Hawai’i Island
October 31, 2008
Part two of our trip! Hawai’i Island was fantastic. It was one of the most beautiful and relaxing places I’ve ever been to and was a nice change to the touristy areas of Waikiki. All the pictures are here.
Transportation
It’s pretty tough to get around without a car on the big island. I would strongly suggest renting a car straight out of the national rental places at the airport because it will make returns easier. You can also rent at smaller places in Kona or Hilo but they will charge more for a drop-off at a different location. A taxi from the airport to Kona cost about $25.
We made some frustrating calls from our hotel to the national car rentals because I have the license but no credit card and The Woman has the credit car but no license. They simply wouldn’t rent to us. We totally lucked out with Affordable Rent A Car, a small company in Kona. Ken, the guy who runs the place, was accommodating and set us up with a small Chevy Cavalier for a good price. Thanks Ken! He literally saved our trip. The car was a bit old but handled very much like the old Civic I used to drive.
Driving is very easy on the island as traffic is light. The one problem is that the highway is generally one-lane most of the time so if you’re stuck behind a slower driver – be patient. There are a few areas where rented cars are forbidden due to previous accidents. Examples, you cannot drive on Saddle Road ‘the main road leading up to Mauna Kea and the observatories, and the road down to South beach. Driving up Mauna Kea is pretty tough as well as the slope is pretty steep at times ’4x4s are recommended.
People
People are noticeably friendlier on this island than on Oahu. Everywhere you go, people say “aloha” and are more likely to smile. Service in stores and restaurants is also much better ‘I actually felt like I was wanted in their establishments compared to the icy cold reception on Oahu.
Since we couldn’t go up Mauna Kea by ourselves, we joined a Japanese tour group. Our tour guide, “Yama-chan”, was one of the most interesting Japanese people I’ve ever met. Having toured around performing Wadaiko, he decided to run across America. Yes, run ‘like Forrest Gump. He spent three years running across the continent. Then he lived in Kelowna for awhile doing Wadaiko again. He’s also lived in Shanghai and Hong Kong and has finally settled here on Hawai’i on a small patch of land he calls his own. I am very envious of his choices.
Mauna Kea
On our 6th day, we joined a Japanese tour to climb the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest peak in Hawaii. This is where Nasa and several countries and universities have observatories. Our tour guide Yama-chan (see above), came early in a big giant 4×4 van and we started the journey with about 10 other Japanese tourists. It’s quite a drive up the summit and we stopped a few times to acclimatize to the altitude and lower oxygen levels. At around 9000 feet I started feeling a bit dizzy ‘a very bad sign. Taking the risk though, I decided to just ignore it and breathe more deeply.
We made a stop around 5pm at the visitor center, altitude 9000ft and had a bento dinner and some hot drinks. The weather was not promising and the staff at the center said that visibility was “poor”. Considering they have clear skies 90% of the year, we were very very lucky! From what I gathered, the extra activity at Kilauea crater was causing the cloudy weather for the past few months.
Right before sunset we made our way up to the summit, altitude 14000ft. By this time I was fine with the oxygen and having a great time. Being a Canadian and therefore having a natural resistance to cold weather really helped considering I was wearing t-shirts. Eventually I caved and took one of the coats the tour guide provided.
After the cloudy sunset we made our way down to about 10-12000ft and stopped an open lot. The sky cleared up a bit for the tour guides to set up two telescopes and we had a private star gazing. Laser pointers are amazing in the night sky! I got to learn a lot of Japanese names for stars. I just wished they knew the English names because I actually know a lot about astronomy. Cassiopeia was very clear, as was the Southern Cross. Venus made intermittent appearances. Jupiter was our guiding “star” all night and we even saw one of its moons through the telescope. We saw about two shooting stars here.
On our way back home the other van in our group stopped along the highway. Yama-chan instantly knew what was happening ‘it had started raining near the end of our star show and the moon was fairly low on the horizon (because of the altitude). We saw our first moonbow ‘a rainbow formed by moonlight. It was very faint but you could see a white colored arc in the sky. If conditions were better, we were told you could see the different colors. What a great way to end the night.
Volcano National Park
On our 8th and final full day in Hawaii, we went to Volcano National Park. The drive to the park from Kona was a fun two and a half hour drive. The speed limit changes very often from 30-55 mph so be careful. I was warned by a waitress that sometimes police catch people on stretches where the speed changes. Along the way to Kona, we stopped at some beach with black sand and saw sea turtles basking in the sun. What a treat. We also stopped at a cove and saw some very high waves coming in .
