Two More Very Different Worlds

Those who are following my travels in this blog will recall that I identified the island of Kauai (Hawaii) as a different world from Honolulu.  Well, the same difference exists, in even more dramatic fashion, between Tahiti and the outlying islands of French Polynesia.

Overnight, we sailed from the bustling metropolis of Papeete to the quiet, placid Maroe Bay in between the two halves of the island of Huahine:  Huahine Nui (Big) and Huahine Iti (little).  

The ship anchored there for the day, and passengers had a choice of numerous different shore-side excursions.  The one I chose was interesting and unusual: a boat cruise into the lagoon, a lunch eaten while seated in the lagoon, a program of music and dancing (also taking place in the lagoon), and a beach excursion with swimming and snorkeling.  All this was taking place on a motu, one of the sand islets that grow up in the shelter of the encircling reefs.  I can truthfully say that this was the coolest lunch I’d had since leaving Woodstock, because the water was so refreshing compared to the hot, humid air!

 Like Tahiti, Huahine is classified as a “high island”.  It consists of tall, rugged mountains which are the worn-down remains of an ancient volcano.  On these mountains you see an extraordinary cover of tropical trees in many different shades of green. 

The coral reefs form on the rim of the island wherever conditions are favourable.  As the high island slowly sinks, a larger lagoon grows around a smaller island and conditions then allow for the formation of the chain of motus.  Eventually, the central island will disappear altogether and what will remain is a collection of motus inside a completely encircling reef, which is then called an atoll.

At the beach, I kicked myself for forgetting my underwater camera!  I had to settle for my regular SLR and in the process I either invented or discovered a new art form by photographing corals through the heaving, wind-blown water surface.

The most remarkable difference you notice on arriving in Huahine is the quiet.  There are some cars, but not many places to drive them, so there is little traffic.  You actually notice when a single car passes along the shoreline on the road!  There are scattered houses here and there along the shore, and a small village clusters around the boat dock, but there’s no heavy-duty construction up into the hills as in Tahiti.  Life here is very laid back, relaxed, easy-going. 

One striking thing I realized, as we all compared notes back on the ship over dinner – although the people at my table had been on three different tours, not one of us had seen a souvenir store, or even a grocery store!  We knew there was a grocery store because we were told that.  But the people of Huahine live close to the land and sea.  They grow a great deal of food for themselves, and catch fish enough for their needs.  As far as selling souvenirs like pareos and black pearls, the enterprising sellers set up shop at key tour stops and at the boat dock.  So, on my tour, the family that hosted us were doing a lively business in selling hand-painted pareos and the like right outside their home as well as the lunch and dancing and boat ride!  Under these conditions, an actual brick-and-mortar store isn’t really necessary.

From Huahine we sailed eastwards for 2 days to reach our next stop at Rangiroa.  Nothing highlights the vastness of the ocean as much as the fact that, although you are sailing through a region containing hundreds – thousands – of islands, you scan the horizons from the top deck and see no sign of land anywhere.  More than ever, I’m absolutely awed at the achievements of the ancient Polynesians who colonized the Pacific Ocean from Fiji and Samoa east to Tahiti and Easter Island, south to New Zealand, and north all the way to Hawaii.  All of this travel was accomplished with no specific navigating tools, just an outrigger canoe and a wealth of hard-earned knowledge passed down from generation to generation.  Their navigating skills were based on knowing about which birds and fish lived what distances from land, and which stars to follow and for how long.

Rangiroa is a different world again, a genuine atoll – the largest in French Polynesia.  The first thing you notice is the flatness.  No mountains, no high-rising islands, just the strings of low-lying land crowned with trees and some buildings.  Within its encircling reef are found over 400 separate motus!  Only a few of the motus are inhabited, and the total population of the Rangiroa atoll is only about 2500 people.  Although they have access to some modern services thanks to the French government, this is still a remote location.  Remoteness is underlined by the fact that air service “schedules” to the smaller island airports change frequently – even daily – according to need, demand and weather conditions.

