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(1/22/08)Chinese American Wedding (#2) – The Maya Riviera in Mexico

In my earlier blog “Chinese American Weddings (July/2/07) “ I touched on the

 logistics of a wedding in America. Another feature I did not mention is the fact

 that nowadays highly educated young men and women in the US tends to

marry later. Thus, by the time they marry, often they are financially

independent and on their own. As a result, they often have their own idea about

the marriage ceremony. A popular idea is

 to have what is known as a “destination wedding”. The bride and groom pick

 out a scenic tourist location in exotic places. Everyone, parents, relatives and

 close friends all fly to the location. The local hotel have a complete wedding

 package - chapel, banquet, flowers, the whole works. Everyone have a few days

 of vacation and fun. The bride and groom will stay on after the wedding to have

 their honeymoon. The parents then give a reception in their home town for

 their other friends who did not attend the wedding ceremony. This saves a lot

 of time and effort on the part of everyone.

Two year ago, one of my niece decided to have her wedding on the beautiful

 island of Maui ,Hawaii. Her younger sister is now having her wedding in Tulum

, Mexico. The east coast of Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico is known as the Maya

Riviera of Mexico (Note:  The French Riviera in Europe is of course the best

 known seaside resort. The Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in the last generation

 has developed into a seaside tourist place for the Americas with Cancun the

best known resort town. Tulum is 150 kilometers further to the south from

Cancun and is still relatively undeveloped – i.e., no mega-hotels  and well

known international brand name stores. Everything is still local Mexican but

only crystal clear water, white sandy beaches, and quaint restaurants (see

attached pictures of local scene).

Accommodations are thatch-roofed huts but with all the modern conveniences.

 Life is slow paced and very relaxing. People here say that we Americans are too

busy making a living but does  not know how to live. There is some truth to this

accusation. But then the US is where she is today because of our working hard

in making a living.

Mexico is home to the vanished Maya civilization. Everywhere there are

restored Maya city and ruins as tourist attractions. We visited a small site near

 by (see photos attached).This part of Mexico is still developing. They only have

 a short tourist season of a few months. The rest of the year is too hot and

 humid to be comfortable except for the locals. Thus you see poverty once you

get away from the tourist area. It is sort of like China a generation  ago.

The actual wedding takes place on a beautiful beach with the waves and sea in the background. It is very romantic out of a Hollywood movie (see pictures). I

cannot help but wonder if the Hainan island of China is going through the same

experience and will become the destination wedding place for Chinese couples..

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