OAHU Hawaii USA 2009

OAHU, Hawaii, USA: September 7 - September 19, 2009

A few pictures are sprinkled throughout this travelogue, but click here for the full picture gallery for this trip!

Introduction

I was involved in a work project that sent me to Hawaii for a big demonstration event for two full weeks in late summer 2009 (tough life, I know). Although the trip was mostly work-related, and I didn't get to do that much sightseeing, I did get almost two weekends to relax and do some Hawaii-oriented stuff. This travelogue focuses on the sightseeing parts. It was my first time in Hawaii, but hopefully won't be the last! The event was on Oahu, so that's the only island I visited on this trip. It is the island that the capital of the state (Honolulu)is on, so it is a little more developed than I've read some of the others are. There is still plenty of lush tropical wildlife, though, and the middle of the island is basically just mountains and forest.

Day 1 – Monday 09/07

I had to fly out on Labor Day for the trip, since the event was scheduled to start the day after. I got up for a very early flight out of Philadelphia (8:22am) and took a taxi to the airport; on the way, the driver spent a good deal of time telling me about the health risks associated with his profession, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, due to taxi drivers' high-stress lifestyle and bad food. Have you hugged a taxi driver today? Unfortunately, there was no direct flight from Philadelphia to Honolulu, so we had to pass through Denver. We arrived early in Denver, which would normally be nice, but there weren't any gates ready for us so we waited for about 30 minutes on the tarmac to get a gate. The Denver-Honolulu leg was a seven-hour flight, leaving around noon. Here is one of the more annoying parts about the airline frills cutbacks: a flight from the continental US to Hawaii counts as "within the US" so you don't get any food on board except for purchase (whereas for flights to Europe of equal length you usually still get free meals), and the super annoying part was they played the same movies on the Denver-Honolulu leg as they had on the Philadelphia-Honolulu leg (and not enough movies to fill the entire flight time, either). All in all, it added up to an extremely long, boring flight, which I suppose you're supposed to get through only by thinking about the fact that you will soon be in beautiful, sunny, tropical Hawaii.

At the hotel, I actually unpacked all of my clothes and put them in the drawers. I do not usually do this, but the idea of living out of a suitcase for two weeks wasn't very appealing. It did go a long way to making me feel settled and at home to have my things unpacked! On the right is a view from my hotel window, in downtown Honolulu, out toward the other hotels at Waikiki beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The first evening, my coworker and I ate at a reasonably nice place called the Chart House, down by the ocean. There were a lot of seafood restaurants in Hawaii, not too surprisingly, and since I was on a work trip, it is more difficult to get people to go to vegetarian or ethnic restaurants, so I ate a lot more fish than usual. That night I turned in early due to being exhausted from the traveling, and the time change (6 hours earlier in Hawaii than in Philadelphia), and having to get up early for the next day of work.

Day 2 through 5 – Tuesday 09/08 through Friday 09/11

Every morning for work I got up at the crack of dawn; some days we left at 6am and some days at 7am, depending on how much work we thought we had to do before everyone else got there for the demo event that day. We had stayed in Honolulu to be more centrally located to things to do and restaurants etc, but it was about an hour drive to the event location. On the days we left at 6am I didn't even get breakfast because the only nearby quick breakfast place was Starbucks and it didn't open till 6am :-( All in all, it was a demanding week: early mornings, long drives, very full and long days, and quick dinners at night. We even ate at Jack in the Box one night because we were just too exhausted to find anything else. The meal highlight of the week was eating at a place called Roy's, which served Hawaiian fusion cuisine and where I had the most to-die-for seared scallops with pears and mini blinis with creme fraiche. (As a side note, I was so excited to find that Roy's has a few select locations around the world, one of them being in Philadelphia! The original Hawaii location had the most delicious food, I think, but the Philadelphia one was also extremely good. Unfortunately, it closed in July of 2010. Now the closest one to me is in Baltimore.)

