Hawaii: Waimanalo (pt. 2/2)

Now that my new drive is fully operational, AND I got a freaking job (woot!), I'm going back and doing this second and final blog on Hawaii that I had wanted to have done Thursday. Jeez, is falling behind in blogs inevitable for me? haha


Sunday, the 10th of January, my family and I had finished our tour for the day and were in search of the base that would become our home for the next six days. The base was relatively small but included a gas station, a rec center, a beach, a mini-golf course, plenty of running trails, and of course the cabins where we would be staying. Our family had one cabin, and attached was the cabin that my dad's friends stayed in after arriving shortly after we did. The cabin itself wasn't the nicest in the world (we had to kill a few cockroaches during our stay) but it had the essentials: internet, TV, small kitchen, internet, separate bedrooms, a view of the water, and of course, internet. In fact, we were so close to the water that if we walked out the back and took 20 steps we would have fallen down the big rocks and landed in the water.

The first full day we were in Waimanalo, my dad's friends, a nice couple from Utah, took us around to some of their favorite hot spots. First though, according to news reports the waves that day were supposedly going to be as high as 40 feet, and everyone was warned to stay out of the water. So naturally, we were going to hit parts of the coast to see some waves. During our numerous stops the waves indeed seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, but I don't know if they were really 40 feet high. Some of them looked smaller than the waves we get sometimes in Bethany Beach, Delaware. lol On the other hand, we did come away with some cool videos which I implore you to check out on Facebook and YouTube.


We also went to the macadamia nut house, complete with pictures of Obama visiting at one point. More importantly, there were lots of Japanese tourists and I had fun doing my nonchalant eavesdropping and seeing if there's a way to jump into the conversation. The highlight of the day, though, was going on a hiking trail that took us through a really cool forest with lots of different plants and flowers, ending at the Waimea Falls waterfall. It was a very natural and serene swimming hole, which you could tell because the water was cold as anything despite being in the sun. lol We sat under the waterfall for a bit and swam around, but since the bottom was so deep and we had to tread water we got tired fairly quickly and walked back through the trail. Dinner was shrimp from a truck on the side of the road, which my dad's friends claimed they went to every year.

Tuesday morning we started the day with a nice, long two hour hike up a hill and back. It wasn't quite as bad as it sounds, the view was incredible, but it was getting hotter by the minute and so was our hunger, so we went into town for some lunch. My parents' friends recommended going to a place called Tubby's Bigger Burgers, and by God the name doesn't lie. We each ate one of the bigger (as opposed to big or biggest) burgers, in addition to fries and a milkshake, and we weren't hungry again for the rest of the trip. Wasn't cheap either for a fast-food-like-alike. The rest of the day was spent walking around a couple other places along the coast (we even saw some whales), and ended with a return to base and relaxation on the beach.


The next day we had wanted to start by going to a beach to do some snorkeling, but we found out the hard way that the parking lot fills up pretty quick. So in the meantime, we went into Waikiki city, which wasn't too far away, and visited the aquarium. Audio tours were included in the price of the ticket so I got the Japanese version again, and we had fun exploring both the inside and outside versions of the aquarium. We walked along Waikiki beach for a little bit, and then returned to our original destination: Hanauma Bay. The day was really nice, but the water was still kind of cold, and getting colder as the sun continued to set. Snorkeling offered an interesting opportunity to see some fish and coral, but unfortunately a lot of the coral had turned gray and was so close to the surface of the water that I came close to cutting myself a few times. Plus the water was a little misty and I couldn't see many fish, so I much preferred my experience in the Philippines.

Our final full day primarily consisted of us finally going to a Luau, which is sort of like a traditional Hawaiian festival and banquet. The place we went to, the Polynesian Cultural Center, was really big and really nice, dedicating specific areas to each of the Polynesian countries and performing shows that incorporated them all. We spent a lot of time walking around and getting acquainted with the culture before the Luau itself started, which is the actual epic feast. They had a ceremony for the main course, the kalua pig, and then the dinner began. The pig was basically pulled pork and was delicious of course, and they had other good foods as well. Our experience for the night ended with a show called "HA! Breath of Life" where people danced out a story of a man's life in an ancient tribe.


Friday, the 15th, was our last day in Hawaii, and since my family loves hiking so much they couldn't resist to finish off the trip with one more that morning. The view was awesome once again, and the whales were clearer than ever. We returned again to pack up our stuff, and also to play a little mini-golf before heading out. Our plane left that night so we had time to drive to a few more key places, but I was honestly ready to leave. I did miss Jasmin a lot, after all.

Pictures on Facebook
Pictures on Photobucket
Videos on YouTube

Hawaii: Waikiki (pt. 1/2)

Well, after being on hiatus for a LOOONG time, I think I'm going to jump right in by starting with the Hawaii trip I took in mid-January. My favorite blogs to write are of my travels (if you haven't noticed already!), so I can't miss this opportunity for documentation. Soon after I returned to the continental U.S. I uploaded my pictures and videos on Facebook, Photobucket, and YouTube, and as per usual I'll be linking to them at the bottom of my post. If you're following me on Twitter and I mention going on a trip, your best bet is to check those places until I get around to blogging here.

