Finally… here’s the hawaii trip post that I promised on twitter over and over again. It’s very late. The trip was completed by mid August 2011. I am already in the middle of planning my next overseas trip.

Tanned Hello Kitty found in Waikiki ABC Store, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Flights

Me and my bunny are very prone to impromptu holiday. One day in April we saw Jetstar having sale to Hawaii, so we bought a return trip for two, Sydney-Honolulu for less than $1500. Bargain! I took sleeping pills (2) on each trip and slept for the better part of our 10 hours journey on our departing and returning flights.

Honolulu International Airport exterior, Hawaii, USA

Honolulu International airport actually reminded me of Jakarta airport while Honolulu itself remind me of Batam Island.

Accommodation

Pacific Beach Hotel, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

WARNING! Hawaii Accommodation can be quite expensive. When you make your booking, check that the price is inclusive of all tax, surcharge or resort fee that might apply.

We stayed at Pacific Beach hotel. We bought the ocean-view room online thinking that we got a good deal (about $120-150/night). After tax, resort tax, etc.. it ended up costing us almost $200/night. Darn it!! I wouldn’t even pay that for 5* hotel in Australia (unless work is paying). We could probably have stayed at a better hotel.. like Trump Tower maybe (doubt it) or any other beach-front hotel.

Pacific Beach Hotel is not too bad though.. it’s in great location and across the road from ‘swim-able’ area of Waikiki beach. The room is clean and the amenities is fantastic. The hotel is catered for a lot of Japanese tourist, but that’s not a bad thing. It is almost like an underlining guarantee that they’ll have excellent facility and everyone there are extra polite.

Tips: We also found out that in Hawaii, you are only obliged to pay for the nights you’ve stayed in the hotel. So, even if you book for 7 days, if after the first night, you’ve decided that you don’t like the place, you can move to other hotel. We didn’t move hotel because, albeit the ‘exorbitant’ price for that level of hotel, it is very convenient.

Food

To be honest, I was quite disappointed with my culinary experience in Hawaii. It is not spectacular, the taste is very average and the variety is quite limited. The quantity is impressive though and they are good quality (clean, fresh seafood, tender meat, etc). I suspect it will be the same as the rest of America. I am not a food critic, but I am proud to say that I have eaten in variety of places, from marketplace, hawkers, your average restaurant, fine dining and luxury gourmet places, sampling food from different nations.

While in Hawaii, we ate fast food (McDonald), at Luau, food court, chinatown, resort buffets, bars/diners, pubs, family restaurant and fine dining.

Honolulu is swarmed by American food (think steak and burger) and the majority of Asian restaurant serves Japanese food. It’s not like in Australia where you see food from many different countries.

I also love Japanese food and have no problem with Western food.. but after a while, I am a bit sick of steak and udon/ramen/tempura/teriyaki. Although I suspect, the reason is more because the taste is mediocre. I have no problem eating Japanese food during my 10-days Japan trip back in 2009. After a while, I started to crave Malaysian food, Singaporean, Indonesian, Thai, Indian and other south-east Asian food. There’s also only a few Chinese restaurant in Waikiki area.

For my birthday I went to the oldest Thai restaurant in Honolulu (Keo’s). Again, I came out disappointed. The curry was lukewarm and the stir-fry.. ahem.. let’s say I can do better.

You definitely should not come to Hawaii to eat. Just go to the beach! Or.. do outdoor activities, like climb a mountain!

Oreo Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

There’s only one place in Waikiki where I think the food is quite good and best value for money. It’s the Cheesecake factory. The cheesecakes are divine!! We went there 4 times to taste their many different taste of dessert. We had entree and mains as well and the taste is actually quite good. Just make sure you come with empty stomach or be prepared to share a plate. The portion size for their savouries are H.U.G.E.

Shopping

The shopping in Waikiki/Honolulu looks like any other shopping place in Australia – chainstores, luxury outlets and tourist souvenirs stuff. So, apart from barganing with the Asian shopkeepers selling bikinis and dresses at the International Marketplace in Waikiki, I didn’t do much shopping. You can pick up really good bargain if you dare to bargain with the sellers at the International Marketplace. Mind you, half of them don’t speak English very well.. I have to employ my ‘broken’ Chinese to get some dressess of a HongKong lady.

I admit.. I have shamelessly bargain really hard, taking advantage that America is just hit by recession and noone is spending.

People/Crowds

The Hawaiian and people who lived and worked in Hawaii are generally very friendly, helpful and nice. I suspect because they are heavily influenced by islanders’ laid back attitude and strongly affected by the Japanese’s excellent sense of politeness and respect. Generally I have no problem with the level of customer service there.

The majority of tourists are Japanese, Korean and American (mainly from Texas). We met a few Australians and New Zealander and a couple of British tourists, but that’s about it.

Ladies, if you are looking for good-looking, perve-worthy, surfer-type, tall, dark, handsome men with rock-hard abs… you’ll be disappointed.

It was peak-season in Hawaii. During my 12-days there, apart from my Bunny, I’ve only seen TWO!!! TWO!! that’s worth a second look. My bunny is lucky… girls with bikinis are everywhere. The guys… well let’s say.. they are mainly old family men, very young guy and skinny asians. (p.s. no, I have no problem with Asian men, I am ASIAN. But I have seen better samples of Asian men in Australia and other Asian countries I’ve visited).

Itinerary

We mainly spent our time in Oahu. We took a day tour to Hilo (Hawaii big island) to see the volcano. Some people have told us that Oahu, Honolulu and Waikiki in general is actually a bit too commercialised lately. Maui is much better. So, next time we go to Hawaii, we’ll probably go to other islands and will only spend time in Oahu on transit.

Ok… I am running out time. I’ll talk about the following highlighted trips later:

• Waikiki
  

  Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

• Luau – Paradise Cove
  

  Paradise Cove, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

  

  Hula Girl - Paradise Cove Luau Show, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

• Pearl Harbour
  

  USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbour, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

• Hanauma Bay
  

  Hanauma Bay, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

• Hawaii (Hilo, Volcano National Park)
  

  Hamakua Coast, Hilo, Hawaii Big Island, Hawaii, USA

• Diamond Head
  

  View of Waikiki Beach from the top of Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

• Chinatown, Honolulu downtown, watersport near Ala Moana Beach Park, etc, etc.
  

  Jetski, near Honolulu airport, Oahu, Hawaii

OK… bye for now

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