The volcano park itself is quite huge. Crater Rim Drive, as the name implies, is a road that wraps around the main crater. Unfortunately, Kilauea was emitting a lot more gas than usual and about half of the road was closed.
We were still able to get to Jaggar Museum for a fairly close look at the vent, the Steam Vents to watch steam mysteriously come out of the ground, and Thurston Lava Tube where we walked through a tunnel carved out by lava. We then drove down the Chain of Craters and stopped at one crater, followed by a drive all the way down to the very end of the road.
In 1984, lava erupted and covered the eastern part of the park and destroying the road. Even now lava is still flowing into the ocean forming a huge steam cloud. We were unable to see the lava because the road stops a fair distance away and because it’s difficult to spot in daylight. We didn’t have time to stay until dark nor the piles of money to take a helicopter tour which looked really cool.
I would definitely come back to the park because there was a lot we didn’t get to see. There are also many good hiking trails but unfortunately The Woman is not exactly the best hiker. I will conquer you next time, volcano land!
Food & Shopping
Food was a bit better here than Waikiki because again, most places were small and bought more locally. Hawai’i produces a lot more of its own produce ‘the Farmer’s Market was awesome for fruit. I bought a big bag of longan for $1.50! We visited a few places in Kona and had some food dishes. Who could forget Kona coffee as well ‘even non-coffee drinkers like it.
My favorite place was probably the Kona Brewing Company. The Lava Man Red Ale was one of the smoothest drinks I’ve ever had. Their pizza was pretty good too.
Shopping in Kona was a great contrast to the brand name stores in Waikiki. Most stores in Kona were small boutiques that sold different things. We bought most of our souvenirs and gifts at a small shop near Kona Brewing Company for a lot cheaper than what we were planning to spend!
A bit away from Kona were the big giant shopping places like Wal-Mart, Borders, Office Max, and the Sports Authority that opened that very day we visited. Nothing too interesting here.
Relaxing & Weather
The volcanic activity from Kilauea crater left most of the eastern side of the island cloudy but Kona, on the western part, was almost always sunny. We relaxed on Hanupa Beach on our 7th day and did some shopping as well.
We saw the most beautiful sunset ever at Anaeho Beach and then parked in the empty parking lot at night and saw so many stars. I definitely miss stargazing. We saw way more stars here than we did on our cloudy tour to Mauna Kea. Jupiter was the most visible light again but Venus was also visible toward the horizon. It was warm enough to stay in t-shirts.
Bad
The one bad thing I have to say about Kona was the people trying to sell timeshares. There were many places that did this, offering big discounts on tours and gifts to anyone who signed up. I don’t know much about timeshares but it sounds like such a scam. Don’t be fooled by the discounts on signboards or people who say things like, “I can get you that helicopter tour for half price, you know.”
Good
The whole atmosphere on the island was just positive. I felt so relaxed and at home. People had the laid back approach to life and the natural sites were so enticing. I am definitely coming back here.
Oahu
October 25, 2008
Our much needed trip to Hawaii this time was a journey of contrast. Over the 8 day 10 night trip we went from one extreme to another. We visited Oahu island, our second visit after our wedding at Waikiki and then we explored Hawaii island to just do something new on this trip.
I can’t believe how much I wrote already about this trip. It was much too long for one update so I’ll split it up. First off, Oahu!
Oahu
We spent the first four days in Honolulu and in retrospect we probably should’ve explored other parts of Oahu island. The north shore has always been reported to be more beautiful and we were unable to visit Hanauma Bay on the eastern part of the island.
Our first day was just for relaxing and some light shopping because getting from Japan to Hawaii is more like time traveling without sleep. We left Saturday evening at around 10pm and we arrive Saturday morning at around 10am. Go figure that one out. I have a terrible time sleeping on airplanes so I essentially went two days without sleep. The sunny and warm weather helped keep my mind awake and the sheer excitement of traveling also helped as well.
Food
I really missed good old fashioned western food. The grease, the volume, the instant spike in calories ‘it’s all good. We visited this wicked place called the Rainbow Drive-In and had Hawaiian food at its best: fried meat on rice and macaroni salad. I barely finished my gravy drenched fried chicken. The Woman stood no chance with her mixed grill platter. Take out is a lot more accepted here than it is in Japan so I was munching on her leftovers later that night.
