Hawaii

---

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%!;(MISSING) mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
I landed at 2:30pm, the hottest part of the day, after a long flight from San Francisco. As you could imagine I was a little grumpy. The first thing you experience is the wave of humidity that hits you in the face as you step of the plane. The smell of the jungle island soon follows and you know you're in the tropics. Stepping off the plane and into the airport you can instantly see that the airport hasn’t changed much in him last 40 years. The majority of it is an open air airport so the sounds and smells of the island are everywhere.



After a really long walk I finally collected my bag and had to wait around for 30 minutes to get picked up by my hotel transfer! I was so angry with the company, that when they did show up I was tempted to yell at them but decided it would be easier to just get on board and go to my hotel. I was hot, sweaty and tired after a long flight and was in no mood to be messed with.



That anger evaporated quickly as I was treated to one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen. Oahu is split into two major areas, the beach and the mountains. Each is equally beautiful and the Diamondhead Mountains was no exception. A lush green mountain was thrust up from the ground and in the back of my mind I had to remind myself that it was an extinct volcano!



The architecture of the city was very dated; almost everything in the city was, or at least looked, 40+ years old. The driver was an extremely happy man, bordering on annoying in that case, but was very knowledgeable and pointed out a huge number of interesting facts as we drove through Honolulu city and into Waikiki Beach. Waikiki is a tourist mecca with an obscene number of hotels, restaurants and bars everywhere. The most amusing thing was the huge number of ABC stores - there was literally one on every corner! These are convenience stores which carry everything from toothpaste to T-shirts and all the food you would need to live.



When we got to the hotel my room wasn’t quite ready yet, so I walked down 2 blocks to the nearest ABC store and bought a pair of board shorts and thongs and some food and drinks to keep me going for the next few days. The crashing sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean and the laughter of people on holiday slowly started to ease my bad mood. When I finally managed to check into my hotel and took a well-deserved shower, my bad mood was gone and I stood on my balcony and took in the breathtaking view of the Diamondback Mountain. After settling in and getting changed I went out to go exploring the beachfront.



It was an incredibly beautiful place; the council certainly paid a lot to keep it looking at its best. The streets are lined with different stores selling everything from clothes to souvenirs to shaved ice to ukuleles. The funny thing about the streets is that there is sand everywhere - not just near the beach - in all the stores and restaurants there is a little bit of sand. You just can’t avoid it - but when the beach is as big and as close as it is it's not all that surprising. After a few hours of exploring I had discovered a number of things:



1) Ukuleles are everywhere and make excellent gifts

2) There are a lot of beautiful things to look at and take pictures of in Waikiki

3) The shops are very impressive

4) The humidity sucks when you're walking around

And lastly

5) There are two sections to Waikiki beach - the place where old people and families hang out and the place where the young hot people hang out... you can guess where I stopped to have a few drinks at a beachside bar 😉



It was getting late by this point in time so I wandered down to a restaurant which had an excellent buffet for $25, had a beautiful steak and vegetable dinner (with an excellent strawberry mousse to finish it off) and went to the rooftop bar to watch the beautiful sunset with a cocktail in my hand.



With that I was completely at ease, no longer grumpy about the long flight, no longer worried about the humidity (it disappears after the sun goes down), and took a nice leisurely stroll down to my hotel room when I watched a bit of TV before hitting the bed looking forward to going to Pearl Harbor the next day.

---