Tuesday, July 8, 2008

'Sleigh bells ring, are ye listenin'
In the lane, snow is glistenin'
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walkin' in a winter wonderland.'

It was 30 degrees Celsius in Hainan - known as 'China's Hawaii', so it was a little odd to be subjected to a tape of All Time Christmas Hits playing on loop in our hotel.
The resort - which was generally empty of shops, restaurants, life - has a handful of top-notch hotels catering to international travelers.
We checked into the Holiday Inn at Sanya Bay which is spotless and situated just one minute from a quiet, clean beach.
It felt like a summer holiday, until the Christmas songs started.
The very many staff at the hotel are falling over themselves to figure out what 'foreign' guests might like, but they don't always get it quite right.
On this occasion, they presumably reckoned that foreigners like Christmas, therefore they'll appreciate a bit of Santa Claus is Coming to Town - even in July!

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