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Published: December 30th 2007
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We touched down at Honolulu Airport at 7am on Sunday 30 September after a 6 hour flight from Fiji that departed at 11pm on the same day - talk about travelling back in time. After getting through immigration and customs, I took $500 out of the ATM but the machine only gave me $120 so this delayed us by a couple of hours. We eventually left the airport at 11.15am and took a shuttle bus to our hotel in Waikiki. On entering our hotel room, we were jumping with joy at how luxurious it was after staying in huge dorm accommodation in Fiji. After a quick walk around the local area and some lunch, we returned to the room for a few hours sleep. In the evening, our friend Steve arrived from London to join us for the next month. We walked around Waikiki and along the beach before going to dinner at Chilli's. The rest of the evening was spent in the room reading English newspapers. On Monday we went for breakfast before going to Waikiki beach for the afternoon. After a few hours on the beach, I went to buy two pairs of flip flops and then went on
the internet. That evening we went out to an Italian restaurant for some tasty pasta and then we went out drinking until 5am. On Tuesday, we hired a car and drove to the North Shore where we found a nice place to stay with a large balcony looking out to the ocean. Late afternoon, we went snorkeling in the bay outside our room and in the evening, we went to the supermarket then returned for dinner before sitting outside drinking with other guests. On Wednesday, we drove along the coast road to Kailua Beach where we went to Bob's Pizzeria for lunch before sitting on the beach sunbathing. Late afternoon, we drove home and spent the evening in our room watching TV and playing cards on the balcony with a few beers. On Thursday we went to the local beach for a few hours and then I returned to the room for lunch before going snorkeling. I spent the afternoon reading magazines on the balcony and the evening drinking beers with other guests in the common area outside. On Friday morning, we checked out and drove back to Waikiki where we checked into the same hotel and then went for
lunch before sunbathing on the beach all afternoon. After a couple of hours on the internet, we returned to our room and played cards for a couple of hours while drinking spirits. At 11pm, we went out to a couple of bars before spending most of the night in Senor Frog's. We eventually got home at 6am and then woke up at midday, just in time to check out. After breakfast at Denny's, we got a taxi to the airport for our flight to Hilo, Hawaii. We arrived in Hilo at 5pm and picked up our Chrysler convertible rental car and then we checked into our hotel. After a tasty dinner at Uncle Billy's, we spent the evening in our deluxe room watching our plasma TV. On Sunday, we checked out at midday and went to Pizza Hut for a buffet lunch. Then we drove to the volcanic national park where we spent all afternoon looking and learning about the different volcanos and how they have affected the surface of the land. We saw the largest active volcano in the world, a half mile crater, a lava tube and the Chain of Crater's Road that ends suddenly due to it
being covered by a lava flow. We left the Park at 6pm and drove to Kona where we found a hotel to check into. It was already late so we just stayed in our room and watched Die Hard 4 on pay per view. On Monday, I went for breakfast at an internet cafe and then walked around the small town which was buzzing with triathletes for the upcoming World Championship of the Ironman. In the afternoon, we drove to a nice beach where we spent the day sunbathing and in the water. That night, we went to Bubba Gump's for dinner and then went to a bar for a couple of beers. As it was quiet, we returned to our room to watch Hot Fuzz on pay per view. We woke up at 8am on Tuesday and sat near the pier watching the athletes in training (including a dog swimming with his owner). After breakfast at the internet cafe, we drove to a beach near the airport. Ian dropped us off on a lava covered beach road and then he went to the airport for a helicopter flight. Steve and I started the 2 mile walk down the bumpy
beach road but luckily 2 girls picked us up in their truck and they drove us to an 'off road' black sand beach where it was just the four of us. Meanwhile, Ian had a flat tyre and the spare was also flat so he had to wait for someone to replace the tyre. At 3pm, we got the girls to drive us back across the old lava flow to the beach road where we met Ian with the car. We then drove to the next town where we had a Starbuck's lunch and we called to extend the rental car for another day. After another hour or so of driving, we stopped in a small town where we found a small hotel to stay. After getting a take away calzone from the local Italian restaurant, we sat in our room and watched Requiem for a Dream on DVD. On Wednesday morning, we drove to Hilo where we went to Jack in the Box for lunch before checking into the same hotel we stayed previously. I then went to the airport for a scenic 50 minute flight over the active volcano and some waterfalls. The plane was tiny with just
enough room for the pilot and 3 passengers. The pilot gave commentary over the headphones in between communicating with air traffic control. It was well worth seeing the Big Island of Hawaii from the air and the highlight was flying over the active volcano with sulphur clouds rising from its centre and red hot molten lava streaming down its side. I walked back to the hotel and sat outside by the bay with Ian and Steve. After dropping the rental car back to the airport, we spent a couple of hours on the internet trying to find a hotel to stay in for LA the next day. At 9pm, we went to a local bar for dinner and a couple of beers. On Thursday, we got to the airport at 8am for our flight to Honolulu and then our onward flight to LA.
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