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Hawaii vacation trip This is my 2nd time to Honolulu, Hawaii (Island of Oahu). If you have NEVER been to Hawaii, I can give you some tips. 1. Climate/ Weather: It is a warm tropical island, temperature is in between 76 to 88 Fahrenheit (please calculate into Celsius). The humidity makes me sweat a lot. Felt like I was going to be melted. In California, the temperature is in 90 - 105 Fahrenheit but dry, so we don't sweat. Bring an umbrella is a good idea because the shower rain comes and goes and the sun makes you sweat. 2. Wardrobe/ shoes: In Hawaii, you wear very casually. T- shirt and short and flip-flop slippers are most common. Please leave your suit and leather shoe at home, nobody wear those business attire there. Do NOT bring your high heel shoe to Hawaii, you can't walk with shoes on beach sands. 3. Hawaiian Foods: Everyone has to eat. I have Googled Hawaiian foods before I left California and I ate those Hawaiian foods in Hawaii. The most famous food is "Hawaii Luaus" (they dig a hole, wrap the pig and bury the pig in the heated pit.) The pork is very delicious but I think Muslims can't enjoy pork like we do. The 2nd famous Hawaiian food is "Poke Bowl" - it is a raw fish mixed with various salad or seaweed. I ate 3 times while I was there, Yummy. The 3rd famous food in Hawaii is "Pork Lau Lau" or "Chicken Lau Lau" that pork or chicken wrap in the tree leaf. You can eat the tree leaf with pork or chicken. They are very delicious. I ate "Squid Luau" once, don't like much. The soup is "Poi" and desert is "Coconut Haupia". I enjoyed all kind of foods there. I have a habit to eat the local foods while I was there, such as all-u-can-eat escargots (snails) lunch in France, "Lamb Cutlets" in New Zealand, "Kangaroo and crocodile meat" in Australia, authentic Chinese foods in China, i.e. Peking duck, Sashimi in Japan, ... etc. Next time, if I go to Italy, I will try Italian foods. BTW, Don't forget to buy "Macadamia nuts" and "pineapple dry fruit" to share with your family and friends. 4. Shopping: Hawaii has the world largest open-air shopping mall that called "Ala Moana Shopping Center" that has the most high class stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany jewelry, ... Dept stores including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale, Macy's, .... so many stores. I was exhausted. I bought a beautiful bracelet, a light purple color necklace, .... Most tourist and local people have "lei" on their necks or flower decoration on their hair, I didn't buy lei because it is NOT popular for daily use in California. 5. Entertainment: Polynesian Cultural Center I ordered the package and transportation online more than 10 days ago to get 10% off. There are 6 different villages "Samoa", "Aotearoa", Fiji", "Hawaii", Tahiti", "Tonga", different dialects but they all speak English. I wore "Cassowary" T-shirt that I bought in Australia that day and attracted 4 Aussies (2 couples) to me. We joked each other. It was a fun day on Aug 22nd. Then we had buffet dinner all you can eat. The highlight entertainment is the show which is stunning, heart pounding with the singing and dancing. There is a story about that show called "Ha Breath of Life". 6. Tourists - mostly young Japanese couples Because wedding cost is very expensive in Japan, so lots of young Japanese couples come to Hawaii to get married or for honeymoon. I stayed on 17th floor, but 19th floor is Penthouse and I saw the young Japanese couple pressed "PH" (Penthouse) to go on the top floor. 7. Tips and bus fare: Please remember to bring lots of small bills such as $1 or $5 for tips and bus fare. You have to pay shuttle bus drivers tip for at least $5 (from my home to LAX, from Hawaii Airport to the Waikiki hotel, from hotel back to Hawaii Airport, from LAX to my home) 4 times. You need to put tips for the hotel cleaning ladies, waiter/waitress at restaurant, and bus fare is $2 or $2.50 CASH only. If you put in $10 into the slot, sorry you over paid for the bus fare, but no change back. I brought 40 of $1 bill and 6 of $5 bill with me. 8. Hawaiian words: Aloha means Hello. Mahalo means Thank you. People will tell you to "loosen up", "relax" or "take it easy". 9. Sales tax is 4% in Hawaii.      Honesty is the best policy. |
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The shaka sign, sometimes known as "hang loose", is a gesture of friendly intent often associated with Hawaii and surf culture. It consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while holding the three middle fingers curled, and gesturing in salutation while presenting the front or back of the hand; the hand may be rotated back and forth for emphasis. The shaka sign was adopted from local Hawaiian culture and customs by visiting surfers in the 1960s, and its use has spread around the world. Honesty is the best policy.
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Don't forget to buy "Macadamia nuts" and "pineapple dry fruit" to share with your family and friends. They are yummy. Honesty is the best policy.
