Xinglong – Sanya - 118 km
There was little one could do concerning the knee, and though the
map indicated a hilly stretch, I continued over the mountains. The
strange thing was the knee was 100% while riding, weird.
A pleasant cycle led past rural hamlets and farmlands before hitting
big and lively Sanya with its 20-kilometre-long stretch of beach. I
went straight to Dadong Hai, where the map indicated a hostel.
Backpacker Hostel turned out pleasant, tucked away behind high-
rises and slap-bang in the middle of the action—a real haven.
The following day was spent doing close to zero, only wandering to
the beach and around the corner to find food. Surprisingly enough,
the dominant languages, both spoken and written, were Chinese and
Russian. With sunshine year-round, temperatures hovered around
25°C, even in January and Sanya, consequently, was immensely
touristy. The area produced pearls in abundance which were sold all
over the place. Giant clams were considered endangered, but shells
were sold just about everywhere.
As the town was an excellent place to hang out and had interesting
people to talk to, I spent one more day there. Still concerned about
my knee, I purchased a knee guard. I rubbed the knee with locally
purchased Chinese lotion and slipped on a tight knee guard, most
likely made for thin Chinese legs and not my stompers.