L told me a funny incident yesterday - he was getting out of the lift when the doors opened and a monkey was standing outside on the ground floor. He was in shock and nearly shat himself. Last weekend, mom said everyone was amused by the AVA guys who were trying hard to catch some monkeys on the loose at the wet market. I don't know where they come from but they seem to be settling well in the neighbourhood.
Funnily I didn't see any monkeys at Hainan even though they had a widely publicised Monkey island (i kid you not!) All I remember were thousands of balmy coconut trees and rice paddy fields. The heritage trail was an amusing tale and I'd need more time to write about it (sorry was busy with a preview for a French auction house last week!). Firstly L was supposed to go with us but was rejected at the Budget terminal because he didn't know about the 'letter' from the China Embassy to say he can get a visa upon arrival. We were devastated. I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't booked the hotel at Sanya. Anyway we only had ourselves to blame becos we should have done our research and covered all grounds.
Mom and 2nd aunt (dad's side) were equally disappointed as they were hoping to show off L to the folks. Imagine bringing an angmoh to this remote rural village. He'd be a circus freakshow or hometown celebrity. Either way, it'd be hilarious. Anyway I'm cheating on my blog entry for this trip, and have cut and pasted the story I did for a food and travel magazine below - enjoy!
Hello To HainanNothing quite prepared me for Hainan, even though I’ve heard several accounts of our ancestral village from my family. The travel literature on this ‘Hawaii of the Orient’ is also rather cursory and limited on the internet, so I could only envision this lush tropical island south of China (approximately four times as big as Singapore) by piecing imagery from the many Miss Universe beauty pageants that were paraded against the sunny backdrop of Sanya’s beach resorts.
Understandably this glamour factor, together with its all-year warm weather and many fine beaches of Sanya, are the main reasons why most tourists flock to Hainan. Since this was my first time in my ‘homeland’, I roped in my mother and aunt – both veteran visitors to Hainan. We would travel from Haikou in the north and eat our way to Qiong Hai and the nearby ancestral village Hui Li. Sanya would be the icing on the cake.
To begin with,
Haikou is a bustling modern cityscape that is no different from Hong Kong with its maddening traffic and grim concrete terrain. I couldn’t mutter a word of Hainanese but thankfully my Mandarin (or ‘guo yu’) came in useful as we bantered with relatives over a feast of pork ribs and papaya soup, stir-fried beef and tofu, braised pork belly, baby sea cucumber with kalian vegetables, eggplant on sizzling hotplate and the ubiquitous Wen Chang chicken. Food is indeed a great ice breaker.
Apparently the inspiration for Singaporean’s Hainanese chicken, this local breed of Wen Chang chicken is a definite winner with its tender, flavourful and lean meat – simply boiled and served with a chilli dip (other frills like the ginger dip, dark soy sauce and rice cooked with chicken stock are Singapore inventions). At other meals, I got to try the other famous local specialties – Jia Ji duck and Dong Shan lamb – but alas, the He Le crabs were not in season.
At the morning markets of
Qiong Hai (similar to those found in Vietnam and Laos), farmers showcased a wide variety of fresh produce, live stocks and rice – essential ingredients that contribute to the uncomplicated Hainanese cooking. Even favourite breakfast choices of Bao lor fun (thick succulent noodles in a meat gravy) and piping hot claypot porridge are unfussy and comforting.
Outside the cities, Hainan is simply green and verdant. Closer to the ancestral village of
Hui Li, our taxi ride got bumpier as we passed by rice paddy fields, pineapple groves, guava trees heavy with fruit and troops of ducks wet from the rain. Once we got there, a curious crowd of relatives and villagers came to welcome us. Some of them had chosen to remain in the village and make their living as farmers. Their houses were austere by our standards but they should be proud of their abundant vegetable plots, fruit trees, and animal stocks of plump geese, chickens and ducks.
After paying our respects at the ancestors’ altars, I was quite amazed to learn that all the family records were still being updated and we could trace our roots to our predecessor Lu Duo Xun more than 1,000 years ago. He was a politician, historian, writer, diplomat and philanthropist who fled the warring states in mainland China in that era and had come to settle in the village.
We considered it a huge privilege to be able to trace our heritage and are also grateful for the opportunities that we have now, had it not been for my grandfather who left Hainan at the tender age of 14 to seek a better life. As we sat down to a sumptuous home-cooked lunch washed down with plenty of fresh coconut juice, our two different worlds were united by a common lineage.
I wasn’t prepared for what I had experienced so far on the trip but more surprises awaited at
Sanya. For starters, one would think we were in Russia, given the prolific Russian street signs and adverts found there. Apparently Sanya has long been a tropical haven for Russians to get away from the cold, and is also an alluring beach destination for waves of well-heeled mainland Chinese tourists decked in shocking Hawaiian prints.
With the boom in tourism and property market, many international hotel chains, from the likes of The Hilton to The Banyan Tree, are claiming their stakes at Sanya and changing the landscape at an alarming rate. But for now, the public infrastructure and urban planning still have a long way to go, compared to the more matured beach destinations in Asia. Sanya has a lot of potential, especially in the region of eco tourism with its rich natural resources of volcanoes, hot springs and ancient forest reserves.
