A common question a potential visitor may ask is, what should I see or do in Hawaii. Of course there are so many variables one must take into consideration when answering, such as, what are your interest, how long will you be here, what age range are you in, how physically active are you, etc. We even have or had free booklets in stands call 100 Things to Do in Hawaii. However, I'll try to give my opinion on the matter, though have to restrict myself to only 5. 1. Hit the Beaches. On arriving it's most likely you'll be quite [View Full Entry]

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However, not all beaches here are created equal. The crowded beach scene such as the one at Waikiki (see photo 1) may come to mind when people think of visiting Hawaii and may opt to go to the neighbor islands instead. Yes, Waikiki Beach, about a half mile in length, is packed in which your neighbor may only be a handshake away. There is lots of activity going on, hawkers touting catamaran, canoe rides or surt lessons, music and entertainment wafting from hotel seaside lounges, distracting bikini clad people, etc. If you perfer beaches where birds outnumber humans and you have [View Full Entry]

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Forgot to mention in my previous entry what "Kalua Pork" is. It originally was a whole pig gutted and buried in a pit of hot rocks and covered with banana leaves and earth for approximately 4 hours. The end result was succulant pork with a smoky flavor. A few years back however, the Board of Health prohibited the selling of commercial pork cooked in this manner. Now it's cooked in an oven and with the help of liquid smoke, it duplicates the flavor of the original quite well. "Poi" is a staple dish made from cooked taro which is mashed and [View Full Entry]

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As mention in an earlier entry, we have Restraunts of many ethnicities. However, if you're from a big city, it may not be such a big deal, nowadays. However, I guess we are the only city that can boast of Hawaiian restraunts. (L&L Hawaiian Barbeque don't count). If you are going to a commercial Luau you will get to sample the big 3 of Hawaiian cuisine of Kalua Pork, Lomi Salmon and Poi. Only if you're invited to an authenic Luau thrown by locals, you have a chance to sample Laulau, Opihi, Poki, raw crab, Pipikaula, etc. Opihi, a local delicacy [View Full Entry]

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I've heard Waikiki sometimes being described as Little Manhattan or Times Square. Whether this is meant as a compliment or a putdown, depends on the point of view of the person saying it. On the Oahu Message Board, I'll often read people advising "don't come to Waikiki, it like New York, go to Maui or Kauai instead". Others will say, "you must see Waikiki, it's full of electricity". Waikiki is like a city within a city (of Honolulu). It consists of an area about a mile long, and quarter mile wide of blocks and block of high rise hotels, shops, restraraunts, [View Full Entry]

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What I like about Honolulu is the mixture of old and new, East and West, mountains and ocean, etc. During the 70's there was a rush to demolish much of Downtown older bldgs. Fortunately they had the foresight to see they were demolishing much of our history so it was curtailed. We are the home of many different ethnic restraraunts so we don't get tired of eating the same foods all the time. Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Greek restraurants are in every neighborhood. Our city has mountain ranges in the north where one can go to obtain [View Full Entry]

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Here are scenes of Honolulu, City of High Rises, beaches, rain forest, ethnic neighborhood, Indigenious Art, etc. This is my first Blog entry. Wanted to post more photos, but somehow, it would not take. Anyone else with this problem? [View Full Entry]

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King Kamehameha Day was celebrated over the past weekend, with a Parade, crafts fair and entertainment in the park. Though a Highway that goes completely around the Island of Oahu is named after him, as well as a large prestigious school and a statue of him is erected in a prominent location downtown, I have to admit I know very little about him. We were really not taught much in schools in my days about his life, only that he united the Hawaiian Islands. Today however, I think Hawaiian history and subjects receive more exposure in schools. From what I’ve read [View Full Entry]

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This past weekend a festival called “The Great Hawaiian Folk Life Festival” was held on Sat. and Sun. at the Kapiolani Park in Waikiki. Also held was a Parade through Waikiki, which I was not able to attend, to honor Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, a popular Hawaiian Prince known as the People’s Prince, who instituted the Hawaiian Homestead Act which enables needy Native Hawaiian affordable housing up to this very day. A main beach in Waikiki is named after him, this past Monday was a State holiday to honor him, and a long highway known as the Kalanianaole Hwy. runs [View Full Entry]

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The Answer Is: The Byrds of Paradise, Lost, Baywatch Hawaii and North Shore. Question: Name a few shows that were filmed at North Shore on Oahu? Which is incidentally the topic of this Blog, covering about a 30 mile length from the historic and colorful town of Haleiwa in the west to Turtle Bay Resort in Kuilima to the east. In between are mostly residential homes and agricultural industries in communities of Kawailoa, Sunset Beach, Waimea, Pupukea, Waialee and Kawela. Of course, the North Shore is instantly associated with monstrous waves, at least to the Locals here and the surfi [View Full Entry]

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