Chapter 665 - 295: Homestay Development, Dragon Palace, Surfing Influencer_3

For ordinary adventurers, it was an extremely thrilling and novel experience.

Of course, a village sunk to the bottom of the sea isn’t as safe as ordinary shallow waters, and it certainly comes with dangers.

Li Younan had yet to officially dive in open waters; although confident in his Level 3 diving skills, he wouldn’t know what it truly felt like until he went underwater.

This time, Li Younan’s plan was to first follow Chen Chong for a simple experience at the Dragon Palace next to the small fishing village, and then consider a full diving adventure once he learned more.

...

Since he had completed the online courses in advance, getting certified at the dive shop was quick, and Li Younan obtained his diving certification independently before contacting Chen Chong.

Upon arriving in Hainan, the two parted ways.

After all, his relationship with Chen Chong was nothing more than a chance acquaintance.

Chen Chong greatly admired his photography skills, yet was also very confident in his own underwater photography techniques.

In a sense, Chen Chong viewed Li Younan more like a Chinese chef would view a Western chef, with a mindset of "I know you’re excellent, but I’m not bad either; we can appreciate each other."

But in reality, Li Younan had already reached another level in his mastery of photography at this time.

Whether above or below water, he was no longer mechanically adhering to predetermined patterns or techniques for shooting... like adjusting parameters based on the lighting conditions.

For Li Younan, he could always use his eyes to uncover stunning images, and the camera was merely a tool to capture what he discovered.

So whether it was above or below the water, it made no difference to him.

Photography had become a path for him.

Li Younan drove to the small fishing village to find Chen Chong, heading directly to the seaside and waiting for Chen Chong at the agreed place.

Chen Chong needed to swing by home before coming over.

To be fair, with the continuous development of Hainan’s tourism industry over the years, even this obscure little fishing village had some tourism industry growth, although its resources weren’t as overt compared to more developed places like Sanya or Wanning.

On one hand, the seawater wasn’t so clear, and the waves were relatively large; moreover, the nearby fishing villages were still primarily focused on seafood harvesting as their main business.

Nevertheless, there were still some tourists playing on the beach in front of the fishing village.

The beach area of this bay wasn’t very large, yet there were quite a few people surfing, and those who came here to surf were usually quite skilled.

After all, the waves weren’t as gentle as those in bays suitable for beginners; here, each wave reached at least half a meter to one meter, with others exceeding even two or three meters.

And the place they intended to dive obviously wasn’t here.

A few hundred meters ahead from the beach, there was a small port with some fishing boats docked; in due time, Chen Chong would come to get Li Younan, and they would head out by boat to dive two or three hundred meters off the coast.

Meanwhile, before Chen Chong arrived, Li Younan waited at the edge of the beach, curiously watching people surf.

At that moment, a coach with a northeastern accent approached Li Younan, striking up a conversation: "Hey, handsome, would you like to try surfing?"

This coach from the northeast had dark skin resembling an African’s, and a lean physique, making Li Younan wonder whether he weighed enough to press down a surfboard.

Mind you, surfing isn’t as ordinary folks might think — lighter isn’t always better.

The issue for Li Younan now was that he didn’t have a surfboard prepared, since today’s main plan was diving, and bringing along a surfboard would be quite troublesome.

One must focus on one thing at a time.

Li Younan’s idea was to check out the Dragon Palace through diving today and then find another day especially to try surfing.

Li Younan shook his head and said, "No, thanks."

The coach persistently tried persuading Li Younan for a while but found him as stubborn as a rock, leaving in a grumble: "Ah, how come young people these days have no interest in trying surfing, are they still young?"

Hearing these words, Li Younan felt somewhat complicated inside... a strong and compelling reason.

Soon after the coach left, there was a sudden uproar on the beach by the sea.

Following the crowd’s gaze, Li Younan saw a swimsuit-clad beauty on a wave estimated to be one or two meters high, being carried along by the surf.

It’s important to know that the impressive scenes often seen in videos, where a fit guy with an eight-pack abs dives into a surf wall and disappears into the waves, are nearly impossible to find at the seaside.

The real surfing scenes are usually small waves coming in one after another, with men and women learning to surf flailing awkwardly on their boards until the waves bypass them, failing to stand up; or they just fall into the sea right after standing up.

If even one or two novices managed to ride tens of meters on the thrust of a white wave, they’d be immensely excited, cheering joyfully.

As soon as they hit the shore, they would call out to their friends, "Did you get a photo? Did you?"

In such an environment, if there were even one or two able to ride down the green waves, regardless of whether they did any other maneuvers, it would be very impressive to see.