Aloha! Hawaii was gorgeous – palm trees, beautiful coast, sandy beach, clear water. It ranks in my top three favourite places easily. The people there are quite relaxed and very friendly, giving off a very relaxed atmosphere. As soon as we arrived in Honolulu airport we were greeted by rather enthusiastic, chirpy, men who wore bright, flowery shirts. It’s funny how Hawaii is part of the USA, yet it is very different in terms of fashion and attitude. I found the atmosphere in New York and Los Angeles to be the same and since that’s from one end of the USA to the other, I imagined the rest of the USA to be the same. I guess Hawaii has been influenced by some of the pacific islands in some way, because, after all, it is a five hour flight away from Los Angeles.
We were only in Hawaii for three nights and that time went very quick. As soon as we arrived, I could see how delightful the place was and didn’t want to waste any daytime sleeping. We had no choice really because we arrived early in the morning. Our body clocks were buggered because we had just flown from Christchurch, New Zealand and crossed the International Date Line while in the air. This meant we left Christchurch at 15.35 on Wednesday 26 March and landed in Honolulu at 8:50 on Wednesday 26 March. In that time we had flown 13 hours in total as well as stopping in Sydney, Australia for 3 hours to change planes, only to land in Hawaii and put our clocks back 23 hours. Confused? We certainly were! We had to remind ourselves that we had been awake 24 hours by the time we landed despite the fact that it was early in the morning of a new day.
We spent most of our time there strolling up and down Waikiki beach, watching the surfers in the sea and doing some shopping. We also paid a visit to the local aquarium. The weather was quite warm so it really was like a beach holiday, but a lot better than going on a beach holiday in Tenerife for example. I can’t explain why; Hawaii just had that extra something to offer.
We booked a trip to go to Pearl Harbour while we were there. The tour included watching a short film in the museum then getting on a boat to the Arizona memorial. The memorial was erected over the sunken warship from the infamous Japanese raid on Pearl Harbour in World War II. Being there was quite poignant; you could almost feel the history. Until we got there, I didn’t realise that the memorial was placed right on top of the USS Arizona, in the very same place that ship was attacked and sunk. Oil is still seen escaping from one of the hatchways of the wreck which amazed me because we are talking over 60 years later. It is also the grave of many who died there; it was an eerie feeling knowing that something like 1000 sailors lay below us in their watery grave. You could see the ship under water and some of the ship’s structure was visible above water. The staff controlled the number of people who went into the memorial, so you weren’t allowed to stay longer than your allocated time. This was good as it enabled everyone to take it all in without being crowded.
We ended our stay in Hawaii by having a meal on the ‘Top of Waikiki Revolving Restaurant’. This was an unusual but superb experience, even though it wasn’t cheap! It was located on the 18th floor and whenever you looked out of the window while eating, you didn’t get the same view as 5 minutes ago! You either see the beach, ocean or city. I wouldn’t like to be a waitress in that restaurant because it can’t be easy to remember where the customers are seated!
I would recommend Hawaii, provided you’re prepared for the long flight. It’s somewhere I will go again but for a proper holiday, at least two weeks.
Tags: USA