And speaking of blogging in general, I decided to go ahead and create a new blog on this account for Japanese: 日本語ッポイ (Romaji: nihongo-ppoi, English: Japanese-ish). It's still under heavy construction, though, so don't expect much. I technically have a website (click) I was using for Japanese blogs already, not to mention mixi and Lang-8, but none offered the kind of optimization that Blogger gets me really excited about. So since I had started before, I went ahead and copied my six existing posts in an attempt to have something to start with and to motivate me to keep going. I'm also going to try to work around a schedule of getting out posts every Tuesday and Thursday, whether that be for my English or Japanese blog, or both. Yay!


From the 7th to the 15th of January I took a trip to Hawaii with my parents and brother and some family friends, staying in a hotel on the beautiful Waikiki beach, in addition to a cabin on base in Waimanalo. Both locations were on the main island of Oahu, the island with the Honolulu airport, where we came through after a good half a day of traveling. Our day started so early that we arrived at the airport before 6, but despite how early it was I resisted the temptation to stay awake overnight. Turns out I am really bad at sleeping on planes, so that's a good thing. lol

Once in Honolulu, we got our rental car and drove into Waikiki, during which I was reminded of some Bennie K songs ("Waikiki, why are you so sweet...". haha Our hotel, the Hale Koa, was nice despite the small room size, but the best part was the view from the balcony of not only the beach, but the mountains and the rest of the city as well. It was hard not to notice the Hawaiian touches that you can't find in a lot of other places, like open entrances void of windows or doors and numerous outside eateries. We had dinner at one such place, and naturally I made sure to order Hawaiian pizza as a first meal. The relaxing evening was concluded with a walk on the beach as the sun set, and I continued to explore once my family went to bed. I actually felt reminded a lot of Guam while there, in the scenery as well as general feel. Of course, Hawaii has got nothing on Guam when it comes to having a Jasmin. I missed her!


The next morning we watched the sun rise with another walk on the beach, as I showed my family some places I had found the night before, like the koi ponds behind the Hilton next door. It was also hard not to notice the sheer number of Japanese tourists, which would be a great opportunity to practice the language! The first chance would come when we went to hike the Diamond Head volcano; I asked some Japanese people to take our picture, and afterward offered to take a picture for them. :D At one point when we were coming back down after reaching the peak, I told a lady in Japanese, "You're almost there! Good luck." After telling my parents what I had said, my mom repeated what she thought she heard: "You said, 'Hello, my little friend' to her?" XD

Full day #2 was our obligatory trolley tour around the island, taking us from the beach, through the city and some museums, and into China Town. We spent some time in China Town with botanical gardens and shrines, one of which was a rather authentic-looking Japanese shrine. I got to show my parents and brother the proper way of behaving at shrines, and it felt like I was practicing for when we all go to Japan together one day. When we finally got back for the day, we relaxed in the pool and took a nap. Not at the same time, mind you, but I wouldn't have minded that either.


Our last day in Waikiki was packed with Pearl Harbor, exploring, finding our way to Waimanalo, and meeting up with the family friends I mentioned earlier. Pearl Harbor was (maybe not surprisingly) the first location where we were not greatly outnumbered by Japanese tourists. Despite this discovery, when I went to purchase an audio tour I made sure to ask for the Japanese version, and this led to an interesting conversation with the Japanese guide as to why I didn't want the English tape. lol I do highly recommend the Pearl Harbor tour. The USS Arizona Memorial is actually completely free to take a boat ride to the remains of the ship, one that was almost entirely destroyed during the attack. The only thing you pay for is an optional audio tour (which I did), or tours on other boats which we didn't do. Oh yeah, and two days later Hillary Clinton arrived to visit the memorial as well, when it was supposedly going to be down for "maintenance."

For lunch we went to a nice Japanese restaurant with rather authentic food in my opinion, after which my dad said, "Now we can cross that off the list." :[ Guess he's not as big a fan of the food (& cost?) as I am. >_< To conclude the Japan theme for the day, we drove into a cemetery, took the road all the way to the back, and semi-hidden among the trees was a straight-up authentic Japanese temple. Not just any temple either, it was a replica of a Kyoto temple called Byodo-In, though not one that I had personally been do. It was another great experience for the day, being surrounded by beautiful natural scenery and simple Buddhist architecture. Made me miss Japan. *sigh* So that's part one of Hawaii. Coming up is part two, which includes my stay in Waimanalo with the family friends I mentioned before. Check it out.

Pictures on Facebook
Pictures on Photobucket
Videos on YouTube

P.S. Sorry about the lack of graphics in this post. My hard drive died recently and I've been trying to get things up and running again. Long story short, until I get a permanent replacement I'm not going to be putting my pictures onto my temporary drive.