We were fortunate in sailing into the lagoon on a gloriously sunny morning.  The trick is often to take advantage of the sunshine while it lasts, as things are apt to get cloudy and perhaps wet as the day warms up.  A late riser in the tropical wet season may never see much of the sun!  This day proved to be very much the exception to the rule during the week I have been in Polynesia, as it stayed sunny for the full day.

This day I had my morning excursion on a semi-submersible vessel to sail to a nearby reef and watch the fish go crazy when fed.  They did, and the view through the underwater plexiglass windows was splendid, and I got plenty of video footage.  Sadly, though, much of the reef in this area is dead or dying.  That’s increasingly true of many coral reefs around the world.  If you have always wanted to see one, you’d better go sooner rather than later because later could be too late.  The first of the two pictures above shows the snorkeling boats and the semi-submersible (orange) over the reef.  And here is a video clip to show the feeding frenzy that ensued when the pilot of our vessel tossed some dead fish pieces (called "chum") into the water.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing on board ship.  When we sailed at 5:00 pm, we first sailed a couple of miles farther into the lagoon, then we turned around to take a good run at the “pass”, the narrow channel between two motus leading through the reef and into the open ocean.  This was to make sure we had enough headway to beat the incoming tidal current which was quite strong.

At Sea in Polynesia

The centrepiece of this whole expedition is the 10-day cruise around the islands of French Polynesia on Princess Cruise Lines’ Ocean Princess.  Alone among all the “big players” in the cruise industry, Princess has had the smarts to keep a foot in the “small ship” category.  Ocean Princess and her identical sister ship Pacific Princess weigh in at a tiny 30,277 tons and carry less than 700 passengers each – a startling contrast to the floating apartment towers which all the major lines are busily building.

It’s ironic that barely a century ago a 30,000 ton ship would be one of the three or four biggest vessels in the entire world.  Ocean Princess is nearly the same tonnage as the Cunard liners Lusitania and Mauritania.  It’s exactly 100 years ago this spring that the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland, while the 31,938-ton Mauretania continued to give distinguished service for another 20 years.  But check out these pictures to see just how different two ships of similar tonnage can appear:

  

The obvious visual difference in the two ships is in their length.  Mauretania was 790 feet long while Ocean Princess is nearly 200 feet shorter at 592 feet -- but stands three decks taller!  The other key difference which shows just how far life at sea has evolved in a century is the fact that the old Mauretania was designed to carry 2165 passengers at a time, versus Ocean Princess with a capacity of 672.  The difference is that today's cruise ship offers every passenger the equivalent of what would have been a first-class ticket in the early 1900s -- or pretty close to it.

I’ve gone to the trouble of comparing this cruise ship to an ocean liner from a century ago because the interior designers of Ocean Princess and her sister Pacific Princess have come up with a look for the public spaces which are obviously intended to evoke that bygone age of luxury without slavishly imitating it.  Dark wood panellings abound.  There are carved decorations in the ceilings.  Wall lamps make a nod in the direction of the old, as does the furniture.  Nothing is positively antique, but everything whispers little reminders of an age of bygone luxury and leisure.  

The same is true of the customer service people.  When I ordered a pre-dinner teeny martooni, in the Casino Bar, it was not the bartender who did the honours.  Rather, the waiter brought the shaker over to the table, shook it up with a flair and poured it elegantly right in front of me. 

We’ve actually started the cruise by sailing – nowhere.  After boarding on January 27 we remained firmly tied to the dock in the small but busy harbour of Papeete until 5:00 pm on the 28^th.  To me this was the golden opportunity to take in a tour of some of the highlights of Tahiti.  It meant that I could just concentrate on relaxing during the three nights I was at the resort.

The Tahiti of today as seen in and around Papeete is certainly not the tropical paradise depicted so evocatively in the paintings of Paul Gauguin.  It’s the most heavily developed island in French Polynesia and no wonder.  Papeete is the capital of the entire territory, the seat of the government, the seat of the Roman Catholic bishop, the location of many cultural and educational facilities, the chief port of entry for goods and the only port of entry for air travellers (at the nearby Faa’a International Airport).  

