Category: Honolulu

We went to the Bishop Museum Friday morning. This museum holds the primary collection of Hawaiian historical artifacts. We took two guided tours and saw a short hula demonstration. The second tour went through the garden and explained the uses of the various local plants, including ti,the leaves used for wrapping and thatching, and noni, which is an immune system booster.

It was getting hot, so of course it was time to get shave ice, the Hawaiian version of bing. We went to Waiola Shave Ice in McCully, which is very simple, but fantastic. The ice is extremely fine, and toppings and flavors are fantastic. The red bean is definately the best. We had two cups apiece. Recommended.

Costco: Yes it looks just like a regular Costco on the outside, but on the inside, it’s an Asian bulk buying paradise. Pretty much anything you need for an Asian themed restaurant is in there. The number one tip: if you need a Hawaiian gift for a ton of people, this is the place to get it. For example, Hawaiian Host chocolates were half the price of that in the ABC store. The only catch is that you have to buy a 6-box pack. They also sell wholesale gas – the gas outside the hotel is 2.76/gallon; the Costco price is 2.59/gallon. Of course, you have to have a Costco card with a magnetic stripe, and you have to use a debit or an Amex card – no cash accepted. We also picked up a portable lunch – two quarter pound cups of poke – a sashimi salad seasoned with soy, sesame oil, Hawaiian salt and seaweed, and 4 hand rolls. It could have easily fed 4 people. Recommended

P– was still pretty messed up and sore from her slip and fall yesterday, so we got massages at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. The Hawaiian lomi lomi style is not a deep tissue style like Swedish, but it runs along the natural lengths of the muscles to increase si

Thursday: Drove to `Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States. P- wasn’t so impressed with the outside, but then we entered from the side. However, the inside won her over. So many modern conveniences, such as electricity, telephones, and hot and cold running water, were put in by the reigning king, who was a Renaisannce man in his own right.

Walked to Chinatown and had dim sum at Legend Seafood. The best dish was the scallops wrapped in rice noodle sheets. Went to the Makauna Marketplace and saw various vendors. We bought lei at Cindy’s Lei; they are really beautiful. Walked back downtown past Hawaii Pacific University and into the Cathedral of Our Lady of Heavenly Peace.

Drove back to the hotel and tried to book a catamaran ride, but the boat had suffered some reef damage, and won’t be back in service until Saturday. Walked down Waikiki; P- had a little spill and bruised her knee and ankle. However, she was a trouper and made it to the Duke statue. Walked back and found the Japanese duty-free mall. Loads of Hello Kitty! Unfortunately we can’t buy the duty free items.

Picked up the car back at the hotel and drove to Sushi Sasabone. The head chef started out a bit cold (he has the reputation of being the sushi version of the “soup nazi”) but he warmed up to us as we were astounded by the quality of the dishes in his bar-side omakase. He searches the world to get the best fish, and knows exactly where it comes from – Maine, Boston, several places in Japan, local Hawaiian fish, and lobster from a French claimed area of Antarctica. Pricy, but worth every penny — better than anything we’ve had in New York. We were so stuffed. The wierd thing is that none of the Japanese visitors in Waikiki seemed to know anything about this place. Recommended.

The package included a free breakfast, which we were shuttled to. It turned out to be the vacation equivilent of a timeshare lecture. What a hard sell. At least we got out of there by 9. We went to the Maui Divers center, where they make Hawaiian coral jewelry. Very very nice.

We drove out to Pearl Harbor, going to the Arizona and Missouri memorials. Very moving to have gone on All Souls Day. Arizona marked the beginning of World War II with more than a thousand hands lost on board. Missouri is the Pacific version of the Intrepid; the Japanese surrendered on its deck at the end of World War II.

Driving back, we got stuck on the highway during rush hour. We got off at Chinatown; it was mostly closed by the time we got there, but we had some good Vietnamese food. It was way too much food. Afterwards, we were trying to find the Sony Expo at the Ala Moana Hotel; instead we were snagged at the Ala Moana shopping center, the largest open air mall in the US. It’s already Christmas (Mele Kalikimaka) season here, so everything was out. There’s a supermarket in the rear of the mall, where we loaded up on cheap fruit drinks and water.