Never believed we would go to Hawai’i but that was where we went from Los Angeles.
As there was no cruise from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia we had to go to Hawai’i to make a connection. By the way, the spelling of the country name is correct. Most interesting spelling but I did check it.
Our 3 days in Los Angeles had come to an end and the time had come to catch an aeroplane to Honoloulu. When we arrived, getting a taxi was easier and more pleasant here than in any other airport so far and cost just $10pp. It was a 12 seater vehicle so we had passengers being ferried to a few hotels. We were the last to be dropped off in Waikiki which is a town on the border of Honolulu.
The taxi driver, Brian, kept us entertained for the whole 20 minute journey describing everything we passed, where his friends lived and even drove passed a home where one of his cousins had a really large truck with extra-large tyres. He was speaking as if it was his and was the best thing he had ever seen or owned. He also ensured that we knew exactly how and where to contact him to get us to the ship a couple of days later.
The entrance to the hotel and all around the dining area were what I came to describe as Hawai’ian weeds – stunning orchids.
A purple and white orchid
A small white orchid
Once settled in to what turned out to be a full suite with a kitchen and living area as well as a large balcony we went for a walk to see the neighbourhood. It was quite lovely. There was a bronze statue of a young maiden sitting outside one of the shops and looked just beautiful and serene.
The Maiden Statue
A bit further along was a beautiful park where there was a fairly new war memorial. It is called the “Brothers in Valour” Memorial dedicated to 4 groups of Japanese Americans or Nisei who fought on the side of the US. The groups were the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service. It is set in a quadrangle with a section for each of the groups.
The base of the Memorial with 4 quadrants
We walked back along a lower road and discovered that there were a number of beautiful, top class hotels in the town. On the side of the road we saw a tree with the most amazing root system. I took a video as it was too long for a single photo. We learnt the next day that it was a Monkeypod Tree which is indigenous to Hawai’I and its wood is used for making a number of household products. (Unfortunately I am unable to upload the video)
The Hilton Hotel
We came to a small grocery shop where we purchased meat and veges for our supper and returned to the hotel suite to make a proper supper for a change. It was delicious.
One thing when travelling is learning about all sorts of different ways of doing things and one of the most interesting can be the different forms of toilet use. Sometimes they flush automatically, sometimes they do so after a certain time if one has not flushed it immediately, there was one where the seat lifted as a hand was waved over it but the one in this bathroom really was the best. If you wished to use it as a bidet there were a number of options. (see the photo)
Choose your preferred wash
The next morning we unexpectedly got to tour the Southern end of the island, Oahu.
