A lot was involved in getting here.  Many companies will say you cannot travel for winter holiday and if you do you're fired.  By now we can spot the pattern, they'll issue threats, warning, and discouragements to slow down the flow of travel.  It's a form of social distancing.  Meanwhile, the brave and those who take the risk end up with the reward of cheaper airfares and hotels.  They SAY these rules are because they're afraid an employee is going to get covid on such a domestic trip and someone would end up being responsible.  But last time I checked it's not a crime to travel, nor is it to catch a virus.  If it were to happen, obviously it would suck, but that shouldn't be a deterrent for travel.  

Airlines are still operating and trains are still running.  In fact the flight I took was over 90% full.  You obviously need covid tests to get on this transport which I had. 

So basically I got to the airport early to be safe.  It sure felt nice to leave all the stress of the city behind.  First checkpoint was a health code check, then security to enter the airport, and then flight check in.  They sure wanted my two PCR tests, which were greatly helped by printed versions.  They also wanted some proof of when I last entered China which was found on my old passport in March 2020.  Again big thanks to my wife for suggesting I bring that, as it got checked frequently later.  The airline checkin tried to set me up with a Hainan health code but for whatever reason it failed.   In the end I got my boarding pass, then sent the bicycle to oversized baggage and onwards through security.

The flight left early and was quite packed, it was rather comfortable except for a bit of turbulence in the middle.  The flight arrived early but I expected it would take at least an hour to leave the airport.  That was the case.  First they had flagged several passengers who were called off the plane first then everyone else de-boarded.     

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The baggage hall was slam packed.  The first and second checkpoints were keenly interested in my test results (of course) as well as the old passport for entering China.  For whatever reason they were zeroing in on the arrival dates.

Once into the main airport it was time to chill.  I also managed to set up the green code for Hainan with using a small bit of intelligence.

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The temperature was blissfully warm and humid which was the whole reason for coming here.  Despite the difficult arrangements to get to Hainan it also feels nice and safe.  It's like the whole place is a quarantine island if you will.  This was confirmed when I got into the taxi and checked into the hotel.  They didn't ask for any test results or health and travel codes etc..  it was as if covid wasn't a thing here. 

Unfortunately my brains must have been on vacation because I messed up the hotel booking dates by a week.  Instead of this Friday for whatever reason I had booked next Friday and didn't even recognize the mistake until check in.  They were super cool about it and refunded the reservation without charge (even though it was non refundable) and helped book a new reservation.  Basically this was all due to stress, after months of a very difficult semester at work and dealing with all this covid madness had left me with little sleep the entire time.

Hopefully this would be the start of some recovery.  The island itself has a nice vibe to it and once I get the bike up and running it's time to explore Haikou first for a bit.