All It Took Was Gustav: A Little Hurrying, A Little Calmness, A Little Learning & A Complete Misinterpretation

In an unrecognizable accent, the lady said,

‘You park your car here and then hike up to see the crater’.

‘Hike? I thought it was a drive up according to the brochure’, I responded.

‘How far is the hike?’, J asked the lady.

The Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on Oahu also known as Le’ahi to the Hawaiians. We were about to park the car and experience the panoramic view of the crater when we found out that it was a 1 ½ mile hike up. The area was dry and it truly was a hot day. The party decided against the hiking activity. Instead we stopped at the crater’s lookout.

The crater from above

Leaving the crater

Driving towards the tunnel

In the tunnel

At the crater's lookout

More views

Dad & Mom in the car

Satisfied by the view from the crater lookout, we proceeded to Hanauma Bay. As J drove along the Kalaniana’ole Highway a.k.a. HI-72E, I was captivated by the sea and waves slapping the shores. This only made me want to get to the bay even faster. The GPS though indicated only two miles left of driving did not appease me. Besides, following a slow vehicle on a 50 mph speed limit highway did not help at all.

On the way to Hanauma Bay

View of the ocean

View of a mini island

The ocean

The slow vehicle

We finally reached Hanauma Bay. The bay is a marine embayment formed within a volcanic cone. The waters at the bay looked great for snorkeling hence J and I vowed to return to snorkel sometime later since my parents were not as enthused.

Dad and the bay

Hanauma Bay

After what seemed like a short visit at the bay, we made our way to the Byodo-In Temple. We continued on Kalaniana’ole Highway towards HI-61S. Approximately 12.5 miles after, we took a right turn towards Kamehameway Highway a.k.a HI-83N. We also had the opportunity driving on LikeLike Highway a.k.a HI-63S before finally reaching the temple on the Kahekili Highway.

The Byodo-In Temple is a non-denominational Buddhist temple located at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park and is a replica of a 900 year old Buddhist place of worship at Uji in Kyoto, Japan.

The Byodo-In Temple

Another picture of the temple

Surrounding the temple are large koi ponds surrounded by lush Japanese gardens.

Koi pond at the temple

Koi in the pond

The golden koi that caught my eye

Within the temple grounds, there is a three ton brass peace bell. It is said that worshippers often sound the bell before entering the temple to purify the mind of evil spirits and temptation. This was exactly what I did prior to entering the temple. The sound of bell echoing through the quiet temple grounds truly brought peace and calmness.

The Peace Bell

The Peace Bell & Me

Sitting before me as I removed my shoes to enter the temple is a nine foot Lotus Buddha covered in gold and lacquer. I ignited a joss stick/incense, place it in the incense burner and meditated for a moment.

The Lotus Buddha

The Top

Lighted the joss stick/incense

(I maybe baptized as a Catholic but I respect and believe in the teachings of Buddha).

Peaceful

Plenty of bamboo

Exiting the temple, I came across peacocks, sparrows and a chicken. My parents, J and I continued to immerse ourselves in the peaceful temple surroundings. About 4.00 in the evening, we continued our drive along the island coast towards the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC).

The PCC is located on 42 acres of land owned by Brigham Young University of Hawaii. Most students enrolled in BYU-Hawaii are performers in PCC. They attend the university on scholarship from their native lands working up to 20 hours/week during school terms and full time during breaks to graduate debt-free. Profits from PCC support the scholarship programs run by BYU-Hawaii.

At PCC

It was 5.00 pm when we reached the Polynesian Cultural Center hence the only activity package worth embarking on was the Ali’i Luau Package. We had ½ hour to get ourselves seated for the Ali’I Luau buffet at Hale Ohana which commenced at 5.30 pm.

In front of the Hale Ohana with the lei....dinner time

As we entered the Hale Ohana, we each had a flower lei greeting. The lei that were made up of fresh orchids looked beautiful but felt uncomfortable around the neck. Nonetheless, we were seated just in time for the Luau. Throughout the evening at the Hale Ohana, we were entertained by Hawaiian music and the center’s ‘Ambassador of Aloha’ emcee.

In the Hale Ohana - At the dinner table

In the Hale Ohana - Polynesian Royalty

In the Hale Ohana - Graceful dancing

In the Hale Ohana - Little kids performing

In the Hale Ohana - Ladies dancing

In the Hale Ohana - More dancing

Additionally, we were educated on the ‘imu’ ceremony. An ‘imu’ is an underground oven that uses a combination of hot coals, stones and layers of leaves and cloth or mats to steam food. For a luau, the ‘imu’ is primarily used to cook the delicious shredded kalua pork which is a staple on any luau menu.

