"Hawaii. The most sought after postal route of them all. Where the air is so dewy sweet, you don't even have to lick the stamps."
-- Newman in Seinfeld
Almost everyone you talk to while planning your trip to Hawaii is going to say things like 'Lucky you' and 'Wow!'. Even the Expedia representative went ga-ga and told us to have fun and take sunblock and all that. That is a good feeling to have while embarking on a trip - quite different from the reaction you might get when you announce that you are going to, say,
South Dakota:
'What exactly is out there?' or, more simply, 'Why?'
Hawaii is spelt Hawai'i and pronounced Hawa-ee by the locals. It is made up of 5 major islands. Irrespective of where you are headed, you will most probably land in Honolulu on the island of Oahu and then catch a connecting flight. Oahu is home to two magical words : Honolulu and Waikiki. We spent all our time on Oahu which seemed to me like a good idea. I would think you would need atleast 5 or 6 days before you should plan on more than one island or else it could end up being a rush from one place to the other - exactly what you don't want Hawaii to be.
Hotels and Ocean Views
The most sought after hotels are right off Waikiki Beach. In these, the best rooms are those that are
on higher floors and with an 'Ocean View'. That term : 'Ocean View' is open to interpretation. To paraphrase Dorothy Zbornak in the Golden Girls, hotels will readily claim that a room has an Ocean View even if you need lean out of the window until you are nearly falling out of the building and can just about sneak a peek at a sliver of water through the two buildings ahead of you. Moral : Call and make sure that your room does in fact have a 'full' or a 'frontal' view of the Ocean. Manage this, because the view is truly worthwhile. Plus, you can watch the sunset right from the balcony and
not have to jostle with crowds for a good spot on the beach.
The water and the sand
The water *is* as clear as the photographs in the travel brochures and the sand *is* as white. I am going to go ahead and admit that neither of us could swim but we bought a little float and floated/swam every morning for an hour or two. While this is an excellent way of starting the day, there are thousands of people who do just this all day. Dip, breakfast, swim, tan, lunch, tan, read, dinner and walk around at night. That is their entire agenda. And that is a great way to spend your time. But there are many other things to do in Hawaii. Snorkelling is especially popular at Hanauma Bay. Those who know how to swim will get much more out of a Hawaii trip. Tour and ride operators are on every street corner and your hotel operator should have tons of fliers as well.
Hikes and Rainforests
Hawaii is a good place for going Hiking. The closest place to Waikiki for a hike is a place called Diamond Head. The summit of Diamond Head offers a good lookout point towards Waikiki and the rest of Oahu. The southern rim of Oahu is a great beachfront but further inland, the terrain becomes mountainous and offers some good hikes. Try the Manoa Falls hike which is about a 3 mile trek through a tropical rainforest and ends in a small waterfall. The Pali overlook is another place to get some hiking done and get panaromic views of the island
Pearl Harbour
Pearl Harbour is east of Honolulu and Waikiki on H1. A boat takes people from the shore to the memorial itself which is built on the sunken battleship USS Arizona. This ship took a direct hit from a Japanese bomb. On the shore is a museum which I liked quite a bit. There was no ranting against the Japanese and several exhibits spoke of the bravery and the planning of the Japanese generals. Right next to the USS Arizona memorial is the battleship USS Missouri.
The rest of it
Honolulu is a bustling city. In fact many tourist guides would rather have you go to other less commercialised islands. Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and is so laid back that we got within a door of the Governor of Hawaii without ever being stopped or questioned. The Senate and the House were in recess at that time and I wouldn't blame them. Another 'tourist' spot is the Pacific Cemetery which is beautiful, if a bit serene.
