January 29, 2022
Day H8: Bay Transfer
Well it's confirmed that they really do hate bikes around here. That was somewhat evident since entering the Sanya city area when all the road shoulders disappeared and the amount of honking from cars increased exponentially - as did the traffic. In the congested Houhai enclave where the bike incurred the biggest advantage of getting in and out, it wasn't exactly shown much love.
The first time trying to find my hotel I got angrily told "You can't park the bike here" so I moved it across the alley which probably explains why someone kicked it down later. Whoever did this must have done it after midnight since that's when I came back after drinking with the other bike tourists.
Overall the vibe on Houhai was miserable despite the huge positive potential. It was a mistake to listen to friend recommandations for "partying" because what few existed were not all that good. The highlight was of course meeting up with the two other bike tourists. Tons of fun. Even so, the service everywhere in this enclave was the worst whether I was alone or with the other foreigners.
We got everything from sour attitudes, ripoffs, saying things like "I can't understand what you're saying" or excuses not to work such as "I can't make you guys more drinks because we don't have ice cubes to put in the drinks". Well, how about no ice cubes then you lazy slob? Fail. I would likely not come back. It was on par with the vibe in Haikou perhaps even worse.
We managed to make the most of the time we have as we always do. From what one of the other cycle tourists said, perhaps the interior of Hainan is better. It is another tour assuming that we're still stuck in China this time next year which is a very real possibility.
But getting out of Houhai even at 9am on a Friday was quite the nightmare. Already there was traffic congestion coming in. Due to that, they had narrowed the exit road to just one lane. Because of that there was nowhere else to ride the bike and yet this one asshole kept laying on his horn the whole time. Eventually he passed super close and I gave him the finger when he did so.
It didn't get better once exiting the enclave and heading up the main road. For whatever reason the police were holding up the traffic. I slipped by on the sidewalk and they yelled out a loud "Hey!" but by then I was gone. The reason for stopping traffic became a bit clearer when the traffic lights were stuck at the main intersection further ahead. This was because the police were holding the traffic lights on purpose to allow all the cars streaming into the Houhai enclave. After slipping by all that, I finally hit the highway out of this madness.
Rumor has it and I believe it that the traffic police around Houhai are vicious and will set up checkpoints to stop scooters mainly for DUI checks and bringing in drugs to the beach. Sounds crazy that people would even try to do something like that nowadays, but they are.
Once on the main highway it was smooth sailing as most of the traffic thinned out. There was a tunnel to get through and it said no bikes earlier but that wasn't going to stop me. What alternative route was there anyway?
The reason for this transfer by bike from one place to other was because I had booked a resort there and my wife Sophia was arriving from the airport. The plan was to ride to Yalong Bay, park the bike nearby the resort, then take a taxi to the airport to pick her up.
The only snag in this plan, as anticipated, was finding somewhere to park the Montague. All around the resort there were no other bikes parked and getting the bike inside would be very difficult if not impossible. This was confirmed when a food delivery scooter had to get off his bike outside the gate and walk in. I tried the side entrance which appeared unguarded at the post but there was the guard lingering around and he tried to stop me so I abandoned this approach.
Instead I found an area near the public square and entrance to the beach with all the other scooters and found a place to lock the bike. Unfortunately this is just how it is. If you roll up on a bike to any of these new developments (including resorts, office towers, shopping malls, even entire development zones) they're just banned because it's an eyesore. Probably also a reminder of the poor man's way of travel while everyone has embraced the Almighty Car
I arrived at the airport to find it super small, one of the smallest I've seen in China actually. This was a big surprise as almost all cities have expanded their airports to ultra-large terminals and continuing to do so. You would think in a popular resort city like Sanya they would have already done so. Maybe there are plans in the works?
We had timed this to perfection as Sophia's flight was early and she breezed through all the checks. She had mentioned many delays the previous two days in getting covid tests. The situation this year however is a lot better than last as people are indeed going home to visit friends and family and doing the tests as part of the trip. Last year we were all told: do not travel, spend the holiday in the big cities. But this year the theme seems to be test and go.
We embraced at the airport and then it was time for a honeymoon style resort at Yalong Bay.
Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 1,606 km (997 miles)
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