It’s a busy, bustling place, but not always beautiful by any means.  Like any major city of 50,000 or so people, it has it’s stark industrial areas, it’s uglier buildings, it’s dirtier and seamier neighbourhoods.  That – as the saying goes – is life, but it amuses me that people who wouldn’t even blink at such things in their own home town get furiously affronted and burst into torrents of indignant imprecation when they encounter them here!

 
Having said all of that, the waterfront of Papeete is very lovely.  The main boulevard is lined with trees and gardens, there’s a sizable park, and some of the city’s more attractive buildings right behind it.  And we have a grandstand view of it all from the port side of the ship, as it sits at the dock.  So naturally my balcony stateroom is on the starboard side, with a view of the working area of the harbour.  The Terevau in the photograph is one of the fast ferries to Moorea.

As our tour bus fought clear of the traffic in Papeete and slowly made its way east along the coastal road, the old traditional image of Tahiti was more and more evident.  The lush tropical vegetation, the volcanic rock, waterfalls, and pounding surf all looked exactly right. 

Surfing, we were informed, was traditionally an activity reserved for royalty, and only the chieftains were allowed the privilege of standing up on the surfboard.  Well, times have certainly changed and there are plenty of people out surfing now!  Here are a couple of video clips of some spectacular surf on the rocks of Tahiti's north shore, and some Tahitians enjoying some bodyboard surfing.

The one thing that hasn’t changed at all is the beauty of the Tahitian people.  Behind the modern clothes you can still clearly see the grace in movement and the warmth of the smiles that so captivated Gauguin.  And when they adopt traditional dress, it’s easy to ignore the trappings of the modern world and – just for a moment – be swept back in time to the Tahiti of long ago.  I hope that never changes.

Farther Into the South Pacific

So that's it for Hawaii, for now.  I'll be visiting two more of the Hawaiian Islands on my return home, but for now I am off to Tahiti, 6 more hours of flying time south and a bit east.

If you want to island-hop in the Pacific like this, the scarcity of flights becomes a major handicap.  Newer aircraft have made it feasible to fly nonstop between any two of North/South America, Asia or Australia/New Zealand.  Result: the days when all flights had to island hop just to get from one side of the Pacific to another are over and done.  There's just one airline serving Hawaii-Tahiti, and that's Hawaiian Airlines.  The flight only operates once a week, on Saturdays.

Since I bought my flight tickets at different times, I've had to make use of another handy traveller's trick.  If you have 2 different tickets but both are issued by the same airline (as I have), simply explain that to a check-in agent and you can probably get your bags checked through to your final destination, as I did.  This won't normally work if two different airlines are involved, unless they both belong to the same global alliance (such as Star Alliance or OneWorld) or have some other form of cross-ticketing agreement.  The result is that I was able to "merge" the two tickets and check my bags through from Kauai to Tahiti without having to reclaim and recheck them in Honolulu.

In passing, though, I want to put in a good word for Hawaiian Airlines.  Their service is exemplary.  All their staff that I have met have got in full measure the genuinely warm and welcoming manner so typical of all the Polynesians I have met.  Even on their little 20-minute inter-island shuttle flights they have a drink for everyone, which is a major feat of coordination that their flight attendants simply perform day in and day out as a matter of course.  I love travelling with Hawaiian!

This became especially important yesterday.  There was a serious mass of turbulent, stormy weather right smack along the flight path, and we had to take a long roundabout detour.  In fact, for most of the flight we were following a direct flight path from Hawaii towards Samoa, which is three hours flying time west of Tahiti!  Only when we got right down to the proper latitude did we finally turn east to head for our destination.  The flight took about 90 minutes longer than usual, but the crew did a very good job of explaining why and of looking after us throughout the journey.

Flying to Tahiti takes you deep into the tropics, and south of the Equator.  Here the traditional four seasons of the temperate zone (spring, summer, fall and winter) are meaningless.  In tropical climates you usually get just two seasons:  Wet and Dry.  Tahiti is no exception.  Sadly, the wet season coincides with our North American winter.  The weather is hot, humid, and rain can be expected at almost any time on almost any day.  You pays your money and you takes your chances!

