Sanya, China

Sanya is on an island called Hainan, which is located off the southern coast of China. I'm pretty sure we're as far south as you can go in China. And boy is it hot here! The heat is comparable to what we experienced in Manzanillo, Mexcio.Our hotel (with air conditioning, thankfully) is very nice and it's across the street from the courts, which are on the ocean. It hardly feels like we're in China; the weather and the palm trees make it feel like a tropical destination. However, it does feel like we're in China when it comes to ordering food. There are some interesting items on the hotel menu, it doesn't help that nobody speaks English!

One problem that we've run into is having a lack of cash. We didn't anticipate that the ATMs wouldn't accept our debit cards. As a result, we've resorted to eating at the hotel and charging the meals to our rooms. We also have to ration our water supply, which is difficult to do in the heat. During our training session today with a team from Great Britain, Kacie and I were feeling kind of delirious from a lack of hydration. We made sure to cut the practice short and find some water. In an effort to get more cash from a bank, we decided to spend my last 6Yuan (equivalent to $1) to get a ride to a bank in the city centre. Armed with a piece of paper that held the name of our final destination in chinese characters, we were told to take a bus. While waiting, a motorcycle taxi stopped by, so we showed him where we wanted to go and explained that I had very limited funds. He said he would take us. So we hopped in his sidecar and were on our way! We drove for about 15 minutes, then dropped us off by a little rundown market. We walked around, looking for a bank, or even another ATM. Something didn't feel right, so we showed our piece of paper to a local and asked if this is where we were. Oh no, they said, that's very far away! We were duped! And worse, none of the vendors took credit cards, so we couldn't even buy fruit or water. And so, we began our long walk home. We walked for about an hour and a half in the heat. Now it's time for some sleep and recovery in our hotel room. Hopefully tomorrow will go more smoothly!