aloha!

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So apparently that isn't just tourist crap, I was meandering down the street before (alright alright I admit it, I was lost and had no idea where the hostel was), and a nice old man turned to me and said Aloha. It's pretty hard to pick up, unlike in Japan where you automatically bow to people after about two minutes.

That being said, there's a lot of Japanese tourists here (just like home)… all the signs are written in English and Japanese (I possibly thought that it was a local language which used characters instead of letters, then I looked at it a wee bit closer). I don't know if its because of the cultural significance of Pearl Harbour (it was the 65th anniversary yesterday), or if its just because the Japanese are lucky and seem to spend all their time holidaying. This weekend is also the Honolulu marathon, which the guy at the front desk tried convincing me to get up at 4.30 to go watch … "like, the Starbucks on the corner is opening at 3 and everything!"… that being said, its 7pm now and I feel like I'm about to crash, so I may well be up at 4.30.

I spent the morning walking around Waikiki - to tell you the truth I wasn't too impressed. The beach is small, crowded, and has brownish sand… the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast would both beat it anyday… So I jumped on a bus, wearing my new fisherman's pants and trusty sandals, and decided to walk up Diamond Head Crater…. Warning - do NOT walk up diamond head crater in sandals. Cheap, non-supportive ones at that. The walk was hard, but once you get to the top the view is amazing, looking out over the ocean, Honolulu and the mountains.. I would love to go and see the North Beach, and drive around Oahu, but alas, I must travel further in the morning.

When I got back to the hostel (after getting lost and meandering my way through back streets), I grabbed some din-dins and my book and went and sat on the beach and waited for the sun to set.

Hawaii, and Waikiki in particular, have completely redeemed themselves in my eyes. It was the most marvelous sunset I have ever seen in my life. It was so peaceful, sitting there on the beach after all of the crowds had gone, to watch the most beautiful colours. You can watch the sunset right until the moment when the sun disappears on the horizon. It is a sight for sore eyes...


Anyway, I'm going to go and chill out in the lounge for an hour before going to bed. Its a pretty cool hostel although the beds are a bit dodgy (there's no ladder to get to my top bunk bed, I don't know how I'm expected to haul myself up there tonight...). The "lounge" is a kind of outdoor cinema area with massive plasma screens and couches and tables and chairs.... There is also free wireless internet which is awesome because A) I have my laptop with me and B) it costs $6 an hour if you’re using their computers… they must make a mint out of it.

Oh. And when I was sitting out in the lounge before, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a guy washing his ute. Then I remembered that Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, and there's no drought here.


San Francisco and Lucie and Dave tomorrow!!


And one final note... there is no excuse for wearing dodgy Hawai'ian shirts. Including being in Hawai'i.

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Photos

sunset in waikiki
the most beautiful sunset i have ever seen

waikiki
the beach at sunset

aloha state
the coolest licence plate ive ever seen in my life

Comments

[Ingrid]

cool to hear from u! keep it up! love u! stay safe and have a good trip my sister! love u, miss u xoxox

[Catherine]

Your other sister here ;) Yay!! That's so cool... I have also forwarded it to Dad as he will check his email during the week (Mum won't until next Monday probably) - definitely keep your blog updated, it's great already - I can't wait to see what you think of San Francisco nine years later...! xoxo

[Ally]

Need more blog entries. Now. Ok. Thnx. xoxo