I've already spoken with several people who had no idea of this in advance.  The Tahitian official tourist website stresses the sunniness of Tahiti, and makes much of the well over 300 days a year when the sun shines.  Well, it's now 4:15 pm Tahiti time, and for about 10 minutes this morning the sun was "sort of" visible, half veiled by the clouds.  I suspect they will count that as a "sunny day".  The moral of the story is: plan any trip to the tropical Pacific islands for somewhere from March or April to September or October.  I put it that way because I encountered the same phenomenon in Fiji in January of 1994.  At least it dried up this afternoon for a couple of hours, long enough for me to have a nice long swim in the Lotus pool, which is a sand-floored infinity pool and is pleasantly cool and refreshing.

I decided to "shoot the works" and reserve an over-water bungalow.  The one thing this definitely gives is plenty of peace and quiet.  Fortunately it's both a good size and comfortable, as I expect to be spending a fair bit of time in it!

At any rate, to satisfy your curiosity, I'm going to put in a couple of pictures.  You'll have no trouble telling which ones are mine and which are borrowed from the hotel website.  First, an interior shot of the bungalow:

The view over the outside balcony and swimming platform, towards Moorea (which was completely hidden in cloud this morning):

The other view, along the resort's shoreline:

And, later in the day, the moment when a sizable chunk of the island of Moorea finally became visible for a few moments:

Now, here's what all of that is "officially" supposed to look like:

And, for good measure, an aerial view of the whole resort, considered by most travel sites to be the best luxury property in Tahiti:

My bungalow is at the very end of the projecting string of bungalows in the distance.  It's about a seven minute walk to the main building with its restaurant by the large pool in the foreground, so once again I am getting my exercise!  The large green water next to the pool is the Lagoonarium, an enclosed lagoon connected to the sea and stocked with a fabulous assortment of tropical fish, minus the predatory and dangerous species.  It's popular for snorkeling, since the main lagoon of Tahiti (the surrounding ocean water, inside the reefs) isn't as vividly colourful in its sea life as those on some of the other Polynesian islands.

The beautiful stretch of ocean between Tahiti and Moorea is evocatively called "The Sea of the Moon", and I'd love to see it with the moonlight sparkling on the waters.  It definitely isn't happening today, though!

The biggest single thing you need to know if planning a trip to French Polynesia is: bring lots of money and have a huge credit limit on your card!  If you study the map, you'll soon see why.  Tahiti is about as far as it is possible to get from any continental landmass, and the vast majority of products you will use and consume during your stay have to be shipped over those immense distances, whether by sea or in some cases by air.  Just as an example: the hotel restaurant puts those little mini jars of Dickinson's ketchup on the table.  It's produced in California.  Consider that the ketchup has travelled about 4000 miles/6400 kilometres to get added to your lunch, and you can begin to see why it's pricey to eat here.

But let's be fair and compare apples to apples.  Look at the prices in any Intercontinental hotel restaurant anywhere in the world,  This is an upscale premium chain, and the prices will always reflect that fact.  In any case, this is a beautiful property and would be a fine place to spend some time if only the damn sun would come out and keep shining for a while!

Dinner in Paradise

I know I don't usually go nuts reviewing restaurants, but every once in a while you come across a restaurant which is much more than a meal -- it's an "occasion", a destination in its own right.  I first visited this one on my previous trip to Kauai in 1998, and returned tonight.  I just hope it isn't 17 more years before I get to eat here again.

From the outside, it doesn't look much -- just another anonymous modern building at one end of a shopping centre parking lot in the Poipu resort area.  But then you step inside.  Welcome to "Keoki's Paradise".

It's a very big restaurant, but there's no one spot where you can see it all.  Four or five seating areas and the bar are all open to the outside -- typical Hawaiian architecture.  But what's outside is a beautiful tropical garden with rock piles, palm trees, shrubs, flowers, tiki torches (after sunset), a pond, and waterfalls.  The sound of running water, ever constant yet ever changing, is the background along with gentle live music.  Incidentally, it most effectively drowns out the sound of traffic on the main Poipu Road -- which, believe it or not, is just a few feet behind those rocks and trees.  To all appearances, you could be in the middle of a tropical rain forest miles from the nearest major town.