Sunsets
Sunsets are big in Hawaii. For the first time in our lives we were racing around to get a good view of the sunset. You'd think that the sun sets only in Hawaii. The sunsets are a large communal affair and this adds to the its appeal. Palm trees and people silhouetted against a yellow-gold sky make for good photographs. Each day, after sunset there is an elaborate ceremony in which priests (or so they looked) blow conches and light lamps and this is followed by hula dance. This was a good way to end the day and also provided some of the most memorable moments of our trip : sitting on the grass and watching the slow rhythmic Hula.
After Dark
Waikiki by night does not let up one bit. All the tourists scattered around the island in the day converge here at night. There's an international market where haggling is an absolute must. Most of the shops are family-run outfits and sell leis, dresses, wax candles (very big there for some reason) and assorted tourist thingies. Most of the storekeepers seem to have colluded on what they will sell an item for so its pretty much impossible to hope to comparison shop successfully. Many of the larger hotels have live hula dancing and the atmosphere is very festive.
Random observations in Hawaii...
Unlike the rest of the US where 'Pine' or 'Oak' or 'Park' abound, street names here are largely local. The vast majority start with a K or a W. Examples : Kalakaua, Kapiolani, Kaimoku, Kapahula, Waimea, Wailaea. Then, some start with A. Ala Moana and Al'wai and such. One street was called even called Paki. Imagine trying to follow driving directions like 'Go on Kalakaua to join the freeway and exit on Kapiloani and make a right on Kalakaua. After a time I just gave up remembering what road we passed. There are two interstates in Oahu - H1 and H2. Interesting questions : Why do they need interstates in Hawaii? (Why doesn't the word 'synonym' have any synonyms?)
There is a general atmosphere of fun. How can you be gloomy on a road called the Likelike Highway
ABC Stores. There is a chain called ABC Stores whose outlets are ridiculously common in Waikiki. If the Justice Department ever saw this they would rapidly lose interest in Microsoft's monopoly and chase these folks instead. From any point in Waikiki you can see atleast 2 ABC stores. they sell everything - beach towels, film, curios, t-shirts , coke, bananas etc.
On the first hike we saw a big playground and there were 5 or 6 guys playing CRICKET. I have no clue what they were doing playing cricket in Hawaii.
In a park next to the Honolulu Zoo, there was a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
The nuber of older visitors in Hawaii is more than in any other place in the US I have seen.
Gas in Hawaii is even costlier than in California.
Vegetarian food is almost impossible to get. We read about an obscure place called Indian Cafe which promised Dosas. After 3 days of Burger Kings and Dennys we were ready to try anything Indian. It was in a very suspicious area but we persevered. The place itself was dark except for a small lamp and the light cast by the purplish-pink neon 'OPEN' sign in the window. Most of the clients were high and the owner himself was playing drums monotonously. One person was playing a Casio and yet another was strumming the Guitar. There were hippies who read out bad poetry. Very bad. It was like a scene out of a movie. Beyond this was the kitchen itself. Dosas were called 'Veggie Wraps'. Kesari was called 'puck-shaped sweet' and laddos were called 'energy balls'. You get the idea. When the owner saw us, he came across and was thrilled to find that we spoke Tamil. He spoke very fluent Tamil himself : an Indian from Malaysia he told us. He was a guitar player in a local band who had now started this. When he introduced us to a 6'5" Trinidadan who was also a frustrated poet with long matted hair, Geetha got nervous and we decided to do a take out.
How do you get to Hawaii
While there are cruises one can take, the most common option is to fly in. Google should find many travel operators.
Comments from others who've read this article
1. on Tuesday, 30-Oct-2007 nancy said:
wow!!!all these pictures is really-really wonderful!i just imagine my self standing in each picture and shout all my heart!!
2. on Tuesday, 30-Jan-2007 McGavern said:
Wow thanks you got some really nice pictures that you have taken and helpful information
3. on Thursday, 27-Jul-2006 Michael A. Saiz said:
They have INTERSTATES (H1, H2) because that is the only way that they can get FED $$ for their highways.
Just got back for Hawaii last Sunday (7/23/06).
