Hawaii of a lifetime

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HAWAII

Of newfound (best) friends and beautiful place

Summer 2001

ALOHA!

If you think Hawaii is only for the honeymooners, think again. With friendly Hawaiians everywhere, it's very much a place for independent travellers and backpackers like these friends I made:

WAIKIKI - NORTH SHORE - KAILUA - BIG ISLAND (Summer 2001)

Andrew - Blue-eyed British - who dated a Singaporean before and who's been to Singapore/Asia - constantly exchanged notes about Singapore/Thailand with me. He couldn't believe that I'm from Singapore because my countrymen wouldn't backpack because we're so pampered & we need aircondition.

Tadeusz or Tad for short - Brown-eyed Polish - provided us with so much laughter! We learnt from him that the English language is so confusing e.g. he thought the restroom is the place for travellers to rest :) He carried around a 2-inch thick English-English dictionary but still have difficulties understanding the slangs we used. He, however, taught us new words from the dictionary: fellatio, cunnilingus!! Don't ask me why.

Tad says in Poland where he comes from, he has 6 meals a day:

630am, 930am, noon, 330pm, 7pm & 9pm.

His mother spends the whole day in the kitchen & buys a car load of food everyday. He said life is so tough in Hawaii because he has nothing to do & has only 3 meals a day. That's why he's constantly tired so Johan buys him Energy drink that has Taurine yet he went to bed earlier than all of us!

Since I cook, Tad calls me his "wife" and we have an arrangement that allow both of us to see other people to fulfill our other needs yet allow us to be together for eternity. And he can ask me for opinion on e.g. which shirt looks good on him & give him tips on what he must say or do for girls. This is very useful because he's "in love" with sweet Claudia, and Katherine, and the Japanese girls. He's also young and shouldn't have to decide his heart yet...

Claudia is the sweetest girl I've ever met, always smiling, thoughtful and kind. She's from Brazil, only 17 but fiercely independent.

As for Johan, he's the best! Green-eyed South African pilot who lives in the USA now as a result of the USA GreenCard Lottery: I was skeptical of the US GreenCard Lottery until I met Johan. He gave me hope :)

I'm amazed by Johan's knowledge of aircrafts & life in general. He has a way with encouragement & consoling people. It was funny because he didn't know what I was going through in my life at that point in time yet the things he said were so right on which cheers me up. I owe to him because at the end of this trip, I was happy again as I had renewed goals in my life. We are not "Stucked in a Moment You can't Get Out of It"

I'm not afraid

Of anything in this world

There's nothing you can throw at me

That I haven't already heard...

You've got to get yourself together

You've got stuck in a moment

And now you can't get out of it

It was great to discuss on Thoreaux and such. Besides, he was the cook and chief-in-command for the group. We need Johan! :)

Every morning, we'd visit the supermarket to get breakfast & every evening, we'll get the ingredients for dinner & Johan would cook for us. Occasionally, Tad helps in the preparation because it's a novelty to him. One of the things he enjoyed was breaking eggs because he got addicted to it!!

We'd then have our dinner together and watch TV in our room together or hang out on the patio facing the sea & talk about life. It felt like good ol' friends in a family.

The South African braai, the Polish sausage night, the owner of the hostel smoking dope with a group of travellers & playing cards with Bob Marley singing "Three Little Birds. Don't worry everything will be alright" on the radio. There were indeed many unforgettable evenings.

OAHU

Hawaii consists of many island. The most popular is Oahu. I flew in Honolulu to see for myself what makes this island so popular.

The first few days I spent at Waikiki but was not impressed with the crowded beach and expensive hotels. There was an Outrigger Hotel or a Marriot Hotel everywhere but I was most amused by the family-owned ABC Stores. It's a "convenient" store that sells everything from drinks to phonecards to souvenirs. It was interesting to see that the floating mattresses were 99cents each when I first got there but a few days later, it went up to US$2.99. Must be peak season.

I stayed at the Banana Bungalow which was touted the newest hostel in Waikiki. Each dormitory has 6 bunk beds with attached bath/toilet, a TV, a kitchenette and a balcony! This is luxurious considering all the hostels I've been to has only bunk beds!

Waikiki

Being an independent female traveller is quite fun:

The airport transfer driver offered to take me clubbing but I went for dinner with my American roommate instead. At the Duke's Canoe set on the beach. We had to wait 45 minutes to be served, and were given a gadget that beeps when our table is ready.

Makapuu Beach Park

My Hungarian room mate took me to Makapuu Beach Park the next day which has a view of Rabbit Island which looks more like a dog to me. We tracked up Koko Head which is a dormant volcano. You can still see the crater and the view below is amazing.