Although far away from Philadelphia, I had about three Philly cheesesteaks here. This is definitely one food item I would request for for my last meal.
We were disappointed with the Cheesecake Factory. I remember having a nice meal with friends here when I got married and the food was alright even though the waiter sucked ass. This time was even worse. We waited about 40 minutes and during our wait, a lot of smoke came pouring out of the kitchen after some guy opened the door. I heard people talking about the vents being busted. When we were finally seated we were told that the only food they could serve were soups, salads, and sandwiches. Couldn’t they have told the 80 people waiting outside this BEFORE they waited? Ass.
As a substitute, we went to PF Chang’s. It was my first time to one of these places. It was really good! Lemon Chicken and Mongolian Beef were soothing.
The Wedding
Dan and Aya’s wedding took place the next day and it was fantastic. The ceremony took place without any hitches and the reception was just awesome. We met Dan and Aya’s families and friends and everyone was really friendly and fun, an indication of Dan and Aya themselves. I couldn’t help but be reminded of my own wedding a little under three years ago.
They put in a lot of time and planning, much more than we had done for the reception. They had a live band and a hula girl that really pinned “Hawaii” on everything. They even had M&Ms with their names printed on! How awesome is that?
Shopping and Touristy Areas
We divided up the next two days on Oahu with shopping and enjoying the outdoors. The Ala Moana shopping center is the biggest mall in Hawaii and had the kind of stores one would expect. Being in Japan for so long, I truly enjoy each “real” shopping mall experience because malls in Japan are uncommon and quite different. My favorites: Borders and the food court. I really miss big giant bookstores and crappy, but varied fast food. I also went to The Game Shop to try to pick up a video game. The store was 90% console and I only managed to snag Age of Mythology, a game I’ve been wanting to try for awhile. Unfortunately the 30 minute wait in line really ruined the store for me. When there are more than a dozen people in line, the two store clerks should not be making general chit chat with people. It’s just idiotic. The Woman enjoyed clothing shopping and my bored face in clothing stores.
It wasn’t very busy this time of year in Oahu but there were still a lot of tourists. This time around, we noticed the gaudy and overdone tourist areas a lot more than our first visit. We just didn’t have enough time last time to notice I guess. But anyway, we got rather sick of the tourist areas. Also, service everywhere sucked a lot more too. I always expect places like Burger King to have crap service but even department stores now were losing any sort of customer service. People were rude, cold, and often ignored customers. Taxi drivers were the worst. Most didn’t speak English enough to be able to have a conversation. One guy was just rude when we made him wait a little while. The ONLY taxi driver that was nice was a guy from Chicago who had started driving a taxi three weeks earlier. He was a gentleman and gave us good advice on what to do on the Big Island.
While kind of on the topic of asses, we saw a fight break up between some poser guy who thought he was a gangster and some waiter, still in his uniform. Not sure what the gangster poser did but the waiter was quite steamed up and started pushing and shoving this guy around. He gave him a really good shove that sent the poser flying. The poser got up and started, well, posing ‘as if he were going to hit him back but the waiter was about twice his size and twice as pissed off. Anyway, seeing this kind of ruined the mood for us. It’s funny watching people who don’t know how to fight fight. The waiter guy did a headlock around poser guy and walked him off somewhere, presumably to the police station or to a back alley for more beats. If anyone head locks you and walks you by the side, they’ve exposed basically everything on their torso to you. A few good elbows to the ribs should break them and turn them into balloons with holes.
Chinatown
I wanted to visit the two martial arts stores here to buy stuff I can’t get in Japan or to get stuff cheaper. One store was gone. The other had a sign that said they moved next door, to the second floor. When we went to the new location, the door was locked. Thanks for nothing. And, why is it that Chinatowns always attract the dirtiest, nastiest sort of riff raff? We passed by this Korean café just as the door was opening and we heard a blood curdling, bone chilling scream from some man inside. Either he just lost a sports bet or he just got his fingers smashed in. Who knows. A lot of poser guys in really busted up clothes kept staring at us in a menacing sort of way.
I remember the shit service in one of the restaurants when I visited with my family here so we avoided eating here as well. The food wasn’t very good anyway.
