Month: December 2017
Location: O’ahu & Big Island
I took a ‘Lyft’ to
my hotel, and as we drove there, it was more apparent than ever that Honolulu
is very different than Hilo or Kona. It
seemed that everyone has descended on the island this week, particularly Waikiki
Beach. With the traffic it took us some
time to get to my hotel, ‘Ohana Waikiki
Malia’, which was located right in the heart of the busy Waikiki Beach and
a block away from the main street with all the shops. While the location was better than ‘Ala Moana’, the hotel itself was…well,
quite ordinary. And it was more
expensive, just showing how location makes a huge difference. As I checked in, they gave me a “beach bag”, and proximity to the beach
is probably why people stay here. I
dropped off my bags and then set off for a walk, minus the beach bag.
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| The busy 'Waikiki Beach' |
I arrived at the beach and you could hardly see the sand,
since every inch was taken up by the people.
I wasn’t planning to stay here for long, but wanted to do one thing
before leaving. I wanted to touch the
Pacific. Well, that was easier said than
done, since I had to first make my way there through the crowd. I did manage to touch the water, but some
poor judgement on my part also meant that my shoes and socks got wet. Considering that I wasn’t going back to the
hotel, I would just have to deal with for the rest of the evening. I walked through some of the shopping malls
and thankfully they weren’t like your typical mall layouts, but they were still
crowded. This was basically to kill
time, and soon I was ready to proceed to my first stop of the evening. I wanted to call a ride, but the challenge
was now the pickup point on a very busy street.
So I did my usual trick of finding a hotel nearby and calling the ride
from their foyer, which is much easier for everyone.
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| 'Tchin Tchin! Bar' |
I was going to a place called ‘The Manifest’ and it was located in Honolulu’s “Chinatown”. The neighborhood had narrow one-way streets and
so my driver was a bit confused. But I
made it there and it wasn’t exactly bustling.
I got a drink there and then went across the street to a place called ‘Tchin Tchin! Bar’, and yes the
exclamation is weirdly placed. It was
trying to be a speakeasy and so had a simple door, which took some time
to open. Stairs led upstairs to a wide
bar area in a bright room and a decent looking patio terrace. It was supposed to be a popular place and
especially crowded at night, but it was quite early and I was one of the few
there. I had an interestingly titled drink
called “Mack The Knife” and left.
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| The fantastic 'Hi Brau Room' |
I called a ride and once again, due to the one-way streets,
it was an adventure finding each other.
Once we had sorted that out, I was dropped off at ‘Aloha Beer Co.’. No, I
wasn’t going there, but rather to a ‘speakeasy”
above it called ‘The Hi Brau Room’. Now, this was a cool bar with a cozy
ambiance and definitely the best place I had visited today. I struck up a conversation with the
bartender, who was from Brisbane, Australia.
He recommended a drink called "The
Laborer’s Lift’" which was a cocktail incorporating one of their
beers. The way to their restroom took one past
their brewery and what looked like an indoor “food truck”. I enjoyed my
stay here and then called a ride to go to my dinner stop.
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| The uniform patterned design of '53 By The Sea' |
I was going to another restaurant next to the beach and this
one was called ‘53 By The Sea’. Starting with the door, everything about it
was exquisite and the interior had a pattern which was replicated in their
window panes, their paintings, their curtains and even the handrails on the
stairs. The dinner was excellent and they
even served something called “Adult Nuts”
as accompaniment to their “Mai Tai”. I was pleased that my last full night in
Honolulu was in this restaurant. I came
back to my room after stopping to get a bottle of water in a nearby grocery
store. This would be my last decent
sleep for almost 48 hours. Well, that
did not go so well, since my cough that had been building up for the past month
was at its worse and made for an extremely uncomfortable night.
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| The shopping center next to 'Kitchen and Meatery' |
The next morning I packed my bags for the last time in
Hawaii and dropped them off at reception.
I was leaving for the airport at night and was worried that they may
raise a stink. But they did not ask me
and so I got out of there fast. I took a
ride to a restaurant called ‘Kitchen and
Meatery’, which was located in a neighborhood which looked new. The architecture was contemporary and
everything was…clean. There were
restaurants and shops, but it wasn’t touristy.
It was more like a place the young people of Honolulu would live and
hang out. The restaurant – surprise
surprise – was meat centric, with an open kitchen and I could picture the chefs
grilling chunks of meat on an open flame at night. But this was breakfast time, though they had done
a good job of integrating their theme into the classics. I came out of the restaurant using another
exit and found myself inside a very charming shopping center, with boutique
shops. Often on these trips I picture
myself living in specific neighborhoods of the towns that I visit and for
Honolulu, this was it.