The Imu Ceremony

The Imu Ceremony - Peeling off the leaves

The Imu Ceremony - Carrying off the pig

The Imu Ceremony - Leaves

The Imu Ceremony - The Pig

The best yet, the all-you-can-eat spread serving authentic Hawaiian food all night.

Dinner - Island Fish

Dinner - Barbecue Chicken, Kalua Pig

Dinner - Sweet Potato (purple)

Dessert - Chocolate Macademia cake

Dessert - Guava cake, Coconut cake

Dessert - Haupia (jello like)

After a bursting meal, we left Hale Ohana and took a walk around the villages namely Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (present day New Zealand), Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and Marquesas before the ‘Horizons’ night show. Hourly performances and cultural learning experiences take place in these villages. As it was late into the evening, the performances were pretty much over leaving the villages with only the presence of visitors wandering around.

Walking into these villages was intriguing as each have its respective activities with labels informing what the activities were. The only problem? The labels were all in Hawaiian with no description in English. That left me wondering and taking wild mischievous interpretations of what the labels meant.

For instance.

My version of Tititorea. J was unaware of my intentions...hahahaha

The tititorea is in actual fact stick games played by the Maoris as demonstrated by the film below. Clearly, I was thinking out of the box and being bad.

The Real Tititorea

We made our way to the Pacific Theater for the Horizons night show passing through souvenir shops and booths. This theater has a 2800 seating capacity and we were excited. Throughout the 90 minute show we were treated to dances and performances from six Polynesian islands i.e. Hawaii, Tonga, Aotearoa, Fiji, Tahiti and Samoa with a cast of over 100 young Polynesians.

Horizons - Beginning of the show

Horizons - Graceful Ladies

Horizons - Tonga

Horizons - Maori (Poi balls)

Horizons - Another dance

Horizons - Samoa (sitting on fire)

Horizons

Of all the dances, the one that captivated J and my dad was the one from Tahiti.

Horizons - Tahitian dancers

Horizons - Tahitian dancers (bride & groom presumably)

I can only understand why and decided to create a hard time for J,

‘So, you like this one huh? A while ago you were falling asleep. Now you are wide awake.’

‘How did they move like that?!! I thought it was their apparel but it’s not!’, J was obviously amazed by the hip movement.

‘You want to ask them after the show?’, I asked.

J looked at me and said, ‘No la!!!!’.

(hahahahahaha……)

Towards the end of the show, I was clearly exhausted and sleepy. Making my way towards the SUV and driving back to the resort, I looked forward to a nice warm shower and plush bed as I am sure everybody else is.

To be continued......

All It Took Was Gustav: To The Village And Beyond

My eyes were blood shot when I exited the Boeing 767. I could tell that my parents and J were also in desperate need of rest and sleep. It was 7.45 pm in Oahu well past my bedtime in Connecticut. There was a six hours time difference. I anticipated we would get over the time difference in a day. However, it would ultimately be a challenge when we return from our vacation and need to turn our clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. Reason being the adrenaline and excitement will be over when we depart Oahu.

We made our way to the baggage claim area and waited in anticipation for our bags. After a lengthy wait, I was elated when I caught a glimpse of all our bags when they made their way on the conveyor belt in succession. I heaved a sigh of relief. I would really hate it if our bags did not make it with us. Thoughts of me making my way to the beach without a piece of cloth on me and showing off my imperfect bits make me shudder……

After some wait, the Hertz shuttle came to pick us up and was ‘greeted’ by a Hertz shuttle operator who apparently did not like her job. What happened to ‘Aloha! Welcome to Hertz Rental Cars!’ at the beginning and ‘We hope that you will enjoy your stay in Oahu. Thank you for choosing Hertz’ when we finally reached the Hertz Rental Center? Instead, she reluctantly gave answers as generic as they could to passengers who asked her who they should go to when they reach the rental center. I rolled my eyes, looked at J and my parents and commented in Cantonese,

‘She should just go home if she does not like her job. There are others who need work. Come on, it is not even late. What a sour puss! It is a good thing we do not need her to talk to us except to drive us to the center.’

My parents smiled and said nothing. J said,

‘She reminds me of the people in the service industries in my ‘hood’. They think they are doing you a great favor.’

I creased my forehead and commented,

‘Your ‘hood’ is different. People are trying to stay alive by not getting mugged or shot at. This is Hawaii, is it not? People are nice, yes? Unless this is a misconception and only nice people exist in tourist areas.’

