Maholo Hawai’i
I am on a United Airline flight to LAX as I write this. There doesn’t seem to be all that much else to do. The inflight service is a charged service, this includes food and tv. Interestingly though, this flight has access to live digital TV from the mainland.
I did enjoy my time in Hawaii, but if I am honest, I did leave somewhat disappointed – having been fortunate enough to live on the west coast of Australia we were already accustomed (and completely take for granted) to two of Hawaii’s biggest draw cards; white sandy beaches and sunsets over water… and you know what? Australia does it better.
What I did appreciate though was the consistent
warm sun and tropical beach weather – it was enjoyable all day long, never too hot or too sunny.
If all you want in a holiday is to relax with a good book and work on your tan, beaching by day and dining by night, Waikiki is perfect. For those whom prefer to keep busy, I would strongly recommend hiring a car and exploring the island. The island may not be very big but the scenery and alternative beach options are incredible. For me, the day we hired the Jeep and set out on our own made the Hawaiian trip.
Hawaii would make for a good stop for the inexperienced traveler or for someone traveling alone or venturing out abroad for the first time. Waikiki services tourists very well, particularly with the chains of ABC stores practically every 500 meters from one another, These stores selling everything from alcohol to nic-nacs, breakfast items and clothing -even sim cards (though we got a better rate through AT&T for a one month SIM with 4gb data)
If shopping is your thing Ala Moana shopping complex just up the road from central Waikiki is well worth the look, boasting a large range of shops from boutique to retail and tech shops including the Apple Store and the Microsoft Store (positioned opposite each other) – it will take you a good half a day to explore.
The food in Hawaii is exceptional, and we did find a few stand out favs, two in particular. The franchise ‘Eggs n Things’ has a very breakfast menu, consisting of poached eggs, pancakes and a variety of things in between. Feeling adventurous and somewhat inspired by Man vs Food, I opted for the Banana Pancake stack. It was heavenly! The serving size was very generous, 5 fluffy buttermilk pancakes infused with banana, topped off with more sliced banana and a very big helping of whipped cream, finished with a sprinkle of macadamia nuts. Unfortunately, i finished all but two butter pancakes, as the great man says ‘Food Won!’
The other note worthy restaurant to mention is a small Mexican place, La Cucaracha – Mexican bar and grill, hidden down one of the side streets in Waikiki. The decor reminded me of Panchos in Perth, very colourful, lots of various Mexican props and bits n bobs. The food was out of this world, again, very generous serving portions, but what I loved most was I had complete control of the hotness that went into it, where by special request the waitress left me with 3 bottles of varying strength chilli sauce – the hottest of these being the ghost chilly. Having learned my lesson with Ghost Chilli from a previous dinner with friends Aaron and Justine (whom which Aaron introduced me to the ghost) I selected the ghost chilli and handled it like a pro – using very small drops rather than pouring it out like my first time.
The Duke Canoe bar in Waikiki was also a great spot to hang out any time of day, with bar side beach access (though unfortunately no bar service on beach) it was a great place to have a drink, swim or just to people watch.
Tour-wise, I would strongly recommend the Pearl Harbour tour, it was an incredible experience, made all the more special by being able to visit the resting place of the USS Arizona which was ariel bombed by the Japanese during the events of Pearl Harbour/World War II. Most of the battleship is submerged in the shallow bay, with just a few rusted sections peeking above the surface of the oil slicked water. The Arizona, although undisturbed, very slowly leaking oil. The smell of oil made the experience all the more moving and real.
There is a lot to do at Pearl Harbour, in addition to the Arizona and taking in the views of the bay, there is also an old diesel U-boat, a museum commemorating the events of Pearl Harbour and a few battleships still in service will occasionally move about in the bay.
Another tour i would recommend is the Volcano tour, that takes you to the main island to visit a live volcano. BUT….. unlike the popular tours, I would strongly recommend you do it alone and stay on the main island for three days at least. For unless there is a volcanic event (last one was in 1982) you wont see much more than some smoke venting from the ground on the tour, which would leave you, as it did us and everyone on the tour quite disappointed, as it was a whole day, and rather expensive too.
So why do it alone, and why take a few days? If it were me, I’d spend my days driving around the island – who knows you might come across a rogue raptor! At sun down, head into the national park straight to the volcano lookout and with a big of luck you will at the very least see the red glow of lava around the rim of the mouth – which is more than you can see during the day.