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| The 'Iolani Palace' |
I called a ride into downtown and that took me through some
rundown streets, polar opposite of where I had just been. I was going to ‘Iolani Palace’, the only “palace”
in United States…well unless you count the tiny ‘Hulihe’e Palace’ in Kona. I
had planned on visiting that, but the timing didn’t work out. However, I had purchased tickets for a guided
tour for this one and arrived ahead of time, which was good since there was a
short video that we were encouraged to watch prior to going inside. The video told the story of Queen
Lili’uokalani, the last ruler of Hawaii before the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. In fact, she was later imprisoned in a room
in her own home and we would be seeing all of it today. While in there, I was trying to control my
coughing, so as to not disturb my fellow visitors. Maybe they thought that the
tears in my eyes were due to me being affected by the story! Fortunately, it was over soon and then we
were outside, waiting for our turn to enter the palace.
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| The "Throne Room" inside |
I was waiting under a spectacular looking tree, which had a
dense covering of leaves and a trunk that looked like it was made of a collection
of vines. At 11 am we were invited to
climb up the stairs and before going inside the house, were given a short
history lesson and also some plastic booties to put over our shoes. There was a wide wooden staircase that led to
the upper floor, but we were told that we wouldn’t be taking it today. Apparently the only time that visitors are
allowed to use it was during special events such as the celebration for the
Queen’s birthday, when the palace would be open for evening tours. While not as opulent as some of the mansions
of Newport, this was an impressive residence, with sprawling rooms; including
the main throne room with the "crown jewels".
We took an elevator upstairs – obviously a more recent installation –
and saw the room where the Queen had been imprisoned. Also on display was the quilt that the queen
worked on during her long hours in here.
It was a nice, informative tour and we were done in little less than an
hour.
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| The fantastic road to Kailua |
When I was planning how to spend my last day in Hawaii, I
thought about hiking to the viewing area of ‘Diamond
Head Crater’, which presented both, a view inside the crater and also
Honolulu from an elevation. However,
more than one of my ‘Uber’ drivers
over the last week had said that it was a typical tourist destination and there
wasn’t anything special to warrant a trip. They had instead recommended that I go to the
town of ‘Kailua’ on the other side of
the island. It was a 30 minute ride
there, though I had been told that it was worth the drive. It wasn’t easy to set a pickup location since
all roads around the palace were busy. I
found an alley nearby and waited there, watching the map and my driver took a
long time to navigate through the traffic.
Once he was able to pick me up, we were on our way out of the busy
downtown. The drive to Kailua was a
pleasant one, showcasing the true beauty of O’ahu. Mountains run through the center of the
island and we had to go through them to get to Kailua. It was amazing that a few miles away from the
concrete jungle of Honolulu was this paradise.
Plus there was rain in the air, making it even more alluring.
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| Main street of Kailua |
My driver was a nice chap and we had a good conversation all
the way there. He mentioned that I would
have a good time in Kailua and told me that I had to visit the beach. Since I had no particular destination in
mind, I asked him to drop me off on the main street. Looking around, I liked what I saw. It was a lively street with shops and
restaurants on either side, but very much like a small town rather than the
bustling Waikiki Beach. I saw a sign
that said “Visitor’s Center” and went
over for some information. The lady gave
me a map and gave me some vague directions on how to get to the beach. I was going to have to figure it out
myself. I visited some of the local
shops and walked around a few blocks, including side streets. I also found a ‘Whole Foods’ store - the first one that I had seen in Hawaii – and
this one was quite busy, as was the rest of this town.
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| The pristine beach at Kailua |
I plotted a route to the beach, which was little over a mile
away and would take me through a residential neighborhood. I started off towards it and now the skies
were looking threatening. I saw a “General Store” which had some local
products, including ice cream, and the line was the only thing that prevented me from
getting some. I arrived at the beach and
it was an extraordinary sight that awaited me.
Unlike the crowded beach at Waikiki, this one had few people and it
looked pristine. Now, this was the beach
that one sees in postcards from Hawaii.
I saw what looked like a fallen tree trunk and sat there, soaking in
what I was seeing, while listening to the waves. This was worth crossing the island for…crossing
the ocean for.
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| The "jungle" inside a shopping mall |
On cue, it started drizzling as I headed back towards the
town, and while I got drenched a bit, the rain wasn’t long lived. I came back to the main street and called a
ride back into Waikiki. Once again, I
had a good driver and we talked about how Kailua appeared to be a much better
place to live than Honolulu or Waikiki. I
had seen a much younger demographic over in Kailua, and my driver said that
many people commute to work from there to Honolulu.
It took us a bit longer to get back and as he dropped me off in
Waikiki, the place looked busier than yesterday, if it was even possible. I entered a shopping center and one thing to
be said about the shopping areas here was they were unique. For example, this one seemed to have
something like a "jungle" in the center, with multiple levels for kids to
explore. I was going to the top level
where all the restaurants were located.
