Aloha Hawaii

Hawaii is awesome. The paddling clinic is awesome. Kailua is awesome. Waikiki is...ok awesome too...:)

Hawaiians are one lucky bunch of people blessed with the bluest, clearest strip of water around. This is coming from someone who lives in Sydney with beaches too. I shudder at the thought of returning to training on the murky fishy water of Sydney harbour...with sea turtles replaced by jellyfish that resemble rubber gloves...

Anyway, so I bid Hawaii good bye today. If you still have some shopping powers left, I do recommend going to the airport early. There are lots of shops there; some are even tax and duty free. Don't bother with eating breakfast there though.

Honolulu airport has a very Hawaiian feel to it. Even the check-in counters are made of wood! Once you pass immigration, there is a bronze statue of A.E. "Toots" Minvielle, the founder of the famous Molokai-Oahu race.

It’s boarding time for me folks! So here comes the end of my Hawaiian trip, and the Hawaiian leg of my blog. Thanks for reading!

Aloha! :D

Sunset at Waikiki

And so with a belly still bursting after my walk, a takeout cheesecake and sweet potato fries, I head back down to the beach to watch the sunset.

There are less people on the beach now, and replaced by keen photographers who wants to capture that special moment with their DSLR.

After the sunset at 6:28pm (as indicated on the sunset clock...I'm guessing that is the sunset clock, because when I looked at my phone it is already 6:45pm...either that or that's Hawaiian time...)

Shortly after the sunset, there is a tourist hula show by the beach. There, invited dancers from different parts of Hawaii, including Maui, Kona, and Kailua, dance on the lawn stage.

What a magical way to finish my first visit to Hawaii.

The Cheesecake Factory round two

I went to Downtown Honolulu to see what it is like. I'm disappointed to see...er...nothing. Honestly not worth blogging...except the random St Pat's celebration near the Piers (see previous post). It's not really for a tourist, especially on a Sunday when practically every shop is closed.

Anyhoo, I cab myself back to Waikiki and made a beeline back to the Cheesecake factory for another load of carb and fat.

Its approaching 4pm, so I went for a late lunch special of turkey sandwich set, sweet potato fries, and...Coconut Cheesecake!!!

...and I underestmated how large the portions are in this restaurant. I had to take out my coconut cheesecake...

Ala Wai Canal



It’s not often visited, but if you would like to briefly escape the craziness at Waikiki, cross two streets to Ala Wai Boulevard and walk along the Ala Wai canal. It is actually a man-made canal for wastewater drainage, so you don’t want to go there after a massive rain event...  

Nonetheless, it is a lot quieter here and you can still see some water. You can also see real outrigger canoes too. I think there are a couple of clubs situated along this canal.

Happy St. Pat's Day!

Sunday 17th March. It’s Saint Patrick's Day. The day anything Irish goes. The day when green is the new black. The day you are allowed to drink Guinness like water...

There was a parade on the main strip in Waikiki: lots of trombones, river dances and vintage cars.

Soon after the parade, I headed down to downtown Honolulu for a snoop around. (See my next post...)

Near the Pier, there is a massive drinking festival to celebrate St Pat's day. Everyone is green here. I never thought I will see such celebration in Hawaii.

Outrigger Waikiki

After indulging on a strawberry cheesecake, I swing over to the famous Outrigger Waikiki hotel for some happy tourist snaps.

The hotel lobby has an amazing display of a canoe carved out of wood, and some lovely paintings. I also saw a painting with the Moks on it...since I didn't manage to get a picture of the twins on Friday, here’s a painting that brought back some sweet memories.

There is also a mini cultural centre here devoted to outriggers canoeing. There is a lovely collection of paddling coffee table books too. Lovely!