Almost Hanauma Bay / Diamond Head Crater
We had originally planned to visit Hanauma Bay, a very beautiful coral preserve on our last full day in Oahu. As luck would have it, we planned this visit for Tuesday and they close on Tuesdays, of all days. We called up Dan and Aya and quickly rearranged a hike up to Diamond Head Crater instead. It turned out great ‘it’s a short hike up the side of a crater and gives a great view of Waikiki beach and the crater itself. It was a good break from the stores and touristy places.
Even the girls managed to get up the crater without difficulty. We bumped into two of Dan’s friends at the top and descended together. At the foot of the crater, I realized shaved ice can be godsend, especially after sweating enough to fill the crater.
Summary
All in all, Oahu was not as fun as it was the first time. We spent some time poolside at our hotel and didn’t even visit a beach here. It was just too touristy. I think we’re both done with Waikiki and Honolulu and would choose other destinations instead in the future.
Bad
People were just not very friendly and service was shit. Prices were practically on par with Japan for many items. There were too many tourist traps that sold nothing but crap. 5 t-shirts for $10? You know you’re buying crap. There was too much pretense on this island.
As I said, people are rude here.
Good
The beaches are very beautiful when there aren’t a billion people there. The hike up Diamond Head Crater is a nice stroll and quite relaxing. Food that clogs the arteries is sometimes great. The rare friendly person who helps you out or has a conversation with you really stands out and becomes memorable. That’s about it.
Turtles
October 21, 2008
What a treat! We saw some sea turtles basking on the black sands beach along the Kona coast. Hawaii, the Big Island, is amazing. It was such a wonderful place with friendly people and the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Much much more to come soon. We have a lot of unpacking and cleaning to do.
She was like… wow
October 14, 2008
Daniel and Aya had a hula show at the reception. Wicked food and a cute girl with undulating hips. You guys rock. She moved a lot during the show so most pictures came out blurry. This one was the clearest one sadly.
Canal By Night
October 13, 2008
The Return To Honolulu
October 12, 2008
AÂ 7-hour flight next to a sick man and in front of two devil spawn kids is no fun I tell you. Throw in The Incredible Hulk, a movie that emphasizes violent lashing out and you get one unhappy pappy. Thankfully they kept feeding us with food and snacks and drenching us with drinks. The flight didn’t end in utter violence as The Hulk seemed to indicate.
Honolulu is still so relaxing and beautiful compared to the concrete and seizure-inducing lights of Osaka. The woman bought shoes, two pairs in fact, after much much deliberation that only a wife can pull off. I enjoyed tunes on my Ipod and I think I ran through the entire playlist before the woman eventually decided. I also witnessed some mammals evolve into a higher lifeform while waiting for her to choose too.
Well, we’re at the hotel and I just popped online to check my very busy inbox: "You have 0 messages." Thanks a lot everyone who was supposed to email me. Thanks. Now, we shall hit the pool. Since I hate swimming due to a past-life drowning I must have had, I will try to catch up on some reading. On the booklist: Loose Ends by Don Easton, a friend’s dad. This “fiction” is very interesting when you hear bits and pieces of actual things that have occurred in Don’s life. I hate leaving it at that but I will.
No pictures. I didn’t even take out the camera yet.
We’re going to Hawaii!
October 11, 2008
We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii! We’re going to Hawaii!
In less than 24 hours. I’ll post from Oahu soon with pictures from Daniel’s wedding.
Fushimi-Inari Taisha
October 06, 2008
I’ve written about Fushimi-Inari before so I won’t repeat myself. This year’s annual visit to the coolest place in Japan has reaffirmed its position as my favorite place in Japan as well. I absolutely love the place and each visit has always left me feeling very refreshed and grounded with the world.
I’ve taken dozens of pictures here over the years but enjoy these new ones anyway.
I went alone as I almost usually do and it was as I remembered it from last year. I had some refreshments at one of the shops and spoke with the shopkeep a lot more fluently than I remember. Also I noticed a lot more cats roaming around and I have a feeling Thomas’ ghost was no more than a cat than ran across the path while he was trying to take a picture. I also remember having a lot more difficulty walking up the gentle slops before but the constant exercise and the tobacco abstinence seems to have paid off – I was almost hopping up the steps with ease.
Thanks again Fushimi-Inari, see you next year!