I have nice room mates but I didn't want to be caught in the middle of a Hungarian and an American who didn't like each other so I moved to an all-girls' dormitory consisting of 3 Japanese girls who never sleep there. In fact one of them lined out all her clothes on the bed and slept around it - quite a funny sight. There is a 50+ years old American artist and the Belgium girl. The artist is a Christian so she doesn't go out to pubs/clubs but she drank wine constantly yet she had no idea about wine. I guess, she is happy just to drink. I have a feeling that most women here stay long term because they are either waiting on tables or other business.

Waikiki is quite an interesting place especially at night. There are women standing in every corner and you see limousines pulling up to them. Other than that, it is very safe to walk the street. I liked the break dancers with their boom boxes; the men painted in silver and gold; even the self-conscious prostitutes at one particular corner of the street.

The TourDesk at the hostel recommended me the Backpackers' Lodge in North Shore which became the start of a holiday of a lifetime. But before I left, I went up to Diamond Head.

Diamond Head

It is about a track uphill for about 45 minutes to the top but you get an amazing view of Waikiki & the "city" below. It would have been a great place for sunset but the military has its base in the crater and no admission is allowed after 6 p.m.

North Shore

North Shore is the destination for surfers. It's reputed to have 20-ft surfs in the winter months. Now in summer, it's as flat as a lake which is beautiful and perfect.

It is here at the Backpackers' Lodge that made friendship of a lifetime.

I was staying in a dormitory room with 6 bunk beds. And the same day Katherine, Andrew, Johan and Tad came and shared the room with me.

They have been travelling together in Maui before coming to North Shore. Katherine missed having girl friends thus she was so happy to meet me but she always drifts into a world of her own. The guys said it's because she doesn't eat.

I met Claudia on the bus to North Shore so we became the new members of the "boy band"!

Our room is on the ground floor facing the sea with a patio, and it has an ensuite bathroom, a kitchen and a TV. We got along very well and it felt like being a small family living together for a long time.

The next beach, Waimea Beach, is where PointBreak was filmed. The sand is rather interesting as it looks & feels like sesame seeds! Did someone eat a lot of burgers on the beach???

I love this group shot. This was before the selfie stick but everyone was spontaneous enough to get down on the sand for a self-timer shot.

North Shore doesn't have the number of tourists as in Waikiki which makes it an ideal place to chill.

We walked the beach one whole day to look for the Sunset Beach but it just stretched on for miles. In the end, we had to walk on the bicycle path because it provided us shade!

There are some very beautiful houses I'd like to own when I'm rich.

Nevertheless this day was special because we got to know one another better. We were fooling around and teasing each other all day. We had laughter in the sun, as the song goes!

We were exhausted at the end of the day but we had a great sunset that will remind us of the time together.

We rounded off the day with a South African braai BBQ which completed a beautiful day. Thanks, Johan.

Waikiki revisited

With my newfound friends, Waikiki is even better now.

We wanted to stay at the Banana Bungalow in Waikiki but it was fully booked. It's a blessing in disguise because we got a much better room at the Waikiki Beachside Hostel.

The reception was very nice. We got an apartment with 2 bedrooms and 4 single beds. There is also a balcony, an ensuite bath/toilet, closet, fridge and kitchen, and only 2 minutes from the beach. For US$20 per person, this was luxury for us. The hostel also provide boogie-boards and floats for free.

But it was here that I played table soccer for the 1st time & had so much fun. Tad only had to man the goal yet he made me lose the game to Andrew. Infuriating! Obviously he needed his energy drink :)

With surfing being one of the popular sports here, we spent our last days doing the Hawaiian thing.

And with a beer each, the boys and I watched the free Hula shows at sunset on the beach. It's so enchanting! It was so nice that Johan & I just hang out on the grass patch by the beach on our last night together instead of partying in a disco.

We realised that America is not really the land of the free e.g. booze is not allowed in public so the boys had to drink from brown paper bags. However, the police cannot do a search on you as it's a violation of your rights.

Just like if the alarm goes off in a shop while you exit, they have no rights to look into your bags; the City Ordinance states that noise has to be kept to a minimum after 1030pm. You need law and order to keep it safe for everyone.

Separating the shopping boulevard and the beach a 4-lane car lanes, Waikiki has a hang-loose feel. I walked around in my bikinis even to the shops the whole day and people were smiling at me all the time. Maybe they thought like the Hawaii Airlines counter staff. He asked if I watched Ally McBeal. Yes, why? He said "OMG, are you Lucy Liu??!" HaHa! Maybe that's why a Sean Connery look-alike in red convertible waved at me while driving past; and that cute surfer who came up to me at the traffic light crossing saying, "Whassup?? It's such a marvelous day. I had a great day boogie boarding & surfing. Now I'm hungry. Wanna catch a bite together?" I was too stunned by the "whassup" and missed a date of a lifetime??

