Soft and fluffy and oh so comfortable

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Today we ventured forth to buy new pillows and there shall be serene and peaceful sleep tonight. One of the down sides to staying in budget accommodation can be the lack of quality bedding and in most cases this manifests itself in the way of pillows which are thin and worn and light and yuck or a saggy mattress.


Ours issue luckily is pillows so we decided a trip to Walmart was in order to buy the cheapest quality pillows, worth it for the next 10 days if it meant a nicer sleep. We budgeted on around $5 per pillow, the price of a coffee. This morning we made the pancake breakfast which is a free offering put on by the Polynesian Hostel each morning, unlimited, freshly cooked right there and then. A great ruse to move people of the the rooms early, but a nice gesture for gathering everyone together. free tea and coffee are also on offer all day.

The kitchen area is the underneath of the four stories, really car parking, but there is a TV, great gas stove and oven, 2 huge fridges jam packed with people's food and a couple of cupboards for kitchen equipment.

The Bus in Honolulu takes you anywhere for a one journey price of $2-50, easy to use, throw your change into the dispenser on board and all destinations are announced and also on a electronic display board. Kuhio Ave is one of the main roads with many buses going back and forth, so we took the #13 on this avenue to Ale Moana shopping centre, the biggest one in Hawaii. Short 15 minute trip, just past the Fort De Russy recreation area and the Hawaiian Convention centre. We could have taken the 19, 20, or 8 or 43 as well, as Ale Moana is also a major bus interchange.

Ale Moana has the department stores of Nordstrom, Macy's & Niemen Marcus at 3 of the ends of a centre arranged like the points of a compass with four levels of shops and food places including a central area.
The parking is on all levels and buses and taxis come and go from the base level. The centre is all outdoors with the shops running off the walkways. It has the high end shops such as Rolex down to the budget levels of Old Navy. We were delighted to find a Bubba Gump Shrimp shop and restaurant on the fourth floor with all things Forest Gump for sale, we honestly thought this was a thing only for the movie. A Chocolate shop was a must visit, we wandered in and out of places, watched the midday luau on centre stage, ate $20- worth of gelato and generally had a great time.

We found this amazing Japanese food court, 40 plus different places to buy fresh prepared food, beautifully packaged and neatly arranged in little trays.

Walmart was very nearby this centre and our target for pillows, pillow cases and a board game. Past experience of Walmart has been in China so we knew it was like Big W and Woolies and would sell everything. The trolleys there are very funky with a electronic aspect which prevents you wheeling it past a certain poinot once you get outside. It comes to a complete halt! Much to the bemusement of the locals watching us trying to figure out why we thought it was not working. Apparently it is there obviously to prevent theft but also to stop the homeless using them to store their possessions.

There is huge homeless problem in this state, evidence is there in all the parks of people sleeping rough, people wandering the streets, not too many beggars, but lots of people looking through bins and scavenging. Coke dispensing machines give out 330mls of any soft drink for 50c. Any wonder that there is a major obesity problem in the USA.

We eventually found our way to the #8 bus after unsuccessfully trying to take the very crowded #13. Scenes reminiscent of China with pushing in line, not as vigorous but still certainly not queuing as we know it.

Lulu's happy hour with $3 beer and gin and tonics called in this great little bar on the corner overlooking the beach, Waikiki sunset, plate of nachos and a free drink for a mishap by a poor wait staff with some ketchup which landed all over me! Live reggae feel band played from 6pm. And to end the day we gathered in the kitchen/lounge area of the hostel, with our new board game Sorry and a game of cards, with an ABC takeout salad and some more drinks!

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