It's been a remarkably low-key holiday, but I'm in no doubt that this is exactly what I needed. I've been off the property a couple of times, but have no more spectacular photos to share -- far too much pool and chill time this week! And the views....
What I can share is the following helpful hints, the product of five separate experiences with Hawai'i over a period of 25 years:
[1] Bring lots of money (or credit limit on your cards). Hawai'i is out in the middle of the Pacific, and Honolulu is located farther away from the next nearest city of a million people than any other city of that size on the planet. This map gives you the overview.
Likely three-quarters of everything you will eat, the linens your hotel will provide, the furniture you will sit, eat, and sleep on, the gas in your car or tour bus, the vehicles themselves, all will have been shipped in from outside. It's easy to take for granted the bottle of Heinz ketchup on your table at breakfast time, but when you stop to think that the ketchup -- like you -- has travelled many thousands of kilometres from its place of origin and crossed up to six time zones to land on your table in time to go with your scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes... well, suffice it to say, prices in Hawai'i are high, and "expensive" is likely the most common criticism levelled against Hawai'i's restaurants, shops, and hotels.
[2] Be patient. Hawai'i may be an American state, and it may look American on the surface, but at heart, deep down inside, it is a tropical island culture. Take-it-easy is much more than just a cultural manifestation, it's a survival skill in the tropics, especially for those who work out of doors. The result is that much of what you will see and do in Hawai'i runs on "island time," and there's nothing to gain by expecting/demanding that service personnel keep up to your expected standards of mainland speed and punctuality. And anyway, aren't you here on holiday?
[3] Be realistic. You are not going to see everything Hawai'i has to offer on one trip, any more than for any other destination you might visit. My advice? Confine yourself to a maximum of two islands for your first time. Make O'ahu one of them, and pick any one of the other big three (Kaua'i, Maui, or the Big Island) to go along with it.
[4] Enjoy the gifts of the islands. These include the fresh fish and shellfish, the tropical fruits and vegetables, and the coffee. Oh, that Hawaiian coffee. Not many people who've never been here have any idea that Hawai'i grows some absolutely incredible coffee beans, and right here is the place to enjoy the results. I've been in heaven for over a week, brewing up a fresh cup of mouth-watering Hawaiian coffee in my room every morning, and then enjoying even more of it with my breakfast. You can imagine how I pity the people who think they're better off walking to the nearest Starbucks for their morning java. Perfume? Clothes? Liquor? Nope -- my shopping is for a stash of Hawaiian coffee to bring home with me!
[5] Speaking of shopping, as an American state, you can find all sorts of familiar American brand stores here, ranging from the Targets and Walmarts in the residential districts all the way up to the top-end luxury brands in the tourist areas. But why? It's actually easy to find shops and stalls selling the products of local makers and crafters, and those are the places to seek out.
[6] Lu'au. You probably want to do one, and so you should. Many hotels and resorts in the main tourist areas offer lu'aus. Many of them are good, but light years ahead of them all (for my money) is the one offered at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, on O'ahu. I've been there twice and will certainly go again (just didn't make it on this trip).
The ideal choice is to take one of the full-day tours which picks you up from your hotel in Waikiki, drives you to the center (about an hour away), gives you the day to visit the outdoor exhibits, shows, and demonstrations which sum up the cultures of all the main Polynesian island nations (not just Hawai'i), and then culminates with the lu'au dinner and the landmark evening show, staged in a large amphitheater with full theatrical lighting and sound effects. What makes this entire day event so special is that the participants are all residents of the various Polynesian cultures which they present to you. All have come to Hawai'i as students and faculty of Brigham Young University of the Pacific which is built entirely around the preservation and dissemination of these remarkable cultures of the islands. The PCC wrote the book on authenticity in Polynesian culture, arts, and food. If you can only do one thing on O'ahu, let this be it.
[7] Speaking of tours, Pearl Harbor is one place where a tour is advisable. The number of visitors to the USS Arizona memorial has to be limited each day, and by turning up on your own you might find you need to wait for a long time. On a busy day, especially on the weekend, you might not get in at all if you don't arrive early enough. Tours, of course, have space pre-booked and get in with no waiting. It matters because the memorial is reached by boat from the landside parking, museum, and exhibition.
[8] On being early. Hawai'i consists of tropical islands, and the temperatures ensure that clouds build up over the islands as the day goes on. Every day. Depending on location, if you are a chronic late riser, you might not see much sun at all. Trust me on this. In the tropics, you are far better off to cut your big nights short and get up each morning in a timely way. Case in point: the pool area was filled with gorgeous sunshine this morning; by 3:00 pm the sky was clouding over. Also, there's the rain. Little sprinkly showers can happen almost any time of any day, but are certainly more common, and sometimes more forceful, in the afternoon. Just as a by-the-way, I read years ago that islanders refer to these frequent little showers as "liquid sunshine."
[9] Rental cars, like everything else, are pricey. On O'ahu in particular, I recommend doing without your own wheels. The traffic in and around Honolulu is heavy-duty, not surprising in a city with nearly a million people in the metropolitan area. Now, really, did you have to travel all this way just to sit in traffic jams? Especially this is so when the range of coach tours on offer is so enormous, and when the island's own transit bus service (laconically called "The Bus") runs on an unbelievably cheap fare of just $1.00 per ride.
If you ever decide to go to Hawai'i, I hope these hints will help you. I can guarantee you that Hawai'i is not just "another resort" like Cancun or the Dominican Republic. To close this off, I'm going to wrap up with a collection of useful Hawaiian words that you should certainly know if you are going to come here. Some of them have already cropped up in earlier posts.
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