Another highlight was walking along the beach on Friday evening after dinner, enjoying the sunset and how it played off the gleaming hotels and water all around. On the left is a view of a reflecting pool adjacent to the ocean (behind the camera). I stayed late enough to watch the stars come out, and amazingly, they put on a fireworks show on the beach every Friday night! It was awesome to be so close to the light and sound of it all. Once the fireworks died away, you could see a lot of stars, in spite of the intense lights of Honolulu and Waikiki just behind me. I would have loved to get away somewhere more remote and studied the heavens more closely but didn't get a chance to on this trip.

Day 6 – Saturday 09/12

My first day to myself! On Saturday morning, I went to IHOP for breakfast because it was right near the hotel. It was packed with tourists. One of the crazy things about Hawaii is how you feel so far from home because of the climate and the time change and the tropical scenery---it's so unfamiliar---yet so familiar, as right next to all of that you see signs in English and chains like McDonald's and Starbucks. So there I was in tropical paradise, eating at IHOP... but at least it was a filling meal and after my measly breakfasts all week, it was a welcome change.

For the day I planned to do as much "typical Hawaii" as possible. So on the docket were snorkeling and a luau. Since I had a rental car with unlimited mileage for work, I drove around the island a bit along the coast looking at the gorgeous scenery and the beautiful day. One the left, you can see some of the coastline, with the ocean stretching out for miles. That shot was taken near Diamond Head Crater Park, as I drove along the southern coast of Oahu and passed DHCP about a third of the way to my destination. I was aiming for a place I'd heard about called Hanauma Bay which was supposed to be excellent for snorkeling. I also drove along Kalaniana'ole Highway, named for the last prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The names in Hawaii are all very beautiful, hard to spell, and roll off the tongue in a pleasant, lilting sort of way. But I noticed not many tourists tried saying them :-)

On the right is a picture from above Hanauma Bay. You have to walk down a long hill (and back up it to get out) to get down to the beach. Before you are allowed on the grounds (it's been a nature preserve since 1967), you must watch a video about how to take care of the beach and the coral reef in the bay. Apparently, a long time ago, a volcanic crater wall collapsed, allowing tons of seawater to rush in and created a bay that is sheltered from the open water. This allowed the reef to flourish and be a safe home for many dozens of types of fish, as large predators such as sharks can't usually get into the bay. Ever since, Hanauma Bay has been a natural wonder, and today it is still in beautiful shape in spite of receiving so many visitors per year.

I sat around on the beach for a while, enjoying the scenery and the sunshine, trying to get up the nerve to go snorkeling by myself. They had warned us to always snorkel with a buddy, plus I had nowhere to put my things, and didn't know how safe it would be just on the beach. But I couldn't very well come all the way to Hawaii to one of the most beautiful and diverse snorkeling spots in the world, and not snorkel or even get in the water, now could I? So I rented some snorkeling gear and went out. The first few seconds were shear panic: consciously I knew I was ok, but my body's response to having my face in the water and breathing normally was as if I were drowning. My heart pounded and I was practically hyperventilating, but I couldn't control it. After about ten seconds, I started to calm down and finally I was snorkeling! Luckily, the rental place had had snorkel goggles for near-sighted people, so I was actually able to see everything. It was pretty amazing. Small fish, medium fish, giant fish...all swimming by me as if I were one of them. I didn't see any truly exotic fish (like bright oranges or purples or anything) but I did see some of the canonical yellow-and-black striped ones. I really enjoyed the whole thing. I probably stayed out for about an hour, then got back on the beach to rest---that swimming was probably more exercise than I'd had in a long time!

Later I would regret how long I stayed out, as I had failed to properly put sunscreen on my back, and then basically turned back-up for an hour during the hottest part of the Hawaii day. But more on that later... After spending some more time lounging at Hanauma Bay, I decided not to go back in the water, and instead I headed over to my next stop: a Hawaiian luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center...on the other side of the island. So I had another hour-ish drive ahead of me. This time it wasn't quite along the coast the whole way, and more people apparently lived on this side of the island, so the scenery was mixed. But I made it to the Center just in time for my luau. If I ever go back, I would try to see the actual exhibits; the PCC has a traditional native village for each of the major Polynesian cultures (Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (present-day New Zealand), Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga, and Marquesas), in which they do live cultural demonstrations such as canoe-building or dances.

