Hawaii Five-0

First stop on our pre- Canada trip was Hawaii. Having just come back from a cruise to several South Pacific Islands, Hawaii wasn’t really on our must do list however after some investigation we found it was cheaper for us to fly one way there and then to the mainland than it was to go straight to LAX so that’s how the island of Oahu came into the plan. How do I describe Honolulu..... My first impression of course was of the international airport. To be honest, it was a very old and tired and I hoped that the city would look different – unfortunately it didn’t. Yes in my humble opinion Honolulu was a bit of a shit-hole. It’s busy, loud and ugly. Granted we weren’t staying in a 5 star hotel or the best part of town but everywhere just seemed full of homeless (who were rude and obnoxious!) and Asian's. I’m no racist but it just felt like there was more Japanese culture in the place than Hawaiian/Polynesian culture.

We spent our first day wandering around town looking for a supermarket and a McDonalds! I might mention here that I eat a lot of fast food, especially on holiday. I am a very picky eater and don’t like to chance spending a shit load of cash on something I may not like so I mostly stick to what I know, which is Maccas, KFC & Subway. Many would say that i’m not getting the full cultural experience by limiting my intake of local cuisine, but i’m just not brave with food and I hate paying ridiculous prices and tipping – I am a cheapskate sad but true. The food prices had gone up since our last visit to the States but were still SO much cheaper than home.



Honolulu doesn't look too bad... but listen and you will hear the soothing sounds of yelling, construction and police sirens

We woke up the next day and headed for Pearl Harbour. It took about an hour on the bus each way as we opted not to do a tour but it was an easy ride out of town. Pearl Harbour was lovely. If there is one thing the yanks do right it’s their National Parks and Monuments. We did an audio tour through the displays before heading over to the Arizona Memorial. It was so humbling to stand on the monument above the wreck where over 1000 men still lie entombed. The day we went was September 11^th so there was a huge crowd and they were raising an American flag for each victim of that tragedy. I found it so interesting that the ship still leaks oil after all of these years, they can’t try to stop this either as it would compromise the wreck. They say it’s the black tears of the victims floating to the top, so sad.




What a solemn place the Arizona Memorial was



American Pride - the yanks fly their flag proudly



The long list of those who died at the hands of the Japanese on December 7th 1941

The next day we were so happy to be getting out of Honolulu on a circle island tour. We first drove past Diamond Head before making brief stops at Hanauma Bay which was busy but beautiful, Pali which had fantastic views, the Dole Plantation which was an absolute waste of time; just a huge gift shop with a cafeteria but their pineapple soft serve was bloody amazing, then up to the North Shore where we were lucky to see sea turtles on the beach and the world famous pipeline. Our final stop was the Mormon run Polynesian Cultural centre which was lame at best. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone it’s just a theme park run by a bunch of university students mimicking cultural behaviours throughout the pacific islands. We also did a luau here which although was fun, wasn’t all that I expected.



Beautiful Pali lookout, things are so green in this area



The ONLY good thing about the Dole Plantation - BOMB PINEAPPLE ICECREAM!



Sea Turtle taking some sun on the North Shore beach

I'm having a good time... Not. "Enjoying" the Polynesian Cultural Centre

Having come all this way and not yet seeing the famous Waikiki Beach the next day we decided maybe we should check out what everyone was raving about. You could hardly call it a beach. There was hardly any sand and the stuff that was there had a greyish colour and felt squishy beneath your toes like years worth of sunscreen and tanning lotion had sank into it (apparently they bring in the sand from other countries as Waikiki doesn’t have it’s own!). There were hardly any waves and it was near impossible to find a spot on the sand or in the water. We only stayed for about half an hour before deciding the pool at our hotel was a better way to spend the day. We just didn’t see what all the fuss was about - what a shame. I guess when you come from Australia which has some of the world’s most beautiful beaches (and i’m NOT talking about Bondi) it’s hard to be impressed by they’re offering in Waikiki.



Waikiki "Beach" wasn't anything compared to the beaches at home

I’m guessing Honolulu is the main tourist hub of all the Hawaiian islands which is probably why it is aimed at catering for their biggest market, but it was cheap, and when you're on an extended holiday with no knowledge of when or how it will end unfortunately money talks. Needless to say we are glad to get on the plane and fly out to the mainland.