I went to a nice looking place called ‘Herringbone’ and got a drink.
Then it was time for my last dinner in Hawaii.
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| A perfect end to the trip |
When I had first moved to Chicago, a block away from where I
lived was a restaurant called ‘Roy’s
Waikiki’, though I never considered going there. When I was researching places over here, I
came across their main restaurant in Waikiki, and it was highly recommended. So I read about it and being impressed, made
a reservation. I was looking it up on my
phone for directions, and it said that it was closing soon. Considering that I had a reservation, I
wasn’t sure what was going on, but since it was just a couple of blocks away,
decided to go anyways. While it was nearby, it took me
some time to navigate through the increasing crowd. It now resembled the “Vegas Strip”, and I had to crisscross my way through the people,
including a huge group of high school kids.
When I arrived at the street where the restaurant was located, I found
that some places were on an upper level; meaning finding this wouldn’t be that
easy. I eventually located it and it was open, the information online being incorrect. That was a good thing since it was a
fantastic meal, ending with a “Chocolate Soufflé and Vanilla Ice Cream”. Now I was ready to leave the island.
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| A beautiful evening |
Not quite, since this had been one of those rare times where I
had dinner this early and there was still a lot of time before my flight. Next to my hotel was a bar called, ‘Genius Lounge’, which was known for its cocktails. As I walked there, it had
turned into a beautiful evening and I was appreciating this area more now,
especially with the lighted streets and people enjoying themselves. I went to the 2nd floor, where the
place was, and bypassed the outdoor balcony to take a seat at the bar. The bartender was a friendly chap and said
that they were known for the “Mojito’s”. So, that’s what I got and by this time my
battle with the cough had reached a stage where I was feeling sick and starting
to have a bad headache, which isn’t the best thing before a long flight. The bar was festive and they even had
a Christmas tree in the corner, though this one had been decorated using beer
cans as ornaments. I finished the drink
and left for my hotel.
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| Beer-Can Christmas Tree |
It was still early for my flight, but I decided to go and
wait at the airport. I gathered my bags
and took a final ride back. Now, this
was the time that I needed both of my bags to make it through as “carry-on”, since I was leaving the
plane in LA. My gate area was quite
empty, which wasn’t surprising since there were over 2 hours for our
departure. By this time I was struggling
with my cough and headache and I was constantly gulping down some throat lozenges
and hoping for the best. Soon people
started coming in and we boarded our flight for a 10:30 pm departure. I told the gate attendants that I was not
planning on making my connection in LA and they said that I should just mention
it to their counterparts over there.
This wasn’t as big of a plane as the one that brought us
here, and their “First Class” was
like any other domestic airlines, and not the one with reclining chairs on the
flight here. I had actually contemplated
paying the obscene difference and upgrading, but seeing this I was glad I
didn’t. Well, that made for a very
unpleasant night for me as I can never sleep properly on a flight, and my cough
was acting up. Plus, there was enough
turbulence throughout such that even an upgraded seat wouldn’t have helped. At one stage it felt like panels of the plane
were being stripped off by the wind and it was by far the worst flight that I
have been on in recent memory. As we
approached LA – which was still dark – I could see a thin sheet of fog that
enveloped the entire city like a blanket.
I was glad to be on the ground and with my luggage in hand, I set off to
find the gate for my connection to Chicago.
I told the agents there that I wasn’t going to be on it. They asked if I had any luggage checked-in and when I said that I didn't, they thanked me for informing them.
I had decided that rather than spend the entire day like
this, I would go and pay the fee for a day’s pass in “American Airlines Admiral’s Lounge”, specifically to use their
shower. I got the pass and went upstairs
to find the showers. Then I learned that
I needed a key and had to come back to get one.
Fortunately, one of the private showers was available and while the
water wasn’t as warm as I would have liked, I totally appreciated it. My bags were open and my dirty clothes from
the past week were spread out. However,
I still had 3 more nights in San Diego and so I consolidated and went outside
for some breakfast. They had a few items
to choose from and I saw many people waiting for their flights in the
lounge. I charged all my devices for the
next 20 minutes contemplating the last 8 days. It had been my longest and most eventful trip. Hawaii had always felt a bit out of
reach. Thanks to “51 in 51”, I had made it there and boy was it rewarding. I had seen sights of nature like never before
and had learned more about the events in Pearl Harbor that have shaped this
country…and the world. Yeah, I missed out
on the one thing that mattered the most to me, but there will be another day
when I will do that. But for
now, I still had next few days in Southern California to look forward to. The last thing I heard as I left the terminal
to head to the rental car area was my name being called on the “PA system” for immediate boarding to
Chicago. Good luck with that!
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