The luau itself was basically a giant feast where everyone sat at long tables; it was served buffet-style. I really enjoyed a lot of the traditional Hawaiian food, such as poke, lomi-lomi salmon, and haupia. During the meal, a small group of performers sang Hawaiian music and danced the hula and other dances. This part of the luau wasn't as energized as I would have expected (the crowd was pretty docile), but it was decent. It was one of the times I was in Hawaii that I wished I was with friends or family; it was hard to sit around all these people who knew each other and be alone. An interesting note about the PPC is that it was founded by Mormons, who first went to Polynesia in the late 1800s to convert the natives. There is even a Brigham Young University campus in Hawaii. The PPC doesn't really hit you over the head with the Mormonism, but it is interesting that so many of the performers at the PPC are students at BYU-H, working in exchange for free tuition. Anyway as a result of this, the PPC luau doesn't serve any alcoholic drinks!

In addition to the luau, I had gotten tickets for a Polynesian cultural show afterward (above), also at the PCC. It was called "Ha, Breath of Life" and basically told the story of a boy's life as he grows into manhood and passes on the breath of life to the next generation, his own son, through the traditional dances of the many Polynesian cultures. The most famous dance, and a really awe-inspiring sight in person, is the Tahitian dance (link goes to a video), where the women flip their hips so violently and rapidly you almost cannot believe your eyes. There were also male Samoan fire knife dancers, who spun torches with fire around so rapidly they made circles in the air. None of my action pictures from the show came out very well because I respected their wishes not to use a flash, but on the right is an example of the Samoan fire dancers, from the site travelweekly.com. The whole show was awesome and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Oahu.

Around the start of the show I started feeling a bit headache-y. It turned out to be my sun exposure from earlier in the day kicking in and becoming sun poisoning. By the end of the show, I was extremely sick feeling, and I had over an hour to drive back to the hotel. But what could I do? So I got in the car and started driving. Due to my bad luck, the Likelike Highway (pronounced: lee-kee-lee-kee) that cuts across the middle of the island (and the most direct route home) was closed overnights! So after a lot of roundabout finding my way and getting confused by their detours, I finally made it back to the hotel. I just wanted to collapse in bed, but my key wouldn't work. So I went down to have it re-activated and then finally was in my room. After forcing myself to drink a bunch of water in case I had any dehydration, I luxuriously passed out until well into the morning.

Day 7 – Sunday 09/13

Sunday dawned and I was bright red all over my back. My sun exposure symptoms seemed to have gone away, but my sunburn was definitely going to leave a mark. (In fact, after it faded to tan, my tan lines lasted all the way till the next summer!)

I had a work meeting in the afternoon, so I couldn't go too far afield. I am a huge fan of the TV show Lost, and I knew they had filmed entirely on location in Oahu, including some locations in Honolulu. (A lot of our drive to work in the mornings passed right through the most scenic parts of Oahu where you can recognize shots from the show: rolling hills with lush green grasses and mountains.) So I did a little research and found out that the Ala Wai Canal right by my hotel was used several times for shooting scenes taking place in Korea between Sun and Jin! I headed over and sure enough, the scenery looked very familiar. For example, the scene on the left is the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, but I am certain I recognize it from shots in the show, of the canal on which Sun meets her doctor in flashbacks to her time in Korea, etc. What do you think?? It was exceedingly hot out that day (above 95 degrees F), so I went back to the hotel before our work meeting, which was held at a poolside/oceanside bar at the fancy Honolulu Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel complex (apparently famous for being built by the same guy who built the Hoover Dam).

The evening passed pleasantly with dinner with my coworker at the casual but tasty Harbor Pub, and turning in early in preparation for the long second week ahead.

Day 8 through 12 – Monday 09/14 through Friday 09/18

Another week of work. More long days, long drive, hot weather, standing in the sun, and so on. If you ever wanted to know how anyone could go to Hawaii and not enjoy it, talk to either of my coworkers. Both of them only came for one week (whereas I was there for two), and didn't stay a weekend, so they barely got to see anything or do anything and I'm not sure they really got the full effect of even being in Hawaii. On Friday night I went again to see the fireworks on the beach after eating some of the best pho I've ever had at a tiny local Vietnamese joint.

