My First Waikiki Sunset

4/27/2009 Evening

Our apartment has no ocean view. But it is located at a great location! It’s only two blocks away from Waikiki beach.

Radim and I decided to go check out the beach before sunset. Karan was too pooped out from work that he couldn’t get out of bed to join us.

The weather was breezy and not humid (I wasn’t sweating!).

Waikiki beach has a different feel than Miami beach. I think the difference is in the people and the local culture. Most of the people here are so polite and happy. In Miami, I saw ladies running around in high heels, sexy clothes, makeup, etc. Not so much in Waikiki.

I didn’t want to take the time to go to the quieter part of Waikiki. So, I just went straight down the road and in five minutes, I was at the beach.

Oh boy! Soft sand, clear sky, not-so-hot-not-so-cold weather (another word for this kinda weather is “PERFECT”), island music in the background,… How could I not love this?

Surf Boards for rent at Waikiki Beach
Surf boards at Waikiki beach

Surf boards are available for rent at Waikiki Beach

Me at Waikiki Beach
How much is the surf board rental rate? You would have to ask Radim. I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy posing.

Me at Waikiki Beach

Radim was like a big kid in a candy store. He went for a swim since it was too late to rent a surf board.

I laid my towel down on the beach and just tried to take in the view and feel. It was really, really relaxing!!

There were quite a few people on the beach, but not overly crowded. Not one was shouting or being obnoxious. The beach wasn’t noisy at all!

Waikiki Beach
Appreciating sunset

Waikiki Beach
Capturing the sunset

Waikikii Beach
More people …

I got sick of people blocking my view. So, I just laid down, closed my eyes, and be in the moment.

I called Karan and asked him to come out. Too bad that he was still too tired!!! Bummer! 🙁

Radim came back from the swim and we joined the photography crowd just before the sun went down.

Waikiki Beach
Me, me, me! with the sun!

Waikiki Beach
More!!!

And MORE!!!

Waikiki Beach
Aloha!!

Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Sunset
What an amazing and intoxicating sunset!!

Waikiki Sunset
Sunset, like wine, can get you drunk!

Waikiki Sunset
Going, going, going….

Waikiki Sunset
Beautiful pink clouds – reflection of the sunset

Waikiki Sunset
Almost gone …

Waikiki Sunset
Palm tree reaches for the moon

Waikiki Beach
Nice stroll on the beach

Waikiki Beach
Restaurant on the beach. I tried to pick up a tiki torch, and …

Waikiki Beach
offered Radim to the Waikiki God. Wahahaha!


Roaming Around Honolulu Chinatown

4/27/2009 Monday

I woke up at 4am today- jet lagged.

Our apartment is located just 2 blocks away from Waikiki beach. I could hear the constant traffic from my apartment and that didn’t help me to sleep better.

So, I got up and made breakfast.

Later, Karan and Radim had to go to work. So, I was alone and ready to explore Honolulu. With guide book in my hand, I headed towards Honolulu Chinatown.

In an unfamiliar place, I always like to study the road map in advance so I get a general idea about the main highways and directions. Driving in Honolulu is not difficult. However, the road signs are small and the road names are not the usual – 3rd Street, Washington Street, etc. The road names here don’t mean anything to me and they could be long and hard to remember, such as Keeaumoku, Waiakamilo, Kanekapolei, Liliuokalani, etc. Luckily in Waikiki area and even Honolulu downtown, the speed limit is only 25-35 miles/hr. There are lots of traffic lights (if you are not using the highway), so that gives me chance to make quick reference to the map when I come to a red light.

I didn’t have a detailed map of Chinatown with me. So, I had trouble finding a good parking spot that was close to where I wanted to go. There were lots of one way streets. I drove round and round and finally found a parking that I was happy with (since I wasn’t ready to pay $10 for full day parking and the roadside parking is only for 1 hour).

I have been to Chinatown in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Seattle. Honolulu Chinatown is on the small side. There are a few vacant shops. What I like about this Chinatown is it’s not very touristy and not filled with souvenir shops. I visited this Chinatown three more times in the next two days at various times. I found that the markets weren’t too busy. The shoppers here were so laid back. They didn’t seem rushed when doing their grocery shopping.