It’s a shame we didn’t have time to explore these natural treasures but we did enjoy our last days in Hainan lapping up the fine powdery beaches, dining on the wonderful live seafood and relaxing to traditional Chinese massages. We also lugged back exquisite dried seafood, Chinese herbs, preserved fruits, coconut candy and coconut-laced coffee so we could share a taste of Hainan with our loved ones at home.
Bali has become more developed in the last 7 years since I was there in 2002 after the bombing incident. But I can still remembered it fondly from 1993; the first time I went abroad with my sis, Luc and Jamie (Hard Rock Cafe was all the rage then). Now Kuta and Legian are crazy crowded with shops after shops (all selling the same surf brands and local cheap wares) and ever more polluted with traffic. But the weather's great here - my heat rash's gone and my cough's soothed by the daily cold birra although I should lay off the sweet clove cigarettes. 
The narrow roads were jammed bumper to bumper on Friday when we got off the taxi and gobbled down the crab n peas nasi goreng, squid chap chai, mee goreng and fried chicken wings in a sweet butter sauce at a local warung. Then we made a beeline for the extremely crowded beach and caught a magnificent sunset as the red glowing ball dipped below the horizon. I don't remember it so dirty and packed. The bali surf boys are still there trying to pick up lady tourists; some giving us the ernest glance. I kept a nonchalant mask on, to shopkeepers' greetings of 'hello darling'. 
Naturally some spoke to me in bahasa Indonesia. I'm used to being mistaken as a local everywhere in Asia (but just recently I was mistaken for a Myanmar native by a cab driver in S'pore; that's a first!) We had soaked in our own private pool all Friday morning since the in-villa brekkie at 10am (for the record, I prefer my eggs overeasy). The damn cocks and hens on the property next door had woken us up early in the wee morning with their relentless cuckookooooo every freakin!%@ 2 minutes. Cannot tahan. 
The night before, we flew in late and had supper at Made Warung in Seminyak (great gado gado and tongue-numbing chilli dip in nasi goreng). Anyway it has been bottle after bottle of chilled Bintang beer ever since we arrived. Bintang is great on its own or with food - in or out of the pool (M swore it has 0% alcohol content as she never got high.) We usually grabbed half a dozen bottles and plenty of chips from the minimart. I wish they'd carry Bintang in S'pore soon! 
Just to give a quick lowdown on the company - F, M, S and I were college mates 17 years ago when we were 17 (yes, do the maths). The driver asked if we are students - terimah kasih uncle for the compliment - but the operative word is we WERE students before. Still, it's good to know we haven't aged much and can still pass off as youngsters. Heehee. This was out first holiday abroad and we were naturally excited. 
On Sat, we booked a driver and car for US$50 and our first destination was Ubud - the cultural heart - an hour's drive away. Bali is a huge island but most people contained themselves in the southern zone spanning Seminyak, Legian, Kuta, Sanur, then making a side trip up north to Ubud in the hills. We had 2 lunch stops - the first was Dirty Duck, a local institution for its bebe bengil; spice-marinated duck steamed and then deepfried to a perfect lightp-as-air crisp. We could eat a few ducks - and more Bintang beer please. 
We also shared an octopus salad (passable) and Indonesian platter of stuffed tofu, spring rolls and sate' (not bad). The prices are more affordable than I imagined, the garden setting is lush and green against a backdrop of padi fields and the pavilion dining experience is unique (except after 20mins, my folded legs were numb). We were careful to save some room for the 2nd lunch stop, but first some shopping at the Ubud market to work up an appetito. 
The mercato was as I remembered it. Inside we sieved through a mind-boggling labryinth of stalls selling local crafts, silver jewellery, pretty batik dresses, silk scarves, woven bags, intricately mosaiced mirrors etc. We all got souvenirs, losing no time at bargaining. The rule is mark down by at least 60%; if they don't give in, honey just move on (unless you really, really like it)! Anyway most of them sell the same things, so you're bound to find a willing seller. It sounds cruel but they really mark up by a lot lor. 
Happy and thirsty, we proceeded to nearby Naughty Nuri's for their acclaimed spare ribs and cocktails. It was indeed a roadside shack as described in the reviews and the menu's scribbled on the wall for all to see. We ordered chips and ribs, with 3 whisky sour and 1 margarita. The waitress promptly grilled the ribs by our table after slathering them with a thick bbq sauce. I wasn't sure if the smoky flavour came from the cars or the grill, but hell they were superb! Very meaty and finger-lickin' good! Also damn cheap at 65,000rp so we decided to ta-bao another serving. The only gripe we had was the overpriced cocktails at 100,000rp (S$15) EACH! I double-checked with the waitress if there had been a mistake with the zero's, but nope the bill states 400,000rp for the 4 drinks! We felt ripped off - should have stuck to Bintang beer!