(photos borrowed from the internet -- my camera's phone is a disaster area!)

The fresh fish here is always outstanding, with five varieties available tonight, all locally caught, and all available in any one of three unusual preparations.  There's also a Chef's Choice of two fish (about 3 ounces each), grilled and served with two different and unusual sauces, and that's what I chose.  One of the fish was a new one I had never tasted before called "monchong".  My server assured me that it has become popular just in the last few years, and indeed it was delicious.  The other was the ever-reliable mahimahi.  The quality and quantity were both impressive.  There's also a fine wine list.  Service throughout was thorough, friendly, attentive to detail, and unobtrusive.

Of course, what really makes the meal is that feeling of being seated in the midst of natural beauty, far from civilization.  For me, that's why Keoki's Paradise is an occasion, not just a meal.  And that's why I'm writing about it here, for the benefit of any readers who find themselves in Kauai some day.  Please note:  reservations are strongly recommended!

Another World

Four days later, and I've moved on to the next stop of my trip.  The island of Kauai is a whole different world from Waikiki in many respects.

If you're wondering why I didn't get beyond the resort in Honolulu, there's a reason.  I've been on the tours to the Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbor and the other main attractions (both scenic and historic) on my two previous visits in the 1990s, and didn't really feel the need to repeat those tours.  With only three full days I was content to laze by the pool between bouts of walking for miles to get wherever I needed to go on the property!  I also didn't want to rent a car because the traffic in Oahu is so big-city jam-packed and often painfully slow.  In Kauai it's a different story.

Of course, I couldn't leave Waikiki without watching a sunset, and getting a couple of final photos during the countdown to that sunset.

After that, and one final dinner by the beach, it was time to repack for my move to Kauai.

But first you have to get there.  Inter-island flights in Hawaii are plentiful, and fairly cheap when you consider the distance that all the jet fuel has to travel from its producers!  It just tickles me that you have to check in an hour or more early, go through security, the whole 9 yards, to get on a plane that's going to spend a grand total of 20 minutes in the air, give or take a bit.  The only exception is the longer flight from Honolulu to Kona or Hilo on the Big Island, where you will spend about 35 minutes in the air!

My visit to Kauai actually got off to a pretty rocky start.  About 15 minutes after I drove out of the airport, I ran over some accident debris in the road and flattened a tire.  That was at 1:30 pm.  I promptly called the rental company's roadside assistance line and got into an unbelievable game of circling touch menus and an agent who seemed unable to get straight anything I said to him.  In the end, I finally got a confirming phone call that my tow had been dispatched and should arrive at 3:00 pm.  The truck actually arrived at 5:30.  I wrote a brutally detailed account on the online survey asking "How did we do?"  Within a few hours the local manager had gotten back to me, totally agreed that the whole experience was unacceptable, detailed point by point the steps to be taken with regard to the various lapses, and then took a day's rental charge off the agreement!  I've always found that in complaining it pays to be factually accurate, polite, but firm.  I've never failed yet to get satisfaction when I complain in this way, and I'm always amazed at people who beat their heads against the wall because they use rude or abusive language, wildly exaggerate their cases, or try to squeeze out far more than they would think reasonable if it weren't happening to them!

Anyway, that's all settled now and I'm into another beautiful beachfront resort: the Marriott Kauai Resort and Beach Club.  But the surroundings, as you'll see, couldn't be more different.  Start with the amazing pool, said to be the largest in Hawaii.

There's a hot tub underneath each of those pillared balconies.  And then there's the spectacular view of Kalapaki Beach and the surrounding mountains in front of the resort property.