I passed by a hair salon and made an appointment for tomorrow (see next post). 🙂

Honolulu Chinatown Riverside
People hang out at Chinatown riverside, play chess, drink tea etc

Honolulu Chinatown
The street signs in Chinatown are pretty distinct, as they’re written in both English and Chinese words.

Honolulu Chinatown
Getting blessings from Guanyin

Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (Father of modern China) statute in Chinatown

Pho To-Chau Vietnamese restaurant
A line outside Pho To-Chau Vietnamese restaurant, just like what is described in the guide book. I love Pho soup, but I wasn’t hungry when I passed by this restaurant. So, I didn’t try the food. 🙁

Golden Palace Restaurant
Golden Palace Restaurant

chinese food in Honolulu Chinatown

Although fresh local and imported fruit selections are unparalleled here, I specifically looked for fruits from Oahu, not imported from Mexico or China.

Local Hawaii Fruits
We found local Oahu fruits here (Hotel/Maunakea Street, see the shop banner below).

Local Oahu Fruits
The very friendly shop owner told me that Oahu produces limited amount of local fruits. So, they have to import fruits from other countries. But he specializes in local fruits. 🙂 And, he gave me discount. Yay!

Karan and Radim joined me at Chinatown after their work. We stopped by Summer Frappe to have a very refreshing fresh fruit smoothie.

Summer Frappe smoothie, Honolulu Chinatown
At Summer Frappe (Pauahi Street). Yummy fresh fruit smoothies. The lady in the middle is the shop owner, Summer Chau. No artificially-flavored powdered smoothies here. I had aloe, mango and papaya smoothie. 🙂

After that, we stopped by the Maunakea market to have a bite (see next post).

On my way to Oahu!

I have been waiting for this day to come for a while now!

I have never been to Hawaii and didn’t really have any desire to go. It’s simply because it’s a world renowned vacation spot and I always have this impression that Hawaiian islands would be filled with tourists. I certainly am not into touristy spots.

Karan and his colleague Radim will be going to Oahu for work. So, I Googled Hawaii for fun and hmm… it’s world renowned for a reason! I decided to tag along with Karan and see it for myself.

4/26/2009
Despite of morning alarm issue, we managed to reach the airport on time. Hallelujah.

Minneapolis Airport
Radim & Karan at Minneapolis airport

Radim, me & Karan
Radim, me & Karan at Minneapolis airport

Our flight: Cedar Rapids – Minneapolis – Honolulu

The Minneapolis to Honolulu flight was 8 hours long. From my experience of American flights, I didn’t expect them to serve food (I still have vivid memory of the tiny pack of low calorie pretzel on my first domestic flight), even on an 8 hour flight. Well, they did.

Flight food
Lunch – Although not very appetizing, for the love of rice, I did finish the terriyaki chicken with rice. Other food … please judge for yourself.

flight food
Snack time: Cold ham and cheese burger, chocolate and chips. What’s up with the cold sandwich??? Yuck!

Thank goodness that I was prepared for this flight. 🙂 You want to see what I could pull out from my backpack?
Food in backpack
Is this a backpack or a pantry?

snacks
Karan made the nut balls. Yummy!

food in laptop bag
Gotta have fresh fruits!

You would never go hungry when traveling with OuOu. 🙂

I watched the Hindi movie “Fashion” during the flight. There’s a always a risk watching Hindi movie on board. Last time I ended up with two giant red tomato eyes after watching one. Although I enjoyed Fashion, thank goodness this movie didn’t tickle my tear gland too much.

Oahu Ultimate Guide Book
Oahu Revealed – The Ultimate Guidebook to Honolulu, Waikiki and Beyond

I read this book cover to cover before this trip. I always like to prepare myself prior to a trip so that I learn about the local culture before hand, know what to bring with me and what to expect. Having said that, one could never fully expect what’s coming his way on a trip.

Almost there
We are almost there!

I am ready to see for myself what’s Oahu all about! Aloha!