My Trip To Hawaii

Day 1: Exploring Waikiki

Waking up in Hawaii is exactly what you think it'd be. Birds chirping, sunlight filtering in, the new dawn a-blossoming.

Except that it's 6:44 and you're dead tired from jet lag.

Yeah, no one ever talks about that part.

But the morning view is not to be forgotten. I wake up, and immediately, the first thing I see is Oahu. Oahu, with its long, sandy stretches of beach, crystal blue waters, and gentle sky.

It’s only 7 AM, but the city is beginning to come to life. Pedestrians are already jogging on the streets, cars are slowly rumbling awake. It's the start of the tropical island mayhem.

The first thing I did wasn't to eat breakfast, or brush my teeth, but grab my brother as soon as I heard there were 37 floors in the hotel, and run out for some early-morning, luxury-resort exploring. I'd seen there was a pool and a library the day before, so it was clad in our PJ shorts and T-shirt that we rode down the elevator. Sad to say, we quickly found out that floors 34 and up were reserved for penthouses. I even tried swiping my own card to get up there, but it didn’t work. :(

Instead, we checked out the library (which was more like an office- but hey, a library!) and scurried down to the infinity pool. Kinda awkward to be running around a 5-star luxury hotel in your shorts and shirt, but. Whoops.

Then, it was breakfast. Now, I’m not sure if anyone else does this, but...we bring rations on our vacations.

Once upon a time, my dad believed in the apocalypse. So he bought a BUNCH of military rations; air-sealed food packets, all with a complete meal in them.There's peanut butter and crackers, oatmeal cookies, spaghetti, beef stew- foods stuffed with protein, fats, and carbohydrates (since soldiers only got to eat sparingly.) I had my own judgments about them, but quickly threw them away when those rations saved us a couple hundred bucks.

---

Okay, okay- Game Plan.

1. Walk around Oahu.

Oh, that’s it. Well, what do you expect! It’s my first day in Oahu, and I’m still

jet-lagged! Gotta stretch out our legs first in this big city :)

First, we decided to visit the beach. And let me tell you, Hawaii beaches are NOTHING like California beaches. Cali beaches are cloudy, sometimes gray. The water is cold as stone, and overall, the weather can just be downright awful. (This goes for some, not all, Cali beaches! I'm looking at you, SF and Monterey.) Oahu is nothing like that. The beaches are SOFT. Pure, golden, soft. You touch them, and it’s a flutter out of your hand. The waters are blue; so, so immensely blue, that it’s a pop out of nature’s color palette.

I remember our first stop on this first day. As you walk down towards Waikiki beach, there’s this docking structure that stretches out into the sea. It's a really cool photo op, in regards to perception, space, and depth, but unfortunately, my brother photo-bombed me, and it came out ugly as a result. :(

The beach is connected to the city by way of sidewalks, and here’s where the area gets amazing. It's a simple pedestrian walkway, only meant to get you somewhere, but it ends up satisfying the sightseer’s savvy. On the paved roads are arching hotel resorts that contain glittering pools, and chilled-out beach huts and bars. Tourists lounge around, cool hammocks and cushy chairs sway in the wind, and the grass grows green. Restaurants and eateries are open, and slushies are being doled out (pineapple!). All around, it’s an air of contentment, relaxation, and buzz, as Oahu is awakening for the day.

Soon enough, as you walk alongside the path, with the beach to your right, the shops and storefronts will meet you. The first store we went into was…*drum roll please*

An ABC store! :D

It may be your typical tourist shop, but it is AWESOME. There are some pretty darn cool souvenirs of the islands, ranging from keychains (which, themselves, go from sandals, surfboards, turtles, etc), jackets, bracelets, Tiki magnets, and a bunch of other cool stuff.

But the one thing that makes it different from any other ABC store you find in any tourist destination? MACADAMIA NUTS AND CHOCOLATES BABY. Oh, Hawaii is KNOWN for these little delicacies. Hawaiian Host, the original chocolate-covered macadamia nut, makes the creamy, succulent sweet treat, while Mauna Loa is the maker of these macadamia nuts.

There are all different sorts of flavors here, for both treats. Whereas in the states, most of what we’d find for chocolate-macadamias is the original dark chocolate flavor, ABC Stores is STACKED with variety. You’ve got honey-coated, coconut, green tea, sea salt (the green tea was pretty awesome!) As for Mauna Loa nuts…<33. These things are killer. They’re so, so good, but they’re so loaded with fats that they can easily tip over into overeating. But also, it’s vacation. Go suitably crazy with these; I haven’t been able to find the brand anywhere in the states :).

The nuts we bought came in honey, kona coffee, garlic onion, malt chocolate (this one is literally a big ball of chocolate and itmademeveryhappy), and of course, the original dark chocolate. All are amazing, and all are delicious.

Wasabi-coated macadamia nuts in hand, we strolled along the streets of Waikiki. The great thing about this area is, it's a mecca for the shopper. There are small stores- more local, area-based ones that'll deal in traditional, and sometimes touristy, Hawaiian clothing. There are big name-brand stores, like Dior or Louis Vuitton, that sit MASSIVE on the street blocks like luxury monoliths. Top-of-the-line watches, jewelry, menswear, women’s fashion- it’s shopper’s grandeur. Then there are cozy spots for cookies and ice cream, where you pop in and out and continue on your midday stroll.

