My Trip To Hawaii

Day 0: Getting There

Hawaii. The island of twanging slide- guitars, swaying palm trees, beach bums, and breathtaking nature. Of aloha, and hospitality, and honest-to-god perfect climate. (We’re talking temperate 85 degrees here!) The island chain is famously known around the world as a traveler’s paradise- and the world isn’t wrong.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting this beautiful island two times; the first in 2015, and the second in 2017. Maui was a blast. Vast panoramas of nature, perfect weather, beautiful beaches, and an atmosphere that’s idyllic and mellow. Pineapples grow, coconuts sway, and palm trees dance to the rhythm of aloha and the ukulele. It is tranquil, and calm. There aren’t city lights, or large highways. Just the beach, the waves, and you.

But I’m not here to talk about Maui. I’m here to talk about Oahu.

Oahu is a completely different vibe. It is luxury, and liveliness, and beauty all in one. It is of sensory information- at once, I can name 5 things that each of my senses can feel. It is of constant activity. The uptown streets are lined with pedestrians, and the beach- the world-famous Waikiki Beach as well- is populated endlessly in the daytime. Oahu contains worlds within a world; downtown swathes of high-end shopping amongst cascades of nature-born beauty. It is comfort, indulgence, and movement, all rolled into one big, ethnically, culturally diverse island. Where Maui is a pause from life, Oahu just dives right in.

I have to say, as such a busy island, it overwhelmed me. I am, naturally, a very calm and tranquil person. I don’t like to have my senses stimulated too much (give me one bite at a time, and I’ll appreciate it wholeheartedly. Give me the whole cake and I don’t know what to do with it!) So suffice it to say, I didn’t adapt quite as fast to Oahu as I would’ve liked to, and I admit that I spent the better part of my vacation stressed and downright not-that-happy :(.

But lessons learned! This was my first time in such a high-stress, high-movement environment, and here’s calm, meditative, go-with-the flow me. What was I supposed to do, not freak out?! Also, I was going to take pictures. Imagine how many sights I tried to capture before my brain completely fried. (Answer: A LOT).

So, here’s my advice: one picture at a time, one sight at a go, and you’ll be filled with worlds to come! Don’t let the city overwhelm you- there are some great gems in here that you can only find if you’re at peace with your surroundings.

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So, Oahu.

Oahu, “The Gathering Place”, is the third biggest island in the Hawaiian chain, and the most-visited/most-populated. About 70% of the entire population of Hawaii lives on the island, gathered most in Honolulu, which also happens to be the state capital.

The flight from here to San Jose is about 5 and a half to 6 hours, depending on your airline and how many connecting flights you have. In our case, it was an all day flight of flying. Literally. We were in airports for 11 hours that day, so almost all of our waking hours. But that was okay.

Because airports! Seriously, are they not the coolest thing ever? They’re all so white, and clean, and so smooth-looking. TSA still freaks me out a little, but I’m not sure the novelty of waking up early to go to the airport - to another place, on an adventure- can ever wear off. It’s thrilling, and a small form of domestic exhilaration.

And then you get on the plane and realize you have nothing to do for 6 hours.

Well.

We picked Hawaiian Airlines (which is quite fitting heh). They’re one of the only airline chains in the U.S. that gives complimentary snacks and lunches, and believe me- if there is ONE thing that will cheer me up on a flight, it’s food. Seeing the food cart coming down the aisle, stocked with free lunches and dinners...it was hope. Absolute hope.

Here is me pre-flight from San Jose to San Francisco. (I don't have a photo for when the flight ended, but believe me, it wouldn't have been pretty.)The flight in itself was...misspent. I had forgotten to charge my phone charger (the fact of which we have to do, still bugs me) because I had napped at LAX. So I bravely walked into the flight from LA to Honolulu with only 40% charge on my phone, and my travel journal. The journal was to write notes and little musings in, as I gazed out the window seat (which is the best seat in the plane, in my opinion!). Turns out though, there was a USB charge in front of me. Which I didn’t see. With a less-than-half phone battery, and 5 and a half hours to go.

