Dapeng Beach overnight and a whirlwind romance

Saturday the 13th was my birthday. Kim and Aubrie and our Chinese friend Ale whisked me away to Dapeng Beach. I love the beach and I miss salt water and sea air. I miss walking barefoot in the sand and looking for treasures. We had attempted to camp on a different beach last weekend but that trip didn’t work out as planned. Kim quickly worked her magic and organized a great overnight to a beautiful beach not too far away from where we live.

Kissing the city goodbye for a night

After work on Friday we both hustled home to pack a bag of clothes and another bag of birthday cake and vodka. Our friend Ale picked us all up and drove us the two hours east to Dapeng. In addition to the beach, there are many other things to see and do near where we stayed, such as visiting the Dapeng Fortress or hiking Dapeng Mountain. We hope to return to the area again since we only had time to hit the beach.

We arrived at the small home we rented around 10 PM Friday. Our place had a cute front gate that led into a porch-like area. The front door opened to a small kitchenette: large refrigerator, small sink and no stove top. Past the kitchenette were two bedrooms that each had their own bathroom. Ale took the one closest to the door and Aubrie had the back room, which ended up being next to a popular sidewalk. (She discovered the popularity of the sidewalk the next morning as a young girl and her father walked by Aubrie’s open window around 10 AM. They shared meaningful eye contact.) If you walked upstairs you found yourself in a small room occupied by a large sturdy Mahjong table. To the right of this room was a spacious balcony. To the left was our room and bathroom.

After a full day of work, we had just enough energy to check out the hotel, toss our bags on our beds and walk around the neighborhood. We looked at the small touristy-type stores, barbecue restaurants and karaoke bars. I counted at least 57 karaoke bars, many of them occupied by three people, two of which may have been employees. Surprisingly there was someone on the mic at each bar. I bet they do a lot of business on Saturday nights and during holidays. We did not partake in karaoke activities this time. Instead, we went back to the hotel and slept.

I forgot to turn off my alarm!

Bright and early the day of my 40th birthday, my alarm went off at 6. Kim graciously turned it off without hitting me with it and went back to sleep. I dozed for a little while too, but it was hard to sleep knowing that I was so close to the sea. It was a five-minute walk from our hotel. I kept thinking of the sand and the water and what I might find on the shore… soon I couldn’t keep my eyes shut any longer. I had to get out there.

Good morning, Dapeng!

I left Kim to snooze and take up the whole bed, which is usually my job, and quietly but enthusiastically put on my swim gear. I grabbed my travel journal and phone, kissed my love on her forehead and left.

At this time of year, the weather here is perfect. It’s much cooler during the day than it was when we moved here in August. The locals are “cold” now and many wear jackets and long pants outside. Meanwhile, we are in our glory in flip flops, shorts and sleeveless shirts. I strode down the shoreline barefoot in my swim trunks and tank top, soaking in the sun and the sea air. Other people were there too, but I was the only foreign body on the sand. A few of them wore shorts but many wore pants and long sleeves. I walked for a while taking some pictures and finding some treasures before I sat to write a little.

The sand was coarse down near the water where I walked. I found a lot of shells and even a few pieces of sea glass, some still needed more time in the water. Unfortunately, because this is a popular tourist area, there was also a fair amount of litter washed up on the shore. I imagine it won’t be there long, though; one thing about China we’ve noticed is that there is always someone working and cleaning. People are sweeping sidewalks and pruning shrubbery, picking up dead branches and taking away garbage. This beach was not at its cleanest. But the surroundings were amazing.

Who, me?

While I was focused on writing in my journal I could see pairs of feet walking by me. In my peripheral, I could see couples walking hand in hand, the occasional child playing and running. Then a solitary figure slowly approached me from my right side. Continuing to write, I thought this person was out for a slow walk in the morning and that he or she would keep sauntering along. I was wrong: I wrote a couple more sentences and then looked up to see her:

Should I wait for the flash to go off?

I smiled and waved for her while she was taking a picture, a process which seemed to take about three times as long as it should take to take a picture. I even had time to grab my phone and capture a picture of her taking the picture, it took her so long.

When she had captured the right shot, she came over and looked at my journal, curious at my handwriting, I think. We’ve noticed so much curiosity from the locals: they stare, some smile at us, some nod, some shyly say “hello.” A few times people have asked if they can take a picture with us. In my imagination we are celebrities or at the least, we are interesting white people.

Grammar is so important

I wanted to tell my fan on the beach that the area was beautiful. I had just been told how to say “it is beautiful” by one of the teachers at my school but my mind was drawing a blank so I fumbled for my Google Translator app. Beach Fan was looking over my shoulder so I snapped a selfie while I waited for the app to load. I waited and waited and got impatient.

Remembering that “it is beautiful” and “you are beautiful” are very different, I knew I had a 50/50 chance of paying respect to the landscape or flattering Beach Fan. I went with my gut and mumbled what I thought was correct.

Then I grinned.

Then she grinned and shook her head, waving her hands in front of her face. I started to suspect that I had chosen the wrong phrase for this situation and my suspicion was confirmed when Beach Fan bent down to the sand and wrote:

The top of the “6” is a little light, but she wrote “60,” I think to let me know she was 60 years old. Hey lady, you can be beautiful at 60, even if I wasn’t intentionally saying YOU were beautiful… I shrugged and smiled, not knowing how to say anything else and she smiled and waved goodbye, continuing on down the shoreline. I wonder what she told her family when she got home and showed them my picture?