Revived by a resort

By Lu You (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-10 08:51

I woke up to the tender caress of a gentle breeze. I had nodded off on a sofa that sat facing the sea in the Jinhaitan( Resort on Guanglu Island, one of many small islands scattered around Dalian.

My friends and I had reached the resort after a long taxi-cum-boat ride but could hardly wait to go to Moon Bay to dive into its shallow, clear waters. I could count each rock and even the grains of sand in the water.

While some of the women settled into air mattresses, shading themselves with umbrellas to enjoy the cool breeze, others preferred a game of football on the beach.

Revived by a resort

Soon, the resort staff announced that it was time for lunch and I can't think of another occasion when such a call felt so welcome.

After lunch, we headed to the Fairy Lake and the Temple of the Goddess Mazu, standing behind a hill. The lake lies separated from the sea by a natural dyke and is home to some huge freshwater fish, probably under the protection of Mazu, the revered Goddess of the Sea.

We spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and getting ourselves tanned on the beach. At the resort's suggestion, we headed to the western end of the island to see the sunset. Flocks of sea gulls hovered over the boats. Local fishermen call the birds "hai mao" (sea cats) as they love fish and sing like cats. Clouds hid the sun, but the sea turned golden. It was a lovely sight.

Dinner was more luxurious. The freshly caught fish were a treat. The sea urchin melted like ice cream in my mouth, and the roasted cockles were simply amazing.

At the beach, we turned on our flashlight, stunning the little crabs into awakening from their trance-like state, as we reached for them. The groups of small fish swimming among the rocks also seemed to acquire different colors and tones from those seen in the day.

It was an unforgettable holiday and showed that staying at one place can be more relaxing for a busy urbanite, than dashing from one tourist site to another.