered by the hotel for 0600 was super-friendly.  He got us to Guangzhou airport at 0630 and the highly-efficient self-service check-in kiosks and bag-drops saw us ready to go airside after 10 mins.

With no delays with security, I unexpectedly managed to get some time in the lounge before boarding through a bus gate.

Despite the on-time departure, we arrived into Haikou a little later than the scheduled time of 0950.  From the air, the weather looked like a warm muggy stormy day. We were surprised to find it quite cool as we disembarked.

We taxied to the Jian Wai (Look Beyond) hotel in the old part of Haikou.  The drive, assisted by 3 other pairs of eyes, had trouble finding the hotel so we had to be dropped off near the GPS map point.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to go far to find it.

First explorations of old Haikou

Even around 1100, we were lucky to have Swee and Chen’s room ready.  I stored my bags in there while we headed out for a bite.

The shophouses were very similar to those in Malaysia.  Feels just like home!  In the two pedestrian malls, the shops typically had touristy businesses (largely food and trinkets) but elsewhere normal commerce still thrives (in the form of eg. hardware, lights, religious items, basic eateries).

We sat in an eatery in the noisy back streets amidst lots of honking.  As I wasn’t hungry, I ordered a wonton soup.  Meanwhile, famished Swee and Chen’s meal took forever to turn up.

The weather had now warmed up so we were ready to have a rest around midday, after the early start.  Back at the hotel, my room was ready.

We spent the afternoon having separate wanders around the old town.  They had a second lunch!  I was more restrained, snacking only on a prawn fritter and buying a box of cut mango.

Text continues after this gallery.

Evening wander

Later in the afternoon, we went to the hotel’s rooftop and verandah where we could get photos of ourselves against the backdrop of one pedestrian mall.

In the evening, we wandered westwards along the busy main road and could see the riverside walk on the other side of the road.  It didn’t look particularly attractive, so we didn’t bother crossing the wide busy road to get across.

We zig-zagged our way through various back streets to the alley where we had lunch.  We ate dinner together.  Swee and Chen had had oysters for their second lunch and their recommendation didn’t disappoint.

The oysters had been cooked over an open fire topped with garlic.  Very delicious indeed.  I also tried the Hainan Vermicelli which was tossed in a sour and savoury sauce with pickled vegetables and peanuts.  With a little chilli, it hit all the flavour notes that I like.

Walking off dinner, we found some areas where the shophouses were crumbling, with trees growing out of them.  We decided they warranted a better look in the daylight tomorrow.