Sebrina and Justin

The weekend of October 24th Justin and I accompanied some friends to a hot spring in the northern outskirts of Beijing called JiuHua ShanZhuang. Like all recreation in China these days, the place was over developed and didn’t resemble any kind of natural hot spring. With that disclaimer out of the way, however, I must admit how much I enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because we’ve been deprived of a bathtub since we moved to Beijing, but it was wonderful to soak in steaming hot water, have a stroll around the grounds and then soak some more. This ‘resort and convention center’ was huge enough to warrant a monorail to travel between the two. And the resort offered a range of temperature and sized pools, Chinese medicinal hot tubs, salty Dead Sea style mud baths, fish spa treatments, saunas, massages, etc. We tried just about everything but could only bring ourselves to dip a toe into the fish pool for a few seconds. I had to quickly pull it out again when the scaly critters started nibbling–it tickled! I can’t believe the brave souls who actually sit up to their chins in nibbling fish.

By the way, Justin and I got our Chinese drivers licenses and bought a car several weeks ago. This was one of our first road trips.

Believe it or not, Justin’s the one who’s been bitten by the travel bug this time. So, we’ve planned a little trip for this weekend to Sanya–the southern tip of Hainan Island. Our trip coincides with the national 3-day weekend commenorating Tomb Sweeping Day, aka All Souls Days, Clear and Bright Festival, etc. We’re hoping that since it’s a solomn occasion, vacation spots like Sanya won’t be crowded and we’ll have the beaches to ourselves.

Justin’s wanting to take other short trips around China and Asia, so if you have a suggestion let us know. From where would you like to get a souvenir?