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I forgot to mention: There is a "Resort Charges" by every hotel on the Waikiki Beach area. This charge is excluded from your room charges. my hotel room had been charged $21.95 x 4 nights. Honesty is the best policy.
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State of Hawaii: State of Hawaii Hawaii is the most isolated populated group of islands on earth - 2,390 miles from California and 3,850 miles from Japan. Hawaii was the last significant pieces of land on earth to be found and documented by Western explorers. Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee. The Hawaiian Archipelago consists of 132 islands and atolls stretching over 1,500 miles in length. Hawaii was the 50th state admitted to the union on August 20th, 1959. Hawaii has no billboards, rabies, snakes or seagulls. Hawaii has its own time zone. It does not observe daylight savings time. The southern most point of the United States is located in Hawaii - South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. About 200 of the 680 types of fish in Hawaiian waters can be found nowhere else in the world. By a legislative act, Hawaii became officially known as the "Aloha State" in 1959. The Hawaiian alphabet consists of only twelve letters. The five vowels are A,E,I,O,U. The seven consonants are H,K,L,M,N,P,W. There are no racial or ethnic majorities in Hawaii. About 30% of Hawaii's residents are Caucasian. Asians make up about 40%. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders make up about 9% of the population. The coral reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up about 70 percent of all the reefs in the USA. Despite what you saw on Hawaii Five-0, there is no state police force in Hawaii. Hawaii is the largest consumer of Spam in the United States. Hawaii is one of only two states that has interstate highways without actually bordering on another state. Hawaii was originally called the Sandwich Isles. Captain James C. Cook so named the islands in 1778 in honor of his patron the Earl of Sandwich. The state fish of Hawaii is the humuhumunukunukuapua'a also known as the reef triggerfish. The Hawaiian Flag is the only state flag to display the "Union Jack" of the United Kingdom representing Hawaii's historical relationship with Great Britain. The ukulele, considered to be pure Hawaii, was actually brought to the islands by the Portuguese. Ukulele means "jumping flea," and was so named because the fast moving strumming of the hand while playing looked like a dog scratching. The paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboys, learned to herd cattle from Spanish vaqueros who were imported to teach them. The Hawaiian word paniolo was derived from "Español." Having no defense against the diseases brought by foreigners, the native population of Hawaii dropped from around 300,000 in 1779 to about 40,000 in 1890. Hawaiian shirts are a product of the 19th century and began when missionaries gave the Hawaiians plain shirts to cover their bare chests. The Hawaiians painted the shirts to make them more attractive. Honesty is the best policy.
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"Excellent Pictures" Have you ever been to Hawaii or Maui? When? Honesty is the best policy.
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"Excellent Pictures"
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Hi Classy. I enjoyed reading your hints about travelling and thanks for sharing the photos as well. Very nice! Happy belated birthday!
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In Hawaii, people say "Aloha" that means Hello. Hawaiians raise hand with 3 fingers down but the thumb and little finger up that hand gesture means "Loosen up", "Relax" or "Take it easy". See the picture that I stood next to a sculpture of a man who raise his hand with thumb and little finger up but 3 fingers in the middle bend down. On the top the sign says "Polynesian Cultural Center". Honesty is the best policy.
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No matter where you go traveling, always Google the cities, country map, weather, foods, ... especially if you travel solo. I have prepared this trip one month before the departure. I did very well online ordered airplane tickets round trip even the seats, hotel reservation, local foods, .... etc. Be prepare and enjoy the trip. Hawaii is one of the USA states, so I can manage it. BTW, always bring your passport that will make things easier for TSA (Transportation Security Administration) at airport. I am glad that my blog can help you. Honesty is the best policy.
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Incidentally, Polynesian Cultural Center closes on Sundays and 3 holidays (Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas). The evening show will make you breathless and thrilled. It is called "Ha Breath of Life". Honesty is the best policy.
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The Polynesian Cultural Center is a Polynesian-themed theme park and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. According to the tour guide on the bus, he said all the singing, dancing and other services are performed by students. The school is top 5 to 7 richest in the world. There are 132 islands in total and most of students are from those islands. I don't understand their languages but they all speak English when talking to tourists. You can understand their expression by their hand gesture and sound. Men are very muscular, girls are very pretty. The show in the evening is about a story of "circle of life". I enjoyed the entertainment. I had a great time on Aug 22nd, when I met 4 Aussies in the Polynesian Culture Center. They came to me because i wore the T-shirt with Cassowary and it is from Australia. I told them I went to Australia and NZ in Feb 2015. I spelled out C-A-S-S-O-W-A-R-Y when the Aussie guy said "we know that bird is Cassowary, but we don't know how to spell the word". We laughed together and I joined with them. They are Aussies but didn't go to New Zealand, what a surprise !! I told them Milford Sounds is very beautiful. They know but they haven't been to NZ. I only have one photo with them from my camera. I had a happy day. Honesty is the best policy.
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