Some really memorable shops we found were in this plaza called the International Marketplace, and it’s this really cool, three-tiered structure that has a bunch of stores lined along its pathways. One of my brother and I’s favorite shops was an art gallery called Tabora Gallery (we love art things!). And Hawaii is an amazing place to come for it. There’s so much to pay attention to: oceans, sunsets, mountains, volcanoes, trees. The nature is endless, and within this shop, one artist, Roy Tabora, fully takes inspiration from it.

He’s recognized as one of the world’s foremost seascape painters. As my brother and I observed, his paintings were of breathtaking beauty. Oceans, set against the backdrop of majestic sunsets, or ghosted seashores; mountains rising, with daylight awakening behind. In pink, orange, purple. There is a sense of serenity, and peacefulness, as the viewer is invited to simply, watch. Watch, as the waves crash against the shore, or rises in the sunlight. It’s phenomenal.

Here’s one of them, called Surging In The Wind. Beautiful, huh?

A must- a must- while visiting Oahu is the Honolulu Cookie Company. This place is a blessing delivered in cookie form. Right when you walk in, there are free samples. FREE samples.

Yes, I gobbled up an embarrassing amount. There’s the classic chocolate chip one, kona coffee, passionfruit, coconut- several to choose among the 19 flavors. (My favorites are kona coffee and dark chocolate.) And oh, did I mention these cookies all come in the shape of pineapples? :)

It was now time for our first lunch in Oahu. And what’s better to eat in Hawaii than Poke? I’d only ever had mainland American Poke, which is great, but I heard that the Poke in Hawaii was legendary.

And it was.

Fresh Catch, an Island Style, ‘one-stop’ poke place is, hands down, my favorite food place we visited in Oahu. What mainly differentiates Island Poke from Mainland poke is how they make it. Whereas the Mainland Poke I’ve had just has the tuna raw, or spicy, Island Poke takes fish to a whole new level. It’s not just marinated in shoyu (as is the traditional way), but it’s prepared in kimchi, wasabi, hot sauce. Each place can vary in its seasonings and spices, but the diversity of options is what’s exciting here. Instead of your usual 3-4 fish options on the mainland, there were 13 delicious seafood options choices to pick and choose from, all displayed to make it all the more appetizing.

There’s pipikaula (salted and dried beef), lomi lomi salmon (a tomato and salmon salad), limu kohu (red algae), and, of course, ahi tuna, doused in shoyu and the place’s special ‘fireball’ sauce. Each meat/seafood option is priced by weight; say this tuna costs $18 per lb. Every scoop they add to your poke is about ¼ a lb, and you can ask for however much you want. I got 1-2 scoops of fish, so my Poke came to about $6-8. I was really surprised at how affordable it was, considering how high-quality the fish was. Granted, it is a smaller portion than Mainland Poke. There aren’t any toppings or add-on sauces as that’s the traditional way (it's just served with rice), but I’ve learned that the raw power of the fish needn’t be overpowered by any toppings or said sauces.

And this isn’t just your average fish. It has the luxury of being caught miles away, and is brought to the shop for butchering and cleaning. So it’s a definite guarantee that what you’re getting is the freshest of the fresh (hehe...Fresh Catch…)

---

Okay. I wanna know if anyone else does this when they go on vacation. My parents are obsessed with tropical fruit. They LOVE IT. Soursop, lychee, rambutan- any exotic fruit that’s grown in their homeland. And, well, what’s more tropical than Hawaii? ;)

We got our fruits at Chinatown, in Downtown Honolulu. It’s just like any other Chinatown we’ve been to- it’s got its own array of BBQ restaurants, noodle eateries, convenience stores.

And birds.

Lots and lots of birds.

…

I hate birds.

---

Hehe, as much energy I have, I was pooped. So after watching some Bates Motel and munching on some green tea macadamia nuts, I took a nap.

ZzzzZzzzZzzz

Then- sushi! Or rather, dinner at a sushi lounge in our hotel. We found out that the place has a happy hour from 3-6; half-priced entrees! Nicely decked out in comfy cushions and couches, wooden accents and oceanside view provided; it was luxury casual.

We ordered everything on the menu, which, I don’t think I’ll ever get to do again. Chicken wings, poke of the day, baked mac and cheese, sashimi- it was easy finger food and small dishes, with a fantastic view.

Here is said view!

The dinner was perfect before going down to the beach for a sunset stroll :). I had brought my travel journal, but as it turned out, my words didn’t have enough time. It was just sight and sound for today.

The sunset was gorgeous. Blue and pink fused in the air. Gold blazing in the sky, the palm trees silhouetted behind in dark shadow. It was a picturesque sight. A beautiful, one-of-a-kind moment. Hawaii’s sunsets are a dime a dozen. They happen almost everyday.

But each one of them is a treasure. An absolute, precious gem. They may look the same, but each is different. Each has its own colors, and patterns, and forms, and light. Each is its own art.

I fell in love.

Back at the hotel, it was lounging on the balcony. My dad found out that the Hilton across from us hosted fireworks every Friday night at 7:45 PM. So, we set out the fruit, sat back in our chairs, and enjoyed the sight.

What a bangin’ end to a great day. :)

Next up: Pearl Harbor.