Traveling with Kids: Weizhou Island, Guangxi (Day 2)

Today's itinerary: Morning: Cruise to Weizhou Island, check into Jingye B&B; Afternoon: Dripstone Cliff, Nanwan Crocodile Mountain, whale watching. We caught the 10:00 AM Beiyou No. 25 yacht to Weizhou Island. If you miss this one, the next one won't be until 12:30 PM. The journey takes almost two hours each way, so if you want to spend more time on the island in the afternoon, try to catch the 10:00 AM one. The boat is large, with three decks; we stayed on the second deck. You can buy a deck of cards and play with your child. After arriving on the island, we walked along a very long boardwalk, and the B&B sent an electric cart to pick us up for check-in. The B&B has a very Instagrammable style, with all-cement construction, and the sculptures in the courtyard resemble those in Monument Valley. See photos 5, 6, and 7. The Dripstone Cliff scenic area is just a two-minute walk from the B&B, very close. Dripstone Cliff is truly magical. Water often seeps out from the cracks between the layers of the massive sea cliff, dripping down like a hanging beaded curtain, hence the name "Dripstone Cliff." See photos 8 to 12. Besides fine sand, the ground was covered with broken coral (see Figure 13). The afternoon tea at the guesthouse was excellent, with cakes, fruits, and drinks (see Figure 14). After afternoon tea, Mom took the kids to Crocodile Mountain, while I went whale watching alone. Yesterday, I saw a video posted by a captain on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform), so I booked a boat in advance. We set off around 4 pm. At first, everything seemed normal (see Figure 15), but then the boat rocked more and more violently, probably due to rough seas. We were at sea for over an hour before finally spotting a whale, but only its back. The captain then steered the boat around for a long time before we finally saw the whale's open mouth. You can see the video in my previous post. Finding whales mainly relies on seagulls; where seagulls gather, there are whales. When a whale opens its mouth, the seagulls swarm in to feed—truly a case of fortune favoring the bold. The captain said he'd never sailed this far to chase whales before; they were almost at the drilling platform (see Figure 16). After seeing the whales, it was another hour of bumpy travel before we got back to the island. Some people on the boat were already seasick, but thankfully I took seasickness medication. We saw a stunning sunset after disembarking. By the way, our boat is shown in Figure 18; it's quite high, making whale watching easier. Tip 1: Whales have only recently appeared, so it's recommended to book a whale watching trip with a captain who has already successfully caught whales. Official platforms or those that haven't caught whales usually follow fixed routes, making it harder to spot them. Tip 2: Children and people prone to seasickness should avoid whale watching. The boat rocks up and down, occasionally even experiencing freefall. When it stops to search for whales, it sways constantly. There aren't many things to hold onto on the boat, and some people on the boat even vomited…