I was darned, to say the least.

Instead, I spent the flight scintillating between taking naps, blasting Ed Sheeran music in my earphones, and writing in my journal. I got some excellent pieces in there- looking out the window of an airplane is quite the experience!

Here are some pictures I took of the outside landscape. Thousands of feet above the air, whizzing by cities, a world below...how cool is that?

I believe we were about 5,000 feet up, with the weather around -183 degrees Fahrenheit out there. I just find it so fascinating; the darkness of that upper atmosphere- where, if you go up a few thousand feet more, you’ll meet space. The middle section, where even the sky has its horizons. And the ground (well, lack of), because now the ground is replaced by clouds, and mountains, and oceans, You can watch the clouds stream by in grooves, the ocean spread out like a vast monster before you, and the mountains- carved so ancient and deep into the landscape.

This was taken during the sunset, at around 6 PM. Just look at that. The blending of the rainbow sunset- how the cloudground is almost gray, violet. The faded edges of the horizon, burning orange in one last blaze of daylight. Although it was a little tricky to gauge the time because of the time zones (not sure if the city below was in nighttime), it was still a beautiful sight.

Also, I got some GREAT sights of the stars from the windows (couldn't get them on my iPhone clear enough though). I was reminded of a story I had written, about two lovers gazing up at stars. Stars, to me, are just so fascinating- if you only focus on one spot of space, you’ll be sure to find about one star. But a glimpse to the left, and a sweep-of-the gaze around, and suddenly, more just appear. One lone star in the sky becomes thousands, and now, the sky is alight, and shining. It’s beautiful.

Finally, we landed in Honolulu at 9 PM, and after the long day of air travel, I was tired. But I was excited as we went through the airport, picking up our rental car and baggage. These are the most mundane things in an airport, but when you arrive in a new place, on the buzz of beginning your vacation- nothing could be more exciting.

My first thrill of the trip was when we were exiting out of the airport. We had just gotten the rental car, and were heading towards the highway. In a spur of the moment, my dad rolled down the windows, and I stuck my head out. Okay...maybe not the safest thing to do, but the excitement was worth it. I felt the wind soaring past- a wind of new air, of nighttime Honolulu, of an island I’ve never been to before- and it was exhilarating. The tiny little moments, of just being somewhere, are as phenomenally important to any trip as the big moments are too.

At 11:30 at night, we got to our hotel- the Trump International Hotel Waikiki. This was my first time being in a 5 star hotel, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Cherry stems and fruit plates? Infinity pools? Penthouse views? (⅔, it turned out to be).

Our room was...wow. I hadn’t seen any pictures beforehand, but I was impressed. When we got there, they had complimentary finger sandwiches and furikake popcorn for us, as well as a stack of Honolulu Cookie Company treats (which, if you haven’t had before, you are missing out).

The room was stocked with Trump hotel branded items. Water bottles, body lotion, soap, shower cap, bathrobes, Trump slippers- it was pretty hilarious. (A few days later, I wore the bathrobe and slippers, as I lounged outside on the balcony at night. It was great).

But whoa. Let me talk about the balcony. This thing is 22 floors up, and it was a very dizzying drop. My breath was blown away. I was met with Waikiki in nighttime, of a thousand city glitters, where dozens of hotel rooms and windows sparkled. The sight was mesmerizing, and it didn’t even stop there. In the mountains, to the right, were the homes of the native Hawaiians. These were little collections of dots of gold and amber, twinkling gently in the mountains. Far, far away from where I was, but still visible.

And the ocean. It was to the left- dark, black, mysterious. We couldn’t hear the rush and roar of the water over the sounds of nighttime Waikiki, but the feeling of that- having your breath taken away, in front of such indescribable beauty, as you stand there, mouth agape, and look. Just, look.

The feeling is like no other.

Afterwards, it was a very, very gratified jump-on-the-bed, snooze-fest. Tomorrow was a designated chill day, and I had to rest up. :)

(Although...how much rest can you expect to get when you’re on vacation in Hawaii? Hehe).