Aloha Hawai’i
With each round of Blue Moon our spirits started to lift. I stretched out in my restaurant chair facing the bar bemused by the random wall hangings and decorations that are all so common pf American sport bars. The gentle sea breeze from the bay behind us blew in behind us, Michelle looking on as a larger-than-life liner berthed at the pier along side, reloading on supplies and crew. We looked at each other with a sigh of relief – we were in a safe place. I placed down my now empty pint of Blue Moon on the table, no sooner had i done so, it was replaced with a fresh glass, complete with an orange slice. Does it get any better than this? I though to myself. No sooner had the thought entered my mind a second hooters girl appeared with a plate of hot chicken strips. God bless America.
This was our first day in Hawaii, having checked in to our hotel and briefly taken in the sights of Waikiki we ventured along the coast in the direction of downtown Honolulu to get our bearings and to see how far this tropical oasis of beaches, hotel bars and surf shops extended.
The walk from Waikiki to downtown Honolulu was 4.5 miles. Having thought there must be more to Waikiki than at first glance we set off exploring the main strip, discovering a variety of shopping outlets and popular restaurant chains along the way, including The Cheesecake Factory, made famous to us through the US sitcom Big Bang Theory. About 40 minutes into our walk the shops and restaurants started to thin out and eventually disappeared altogether, replaced with beaches and park areas. Being a Sunday the beach and nearby parks were both packed. It must have been nearing lunch time, everywhere we looked someone was cooking up something on their little portable webber – the smell of barbequed onions filled the air – it was like walking past a series of Bunnings stores on the weekend.
Eventually we ran out of beach and park land, and with the aroma of snags and onions well and truly behind us we found ourselves approaching on a light industrial area consisting of car dealerships. determined that the walk to Downtown Honolulu would be worth it, we pushed on. Slowly but surely the quality of the car dealerships began to drop, we passed the Aston martin and dodge dealerships, then Jeep and then some second hand dealers. The neighbourhood was starting to look forgotten and unmaintained, then we discovered why. Directly ahead along side the last of the dealerships were a series of tents, some retrofitted and expanded using what appeared to be garbage bags and rope. My jaw dropped and subconsciously pulled Michelle in closer while my mind attempted to rationalize how we ended up on the slums. After all, in my imagination, there was a boardwalk overlooking the harbor full of bars just 10 minutes ahead, how could a place like this possibly be in between? The fantasy of boardwalks and cocktail bars was shattered instantly by the view of a homeless individual revealing himself on the side walk some twenty meters ahead. Turning down a side street to avoid the local residents we continued on, giving tent city a wide berth making sure there was at least a four lane road between us and the nearest tent. Wondering if we’d ever make it to Downtown Honolulu and whether it would be worth the hike, we were both relieved to finally make it some ten minutes later to the harbor side of Honolulu where we discovered the familiar orange and white umbrellas of Hooters. Unfortunately, there was little else around. It seemed the tourist action was back in Waikiki which left me a little disheartened, I had expected long lengths of sandy beach bars (essentially Clarke Quay Singapore but along a beach)… I started to wonder, had I confused Hawaii with Miami, Florida? I guess tome will tell.
