Sailing to xisha islands

Cruises offer laid-back lifestyle and maritime romance

When I stepped on the bobbing vessel heading for the Xisha Islands, two words that have frequently appeared in my daily news reports, I was expecting an arduous week on a remote island.

However, after an exhausting 15-hour trip from Wenchang, Hainan province, I was astonished by the dreamlike light-green morning sea stretching in front of me as we approached the harbor of Yongxing Island.