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Hey all!
It's midnight on my last day of Hawaii, I have to be ready to leave in 6 hours to make my way over to Japan and whilst I'm sooooo excited about seeing Japan, I know I'll be leaving a part of my heart in Hawaii!
I've had an amazing time here; the culture, the people, the landscape, the weather and the other travellers I've met have reached beyond my expectations what good a time i'd have here.
It has been really easy to meet great travellers here (many of them british) and i think that definatley played a huge part in my enjoyment of the islands.
My first week in Waikiki on O'ahu was quite busy. I did a tour of the island and saw the sleeping turtles, the famous north shore beaches where all the huge waves are (although the sea is dead at this time of the year - i'd love to some back in the winter and see the waves), the pineapple plantations, the rainforest and some gorgeous empty beaches. Close to Waikiki beach is a crator with a peak on the top called Diamond Head. I have now been up this twice but it
Waikiki
The view from Diamond Head, a short hike to the top of a crator was definately worth it because the views are great and I had great company both times!
The snorkeling I did at Hanuama bay was really nice, you got amzingly close to some pretty awesome fish and turtles, but I have to admit I felt slightly uncomftable as the bay is packed full of people and no matter how hard they try to control it, the coral is taking a hefty beating from the feet of visitors.
As I mentioned before, I made a trip to the cinema and saw a show by Cirque Hawaii which was a lot of fun and impressive but i'm not sure if there was a storyline to it (I certainly couldn't seem to follow one!).
Having two weeks here I decided that I should see at least one more island. Hawaii is introducing a ferry service between the islands next year, so at the moment the only way to get between them is to fly. The airlines recently increased the cost of flights quite considerably so I decided that the best and cheapest island for me to visit was Maui. I choose this mainly because the hostel I would be staying at offers free daily
tours and it's the only other island with a relatively good public transport system - you can't get by without hiring a car on the other islands; an expense i was hoping to avoid!
Maui was beautiful, windy and much more layed back then Waikiki and Honolulu - it was much more like the north shore area of O'ahu yet it still has it's Malls and shops to cater for those taking cruises around the islands.
I took a couple of tours whilst in Maui and again meet some great people....my time is running out here and i have to get some sleep before my flight so I shall continue my Hawaii entry once I get to Tokyo!
continued....
I made friends with a couple of delightful young british chaps: Rory and Ross and after reutrning to O'ahu we got together again along with thier gorgeous room-mate Sam and hung out for the remaining time in Waikiki. I've also met some other great people (Alexa, Pete, Matt, Nadine.....) - i wish I had the time to talk about everyone i've met, but you'll have to wait until i'm home and can do the obligatory slideshow!
So over the last
Another beautiful sunset!
I could look at these sunsets every day and never get bored! few days we: hung out on the beach, went to the cinema and saw The Break Up and Typhoon, made lots of noise at the hostel, saw a movie on the beach at night and also some fireworks and we climbed Diamond Head (this was my second time but the whole event was so hilarious - the crator closes at 6pm and it was already 4pm and we decided the only way we could get there and back again in time was if we got a taxi - and it had to be a Limo taxi to be able to fit us all - once we got onto the street we realised how bloody hot it was and spent the next 10min debating over whether to go or not - it was taken as a sign when a Limo-taxi actually pulled up alongside us and we all managed to get up the hike in the scorching sun and in flip flops! go us!).
So, the last few days were a blast and I was very sorry to leave - i think there' some things that i've missed out, like I visited Pearl Harbour, but i'll have to fill you in
when I get back.
So, i've made it to Japan and after all my talk of organising myself before I got here i'm still leaving everything to the last minute AND i forgot I was crossing the international date line - which means I've lost day! It's strange going from 11 hours behind the UK to 9 hours ahead!
I managed to find the hostel...eventually! It's on the 18th floor of a building that I circled with my bags about 5 times! Tokyo is hhuuuuuuggggeee! It took me nearly 1 and a half hours to get to the hostel by train from the airport and i@m not in the centre yet!
Off to kyoto tomorrow!
gotta dash!
Carleen
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Susie
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Moose, Meese, Meeses!
Halloha! Arrgh, finally got round to reading what you've been up to - the NHS have banned me from visiting this site at work (must be your porn show on the net that they've caught onto.....) Obviously its not a site for the innocent! Looks like you're having a ferocious time - you're on the beach staring at turtles and fit men, whilst i'm either watching old ladies poo or being disgusted by ugly naked guy who lives opposite my bedroom window! Sniff. Enjoy japan - did you remember to take photos of essential things so that you can communicate? Like loo roll and chocolate (the only essentials of life!) Once agin, i have over used the exclamation mark - for all thjose people reading this who don't know who i am, they'll think i spend my entire life shouting, and looking bizarrely happy. Love from the Meese PS bring me back a priceless kimono, or failing that a toilet with a squirty thingummybob - (don't pretend you don't know what i mean....)