Kauai is known as "The Garden Isle" because of its lush forests and sizable farmlands, now much devoted to ranching.  It's a largely rural island, with only a few towns and no large cities.  The total population of the entire island is equal to about 5% of the population of Honolulu.  Like all the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai does get a great deal of rainfall, principally in its central mountains.  The peak of Mount Waiʻaleʻale, which gets an average of 460 inches (11,700 mm) of rain each year, is one of the wettest spots on the planet.  All that rainfall has exerted tremendous erosive force on the volcanic rock of Kauai, which is in any case the oldest of the major Hawaiian Islands.  Nowhere is the erosion more remarkable than in Waimea Canyon, near the western edge of the island.

To get the scale, look at the top of the bare rocky ridge in the third picture and you'll see the tiny figures of some hikers.  To the right, on the edge of the second darker ridge you can see a natural rock arch.  I'm not sure just how deep the canyon is, but the lookout points where I took these pictures are all over 3500 feet above sea level.  No wonder this is often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

Here's a video clip of the Canyon which I also shot today.

Getting up there requires a bit of adventurous driving on a steep and twisting mountain road.  The speed limit all the way up (and down) is 25 mph (40 kmh) for excellent reasons!  On this kind of road, the thing to do when going down is to keep the transmission set in the lower gears and let the engine do the work of slowing the vehicle.  Try to do it all the way on your brakes, and you may well find that your brakes run out before the hill does!

Beyond the first Canyon lookout point, the road is still paved but is too narrow and the parking lots too small to accommodate big tourist buses.  To reach the upper lookouts, you need either a smaller van or a private vehicle.  Beyond the last Canyon lookout point, the road continues snaking across the plateau to the north.  It's not far at all before you encounter this terrific view.

I don't know the exact number, but I'm pretty sure that this lookout point is still well over 3000 feet above that pounding surf.  The Hawaiian word "pali" means a cliff and this north-western shore of Kauai is very aptly called the Na Pali Coast.  It's only accessible by foot along a rugged coastal trail or by sea kayak -- although I wouldn't care to be kayaking in those very large swells!  I could tell they were huge by the fact that their motion from this height looked incredibly slow and deliberate.  Here's a sea level view along the same coastline, borrowed from the internet:

As I said earlier, Kauai's semi-official title is "The Garden Isle".  I have my own nickname:  The Poultry Park.  Kauai is the home of a feral population of thousands upon thousands of hens, roosters and chicks.  These birds are everywhere, and the most characteristic soundtrack of Kauai is the repeated crowing of the roosters.  Contrary to what many people think, roosters don't crow at sunrise -- they just start at sunrise and then keep it up all flippin' day!  These omnipresent birds are actually fascinating in a way, since decades of breeding have given them some very unusual mixed colour schemes in their plumage.

One of the common sights of Kauai is a line of cars halted on the road, waiting for the poultry parade to cross.  Not only that, but several places along the roads sport signs warning of "Nene Crossing".  The nene (pronounced "naynay") is a Hawaiian goose.  Nuff said?  Actually, I have yet to see one on this trip.

Eight Resorts in One

No, I'm not referring to Disney World!  That title is a quick capsule description of the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.

Within the area of land covered by the resort are seven different towers with guest rooms, and an eighth is due to open soon.  Five contain regular hotel rooms, and the other three have (or will have) all-suites accommodations, including timeshares.  There are also multiple swimming pools, a giant artificial lagoon, gardens with fountains, dozens of restaurants, bars and shops, conference facilities, a wedding chapel, and it's all fronted by the widest part of Waikiki Beach, at its western end.  Here's an overview of the entire complex, from a few years back, obviously downloaded from the internet as opposed to being photographed by yours truly!

In spite of arriving late at night (nearly midnight) I got upgraded to a good room in the Tapa Tower with a decent view of the lagoon and ocean, and the iconic mosaic mural on the wall of the beachfront Rainbow Tower.

It looks a long way to the beach, but it only takes a few minutes to walk there.  Good exercise, just getting around this big complex!

Directly below my lanai (balcony) is the Rainbow Bazaar, the main shopping centre of the resort.  It's a hodge-podge of architectural styles from North America, Polynesia, and East Asia all joined together.  It's a fun place to wander through, while you're considering all the different stores and eateries found there.