Waikiki is definitely different a second time round, thanks to my friends.

Kailua

One day, we took a bus to Kailua on the Windward side. The bus system in Hawaii is terrible. To get to Kailua, we had to take 3 buses, and when we were coming back, we had to wait for an hour for the bus. And the bus drivers in Hawaii are the most unfriendly. They do not smile at you when you greet them; when you tell them to advise you which stop to get off to transfer etc, they do not even acknowledge you so when you remind them again after travelling for half an hour, they would shout back at you! Backpacks are not allowed on public buses. No one knows why. Tad & Johan had a bad time when they had to get the bus from Honolulu to North Shore. Johan said the driver turned off the engine and just stopped driving altogether. Strange.

Oh well, Kailua is far but it's a really nice beach. The casuarina trees & the fine sand reminded me of Singapore's East Coast Park but I wish our waters are as clear & green/blue like Kailua's.

Kailua is a popular place for windsurfing. Tad wanted to windsurf but he broke his thumb doing it in Maui.

There was kite-surfing which is a cross between wake-boarding and windsurfing. It looked fun and is more-ecologically friendlier than water-skiing I guess. It made me want to take up windsurfing when I get home so that I can do kite-surfing one day.

The Departure

The time has finally come for us to go separate ways. It was difficult because we got along so well together.

We went to Denny's to have our last dinner together. Claudia didn't come to Waikiki with us but when she did, she came to look for us but missed us.

I had to go to Big Island; Tad has to go to San Francisco; Johan to Colorado; and Claudia home to Brazil. Only Andrew stayed on... We all hoped for a reunion, perhaps in Brazil, Poland or South Africa and I hope our dreams come true! But I guess, none of us would want to buy "Stand-by" tickets ever in our life again!

The Big Island Volcano National Park

Big Island is nearly twice the size of the other Hawaiian Islands combined. It has varied landscape with lava flows, lush coastal valleys, high sea cliffs, rolling pastures, deserts and rain forests.

I came here to see Kilauea, the most active volcano on earth. It has claimed 550 acres of coastal land since its latest series of eruption which began in 1983, and still growing.

I stayed at the Arnott's Lodge. The tour conducted by Arnott's Lodge for the day was fully booked but I was lucky because 2 American girls - Erin & Casey - rented a car and offered to take me and follow the tour van. That's how I got to do the tour.

Erin & Casey have been working on another island - Kauai - as English teachers.

Since I did not meet any locals on this trip, I was glad to learn a little more about the Hawaiian culture from the 2 girls.

"Aloha" means "Hello", "I love you" although its actual meaning is "I give you breath."

"Mahalo" is the other word we hear a lot. It's "Thank you" and "Kind regards".

The Hawaiians are very hospitable and they believe it's good for them to invite strangers to their homes.

Their culture seems to be similar to Asians' - they remove their shoes at the door; they call the older people "auntie" or "uncle", even the school children called Casey "auntie" instead of "teacher"! The Hawaiians speak pidgin which is quite similar to Singlish for example, "Where you go?" "You no like surfing?"

Casey sang us a chorus in Hawaiian which was so beautiful!

The first stop was the Volcano Museum so that we can understand the volcanic activity.

What you see here is the Caldera which is a very large crater. It measures 2 miles across and 400 ft deep. The reservoir of hot molten lava that feeds the volcano lies only 2 miles below. Everywhere, you'll see smoke coming out of the ground & the smell of sulphur is present.

We also went in a huge lava cave as well. There are volcanic ashes everywhere...

A whole village was taken over by lava & part of the roads were closed; Many houses and properties were burnt. However, there's still one house up in the hills because the owner refused to leave. He converted his place into a tourist attraction. Crazy Hawaiians.

It was about an hour's drive to the Volcano Park. Once we got there, we trekked 5 hours under the hot sun to the heart of the volcano. As we got closer to the center, the heat was so intense, it felt like our feet were on fire. The adhesive on my Timberland boots came off afterwards.

The lava "floor" looked like wafer-thin tarmac. It had varied colours of gold and silver. It felt like stepping on glass as it was very fragile. We are to follow our guide closely and not fall as it would have dire consequences. If you are not aware, you might step on live lava because the surface all look alike.

It was a exhiliarating tour. Hawaii is one of the most memorable travel of my life.