Back From the Land of Coconuts;

Missed him terribly; I'm just finding any excuse to post a picture of him;

And after six days, I'm finally back from Hainan; which is yes, the land of the coconut trees (I've had tons of coconut juice during my stay!) and incidentally the Hawaii, of China. Everyone has been telling me what a beautiful place it is; and it really lived up to its name. It did not rain one bit during our stay; and the sky is always such a gorgeous, blue. There were plenty of beach stops during our vacation and if you could blank out the throngs of tourists milling about; (the downside about Hainan) it was rather pleasant- the soft ivory/white sand and the beautiful, beautiful sea. 

Hainan is definitely not a shopping paradise; unless you're into coconut candies, biscuits, coffee... You get the picture; or sea shell necklaces so I've still got plenty of  renminbi stashed in my wallet. My biggest purchase was definitely a beautiful mini cast iron coffee grinder; (yes, you got that right. Coffee Grinder. There will be pictures!) And more money was splashed on food and foot massages; and I think, the only piece of clothing I've got was a cute zebra printed tshirt!

On this trip, we visited my grandpa's brother; I call him Pek Gong, and his family too; other than Pek Gong; I've never met my uncles, aunts and my cousins and it was pretty incredulous to know that you have another, set(?) of relatives that you've never known for 20 years of your life! Still, it was awesome, knowing them; and they're such an incredible bunch of people! My uncle owns a gorgeous resort in Xin Long which he started from nothing; and my 20 year-old cousin is doing a small business of his own too! (It's pretty inspiring to know that I've got so many entrepreneurs in my family!) I was truly touched by them after spending a couple of days with them; the way they treat Pek Gong only made me miss my grandpa more and made me wished that I've spent more time with my grandpa, getting to know more about him. Well, as much as I really wished I could have more time with him; I can't- And I guess my greatest take away from this trip was finally grasping the concept of cherishing and treasuring the people you have in your life now; especially your family; and knowing that they will be there with you when you, no matter what. <3 

Just a little snippet I'd like to share from my trip; pictures will be up in the next couple of posts! xx