The Pacific Princess tied up at the Phoenix Island dock in Sanya at about 6:30 am. Phoenix Island is a man made island. The hotel and condominium buildings on the island look like alien hives out of a science fiction movie.
Our shore excursion began with a bus ride over a bridge to the mainland and through the busy traffic of Sanya City. Having left the city we went up a mountain road to a place called, “Deer Looks Back Park” or “Deer Park”. It looked like a cross between Redwood National Park and Children’s Fairyland.
We were loaded on little electric trolleys and raced further up the mountain side. We were then led up to the top of the mountain by our guide on a paved road. To the side of the road were shops and concession stands but there were also spectacular views of Sanya City, Phoenix Island, the beaches along the bay and the sea.
When we got to the top of the mountain we were confronted with a huge statue of a deer looking backward with a beautiful woman on one side and a hunter on the other side. So, we were told the legend of the hunter who hunted and chased a deer up this mountain until the deer was trapped between the hunter and a cliff. The deer looked back at the hunter and turned into a beautiful woman. They fell in love, married and lived happily ever after. Oh well …
Once we had descended the mountain and re-boarded our bus, we were taken to one of the five spectacular beaches that line Sanya Bay. As it was hot and we had seen a lot of beaches already, we opted to go to a shopping mall instead. in the mall we tried to buy some ice cream at a Hagen Daz Shop (we actually had it in our hands) but they would not take our U.S. Dollars nor our U.S. credit cards (we had to give the ice cream back.) Next we bought some coffee at a Starbucks. They would take our credit card. However, the coffee was undrinkable …
Next we were taken to a pearl museum. This was scheduled for a five minute tour and forty minutes to shop …
Then it was back through the city traffic, over the bridge to Phoenix Island and back on board the ship. Where I got some key lime pie ice cream and a good cup of coffee!
We sailed away from Sanya at 4:00 pm …