Day 13 – Saturday 09/19

Last day in Hawaii! My plane didn't take off till 10pm at night (red-eye), so I had pretty much the whole day to sightsee. I decided to go to Pearl Harbor as it was not far from the airport and, well, is a really significant historical site. It's a short drive from downtown Honolulu. At Pearl Harbor, I was able to park the rental car (I think for free) and walk around the waterfront promenade. The Pearl Harbor memorial area includes the USS Arizona memorial site (which is free and is located out in the water where the boat was sunk, you're taken over by ferry); you buy tickets for the USS Bowfin (a submarine you can board and walk around with a free audio tour), the Battleship Missouri (a retired battleship which you can tour, you take a bus from the visitor center to get to it), and the Pacific Aviation Museum. I chose a combination of the Bowfin and the Missouri when I bought my tickets at the visitor center (apparently recently re-built). Tickets to the USS Arizona memorial are free, but are for specific times. Even though I was there on a Saturday, I didn't have any trouble getting a ticket for that day (although not with a lot of flexibility to spare, so tickets in advance may be wise).

I did a walk-through of the Bowfin first and listened to the audio tour. I can never get over how small and tight the quarters are in submarines. On top of being underwater and the claustrophobia that itself can cause, then you have these tiny spaces; I would never pass the psych test to be one of their crew! The Bowfin is a retired submarine that was not at Pearl Harbor, but was launched one year after the attack. She was one of the most successful submarines of WWII, and never lost a man. Her crew of about 80 went on ten patrol missions and once sank a bus on shore. Also had the dubious distinction of having sunk a cargo ship carrying over 800 schoolchildren during the war, although this fact isn't highlighted during the tour.

Next was the USS Arizona memorial, where 1,177 men lost their lives when the ship was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before you get on the boat, you will have to store your backpacks or purses, etc, as no bags of any kind are allowed on the ferry or at the Arizona memorial. (You can take cameras with you.) I just used the on-site storage service, which was very affordable, to leave my bag (my luggage was in the trunk of the rental car). Also, there is a 20-minute documentary film describing the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the Arizona that you watch before boarding the ferry. The ferry ride is brief, and then you arrive at the memorial. For me it was a rather somber experience, and I didn't feel much like talking. Reactions of the rest of the tourists seemed mixed, with more than a few similarly affected, but more folks than was fitting treating the whole thing like a photo op rather than a grave site. The memorial is basically a platform built horizontally across the remains of the ship, which is resting just below the surface. You can see through the water in most places right to the deck of the ship. There is also a wall with all the names of the lost soldiers. It was altogether an emotional experience and I was ready to depart when the ferry did a short while later.

Finally, I visited the Battleship Missouri, a retired battleship on which the treaty ending WWII was signed when the Japanese surrendered. The ship's guns are truly amazing. To get to the ship, you take a bus from the Pearl Harbor visitor center, and then you can walk around the ship. I was getting there for the last tour so it was pretty late in the day. As it turned out, there was some kind of Naval event going on so the Blue Angels were doing air show tricks across the water. They flew by the Missouri a few times and one pilot buzzed the ship directly overhead from end to end---boy, was that loud, and intense! The show went on for a while, with 4 or 5 of the fighter jets flying in formation (see right), making shapes like loops and starbursts with their trails. The Missouri was manned by 1,851 officers and men. Below are some shots of the ancient computer technology used up to the battleship's retirement in 1992, and a picture of the main guns (16 inches in diameter, with a 20 mile range!) in all their glory.

Before heading to the airport, I stopped for dinner at a Japanese restaurant near Pearl Harbor, called Gyotaku, that I had seen recommended online, and had a sushi, udon and tempura feast. On my way back to Philly, I stopped over for a day in Phoenix to visit with my dad and his wife, which helped break up the long long flight a little and ease the pain of not having a direct flight option available. That's pretty much the whole story. Next time I go to Hawaii I am going to ensure it's not work-related, so I can enjoy more time on the beach and less time indoors! I hope you've enjoyed reading this! Till next time!

Back to Diary List | Back to Site