Around the corner from my tower is the Ocean Crystal Chapel, poised on top of a rock with waterfalls gushing out below --perhaps meant to evoke a rocky cliff with waves smashing against it.  I wonder how much it costs to hold a wedding there?  Maybe I'd rather not know!

One of the interesting features of Hawaiian modern architecture is the liberal use of flow-through spaces left open to the outdoors for public areas.  This is practical, of course, because we're talking about a marine tropical climate where temperatures pretty much hold steady at the comfortable mid-to-upper 20s Celsius all year round.  The front desk area of the resort is a good example.

Right behind the front desk is a beautiful garden with fountains and waterfalls.  Beyond the fountains lies the largest of the resort's five swimming pools.  And beyond that is the beach.

In the background of this picture is the Tropics bar and restaurant, right on the beachfront walkway.  I had an excellent light supper there tonight while watching the spectacular sunset over the Pacific.  Sorry to say I forgot my camera.  This restaurant too is all outdoors and flow-through space.

By the way, I specify that Tropics is "right on the beachfront walkway" because the resort ends right there.  There is no such thing in Hawaii as a "private beach", by state law.  The walkway is public turf, as is the sizable expanse of sand beyond it.  The beach around that artificial lagoon, on the other hand, is man-made and therefore can be private to guests of the resort.

Pretty spectacular place.  Of course, the name "Village" is way out of line.  This resort ranks as a pretty healthy-sized city in its own right when all the thousands of rooms are occupied and when you include the staff in the head count.

The drawback is the cost.  Of course, nothing in Hawaii is ever really cheap, because of the cost of shipping all kinds of supplies here from the mainland.  It's a standard issue of all the beautiful tropical island paradises of the Pacific.  Bring lots and lots of money.

With this particular resort, though, there is the added bugbear of the dreaded "Resort Charge".  They always provide a list of things that the charge covers, but many of them are things that I don't want to use.  However, I still have to pay.  I wish they'd just roll it into the room rate and have done with it.  As Eric Nicol so memorably said many years ago, you get the undeniable impression of being eaten to death by ants when they put surcharges like this on your bill.

Many hotels in Waikiki, by the way, do not charge resort fees and proudly advertise that fact.  On the other Hawaiian islands, this insidious practice is becoming increasingly common.

At any rate, for me this showboat of resorts is affordable for four nights as a result of cashing in my Hilton Hhonors points.  It would not necessarily be my first choice of a place to stay because it's so damn huge.  At least, as with all such hotels, I will be earning points on all my food and drink room charges while I'm here too so the free-nights game can continue.

The Distance from Here to Aloha

It's not hard to see why so many eastern Canadians prefer Florida and the Caribbean.  Most of the tourist destinations are within 5 hours or less flying time from the major cities of eastern Canada.  And you may have to cross 1 time zone, but that's about it.

Hawaii is a bit farther.

Okay, it's a lot farther.  The trip is a 15-hour plus grind, unless you are travelling on one of the rare nonstop flights from Toronto.  That's what I was doing all day yesterday, buses and planes and airports, but it was worth it. 

The facts: 5 hours Toronto to Vancouver, 3 hour stopover in Vancouver and 6 hours Vancouver to Honolulu.  All I can say is, thank goodness for freebie flights in first class on the Aeroplan points.

For starters, travelling in business class gives automatic access to Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounges in Toronto and Vancouver.  At the gate, you get the privilege of being first to board if you wish.  All food and drinks are complimentary.  And perhaps best of all, at the destination your bags come out on the carousel first.
 
I was wined and dined every step of the way.  Now I know that it's bad news to drink a lot of alcohol on a plane, because each drink packs about twice the punch compared to ground level.  I kept it under control, but it all helps to pass the time.

That, and my noise-suppressing headphones.  I'm a classical music nut (see my other two blogs via the links on the right side of the page), and the selection of classical music on the aircraft's sound system is apt to be a bit thin on the ground.  Between the headphones and an MP3 player packed full of good music, I've got everything I could want.

