We regret not being able to spend as much time here to explore all of O'ahu. We lost two days of the time we were going to spend in Honolulu because of Typhoon Ondoy/ Ketsana. But this only gives us more reason to go back.
Our Continental Airlines flight arrived in HNL Sunday evening, after a brief stopover in Guam. Although I enjoyed the entertainment system of Continental because the video screen is built-in in the seat in front of you, Philippine Airlines would still have been the better option, schedule-wise. PAL departs Manila Saturday afternoon and arrives in HNL Saturday morning, which means you don't lose a day.
Upon arrival, we pulled our luggage to the curb where the airport shuttle staff was (they're wearing a yellow shirt printed with the sign below).
The big bus soon arrived but we had to wait for more passengers to fill it up before we could depart. We paid a very reasonable $9 per person and we were dropped off right at our hotel. On another occasion, we used a different shuttle service courtesy of VIP. We paid a dollar more per person but, since the vehicle used was a van, we didn't have as many passengers and, hence, less stops. We think the convenience is worth more than a dollar, especially with the weekday Waikiki gridlock.
Although we were short on time, the days we spent here were all that was needed to capture our hearts. Honolulu got to us and we'd love to go there again.
Here are a few things we enjoyed while we were there.
1. Duke's. If you can, go more than once.
Going there for dinner on our first night was a wise decision because we never got the chance to go back. The food was great. I ordered the chicken quesadilla while Mr. G had the opakapaka.
2. Jog. Or walk, walk, walk.
We went jogging one early morning, turning left on Kalakaua Ave., going past Duke's statue and following the concrete path to Kuhio Beach. Then we took a U-turn to explore the other end of Waikiki to the Hilton Lagoon. We were aiming for a 10k run so we turned around again, going past where we started, this time towards Kapiolani Park. Although sunrise was on the other side of the island, it was nice to witness the sky turn to light and to exchange hellos with other early risers as we ran past.
In the afternoons, we opted to walk. A particularly arresting sunset once stopped us in our tracks. Waikiki is a sunset beach, I think. It was lovely to watch throngs of surfers catching the late afternoon waves as the sun began its slow curtsy. The beach and Kalakaua Ave. were filling up. There were musicians and magicians rendering their acts for shoppers and strollers to see. We even got to watch a free hula performance at the Royal Hawaiian Village.
3. Take at Pearl Harbor+HNL City Tour
Mr. G is a history buff so, of course, I knew he would love to go to Pearl Harbor. Surprisingly, even I had a fun time. We had a great guide, Jonathan, who told us about Pearl Harbor's significance in history as he drove the mini-bus to the site.
Upon arrival, we still had time to grab a quick breakfast from the snack bar before the 8a.m. showing of the 20-min movie clip on Pearl Harbor. We both had coffee and sandwiches, mine egg and Mr. G ham and cheese.
The clip was moving. It appropriately set the tone of our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, which marks the final resting place of thousands sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We boarded a launch to take us to the memorial. The mood was very solemn when we arrived. I had goosebumps as I read the names of the sailors etched in stone.
Back at the main building, Mr. G bought a souvenir book and had it signed by the war veterans stationed there.
We learned a lot from the Pearl Harbor tour, but there was more to see. Jonathan drove us around downtown Honolulu to see Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, St. Paul's Mission Church and Punchbowl Cemetery, among others. What was most interesting was seeing the former home of President Obama--in a rundown three-storey apartment building.
4. Join the Lost tour but...
We are big fans of Lost so we decided to take the Lost tour. I would have wanted to join the less expensive eight-hour tour with lunch and all offered by Big Kahuna but their schedule didn't fit with ours so we went for the five-hour Hummer tour.
We saw some fantastic scenery in Kualoa Ranch and it was interesting to learn how production shot several different scenes using a single location. Our guide, Jeff, however was quite abrasive and sullied what would have been a really fun tour.
5. Explore Waikiki Beach Walk and dine at Arancino
Yes, we missed dining at Roy's because we thought we could go on our last day in the island (the restaurant was full). But we're thankful we found this quaint Italian place at the Waikiki Beach Walk.
We just flew in from Maui and we were craving for good ol' spaghetti with meatballs. We spotted Matteo's on Kuhio Ave. but it was still closed. Mr. G said he noticed an Italian place at the Waikiki Beach Walk when our airport shuttle dropped off a guest at a nearby hotel. Thank god he was paying attention.
We ordered pizza with prosciutto to go with our pasta. Both were fantastic, and the service delightful, particularly from the Afghani girl who attended to us. She suggested the tiramisu to cap off our meal. It was divine. Certainly a memorable and delightful meal.
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