We ceased conversation when the shuttle finally stopped in front of the rental center and J proceeded to collect our rental car. I must say that having the President Circle status with Hertz is a great thing. Although booked on a mid-size car, we were upgraded to a nice full size car. We had the Infiniti EX35 (sweetttt…..). The car came with a GPS system called the NeverLost. I knew better to use my very own GPS than to use the NeverLost. Like J always say, ‘The NeverLost will get you TRULY lost’. Nonetheless, if you do not have a GPS or a decent map, the NeverLost is a fair substitute.

As we drove along the Kamehameha Highway, I realized that the environment, apartments and city reminds me of home i.e Malaysia. The difference? Oahu was very much cleaner, cooler and breezier. Driving for about 8 miles, we finally reached the hotel. For five nights, we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa. My parents had a nice suite in the Diamond Head Tower while J and I had a room with two double beds in the Tapa Tower. On the first night, I slept like a dead log. Not even an earthquake would have woken me up.

Waiting at the lobby to check in

The Resort Map

Amazingly I woke up at 9.00 am the next morning fresh, energetic and famished. After freshening up, we made our way to the Rainbow Lanai for breakfast. The continental breakfast was on the house and with an additional $10/person we were upgraded to a full American breakfast. I had a full breakfast so much so I did not have lunch that day. My parents like me were gastronomically satisfied until towards the end of the day. I could not say the same for J as J is a sluggish mindless eating machine very much like a crossbreed between a tiger shark and a cow.

Dad in front of mini waterfall

Mom and me in front of the hotel beach while waiting to have breakfast

Hotel property (view from the suite)

After a good meal, we made our way to the Concierge and Activities desk to gather a map of Oahu and a list of tours/activities respectively. Despite tours arranged by the tour operators, we opted to explore the beauty of Oahu on our own. We had a car and did not want our freedom to be inhibited by typical tour operated activities. Instead, we wanted our trip pleasant and easy. With the breeze cooling the tropical temperature, we sat comfortably on lounge sofas at Tapa bar to plan our self operated tours in Oahu.

Me, J and parents (not in the picture) at Tapa Bar

Map of Oahu and our planned attractions (circled in blue)

Our first stop was the Wal-Mart store on Keeaumoku Street. We wanted water, a basic necessity for any human being. Surprisingly, I also found my favorite green tea on the shelf i.e. ITOEN for a mere $1.10/bottle. I bought six bottles and four gallons of water. Exiting Wal-Mart parking lot, I knew there was much to see and we were on our way to our first planned attraction, the Diamond Head.

Driving in the city

A yellow 'duck' in front - vehicle that can travel on land and water

Pawn shop

To be continued......

All It Took Was Gustav: The Beginning

A fishing related conversation with a client 2 ½ months and a vacation idea two weeks ago, my trip was at last finalized the week before Labor’s Day weekend. The plan was to spend some time in New Orleans, LA followed by deep sea fishing at the Gulf of Mexico leaving from Pensacola, FL. Flights and hotels as well as fishing reservations were booked.

The week before the actual vacation date, news of Gustav ravaging Haiti, Jamaica and Western Cuba made headlines. Gustav was predicted to ravage New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days. To not take chances, on 28th August 2008 three days before the evacuation process in New Orleans I had my flight, hotel and fishing trip cancelled.

Storm Path of Gustav 2008

Engulfed in disappointment and the flu virus for the entire week, I was determined to head somewhere and have a blast. After all, the new work environment albeit only a few months brought on stressful days. After pondering many hours in the midst of a bad headache, I narrowed my choices to three destinations listed below in no particular order.

Destination A

Destination B

Destination C

You and I know which one was the CLEAR winner. It was Destination C i.e. Honolulu, Hawaii also known as Oahu.

After pitching this idea to J and my parents, J and I frantically searched for last minute available vacation packages to Oahu, HI. Lady luck was shining upon us and we found ourselves a great vacation package. Add a car rental to the mix, limo reservations to and from Westchester County Airport, we were good to go. As last minute as it was, all preparations were made. What was left to do was to pack plenty of sunblock, my ohh lala bikinis, infamous yellow crocs and a few decent clothes ;)

On 31st August 2008, a day that coincides with Malaysia’s Independence Day, we woke up at 4.30 am to make our 5.30 am limo pickup. At 7.20 am, we boarded our flight and was en route to Oahu, HI......with a few transits along the way of course. The same day 14 hours later, the plane finally touched down Oahu and we were finally there!

To be continued....