Good thing, too, because it's not only a long, grueling trip but you have to cross 5 times zones in the process.  This means that you leave your hotel in Toronto at noon, and check into your hotel in Waikiki at about 11:00 pm (except that it's actually 4:00 am Toronto time, as far as your inner time clock is concerned).

And then, after about 4 hours of sleep, you wake up at 0400 Hawaii time (0900 at home) and once again the headphones save your sanity -- the headphones and the in-room coffee maker.


Next post: getting used to paradise.

Hotel Freebies

When I first started on this blog, a friend who worked for many years in the travel business told me that I should be sure to share the tricks I had learned about benefitting from airline and hotel frequent guest programs.  I did give some hints previously related to the workings of Aeroplan, the Air Canada-affiliated frequent flyer plan.  (Crossing the Big Pond)

Now, I'd like to share a few observations about the frequent guest programs used by just about every hotel chain on the planet.

This is a timely post because, in just a few days, I'm going to be off on yet another trip (ain't retirement grand?), and I will be benefitting from no less than seven free nights in deluxe beachfront resorts spread across three different destinations.  By now, I actually have enough points to cover even more nights but free rooms are no longer available for my dates.

And that's the first rule to remember.  The number of free nights available for any date is restricted, exactly the same way frequent flyer plans restrict the number of free seats.  The more popular the date, the fewer spaces are available.  I started planning this trip almost a year ago, and you do need that kind of lead time for both the free flights and the free hotels, in popular resort destinations. 

Aside from that basic fact, the rules change with every plan, so you do need to do some careful thinking and studying before choosing which plan(s) to join.  As with the airlines, common sense dictates that it doesn't pay to spread yourself too thin.  I belong to four hotel plans, but even that begins to seem like too many, in spite of the amount of travelling that I do.

The ideal situation is one where you can earn points on lower-priced stays in budget hotels and then burn them up in deluxe destination properties.  Two of the best chains for this are the IHG chain (which includes Intercontinental Hotels and all Holiday Inn properties) and the Hilton chain (which also includes the popular Hampton Inn portfolio, among others). 

Both these plans follow similar procedures, and the key one is that there is no expiry date on points.  Huge bonus, as you save up for that beachfront (or ski) vacation of a lifetime.  Both plans also calculate points earned based on dollars spent, so purchases such as meals, drinks, or in-room movies become part of your points earnings too.  If you travel fairly frequently, both these plans also open up special bonuses to you after you reach a certain threshold of number of stays per year.  One big benefit is gaining access to paid rooms even after a hotel has gotten filled up to the point where it has stopped selling to the general public.  This benefit may not be offered during such peak events as the Super Bowl or New Years Eve, but otherwise it's there. 

Both these plans also increase your points earned by giving you bonus earnings on every stay once you get to the threshold.  Above the threshold, both also offer you free upgrades to the best available room (below a suite) at time of check-in.  In some properties, this practically guarantees you a room on the executive levels with access to the executive lounge, where the free evening hors d'oeuvres may well be generous enough to take the place of a paid dinner!

A considerable bonus when you check into your waterfront palace in the sun is the free internet which both IHG and Hilton offer to members of their plans -- IHG to all members, and Hilton to the upper tiers.  When you realize that most premium hotels charge anywhere from $15-25 a day for internet use, this is a freebie worth having!

If you are in a situation where you might frequently stay in the properties of one of these chains (for instance, taking the kids to hockey tournaments all winter), you can get well on your way to that free trip just by using the same chain consistently and always reserving with your member number.

The Hilton chain tosses in another bonus.  After you get to the Gold Level you can opt to receive a free breakfast every night you stay.  That's one of several possible choices, but if you are staying in a deluxe hotel that doesn't normally include breakfast it can be a big dollar saver.

At a more budget level, such plans as the Choice Hotels (Comfort and Quality Inns) or the Wyndham Rewards (which includes Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Travelodge and Hojo) don't always include the generous bonuses of the more upscale chains, but do usually allow you to amass enough points for a free night much more quickly.

Check back in a few days, then, and I'll be ready to share with you some impressions of my first free beachfront paradise!