A morning in Waikiki

Hey Dad,

So Huw’s flight got in fine last night. 

We got up this morning and started planning the next few days. We had an Expedia advisor in the hotel reception so that was our first stop.

We figured talking to the Expedia guy would take an half hour or so. Oh how wrong we were. Two and a half hours later we finally left his office after spending a fortune.  The next 12 days are fully planned out now though which is handy. 

We missed breakfast so decided to just head straight for lunch. I knew just the place! We walked down the beach to the rum bar. Looking at the cocktail menu we learnt really quickly you could have your cocktail served to you in a hollowed out pineapple. Sold! 

Never had a cocktail for breakfast before, oh well it is Hawaii after all. 

After lunch we went and explored Waikiki a little more. We walked along the beach front and wandered into a few boutique shops. 

We then decided to go for a swim. The water really is just something else. The waves were big too. You would go from being waist deep in water to being under it as a wave came over your head. It would push you into the shore and pull you out again. There were also surf board rentals, but no time for that! We had to get back to get ready for the evening entertainment.

We were picked up from our hotel and driven out to a luau. It was awesome. The chief conducted the ceremony, and went through many different tribal traditions from other countries. We were greeted with tribal beads as we entered and shown how to make a head dress out of leaves. Dinner was your kind of hell though. Self service on a paper plate with 200 other people, but the food in fairness was not too bad. The tribe then performed a fire dance, and twirled fire around themselves, it was a really enjoyable night. 

Just got back to the hotel and we are both very tired. Huw is really jetlagged too! 

Another busy day tomorrow! I love this place! 

Night dad x

Honolulu!

Hey Dad,

Well I am in Hawaii, and it is everything I hoped it would be. But get this, I have landed before I have taken off! I left Fiji at 11pm on the 2nd, and I have landed in Hawaii at 10am on the 2nd. 

Before that though; the rest of my flight…

I managed to sleep during most of the flight, and finding the planes classical music station was a life saver! 

We landed in Christmas Island, and unbelievably I looked up to see a man who could have easily been Father Christmas departing the plane! I could not help but laugh inside!

Well the passengers going to Hawaii didn’t get off the plane. They asked for all of us to take our luggage and sit on the right hand side of the plane. The airport staff then ‘security checked’ the free side. They cleaned it, there was no security check! We were then all moved to the other side and the process was repeated. I had a different seat allocation for the second leg which meant I got to say good bye to the ‘food yapper’ phew. 

The woman I was now sitting next to was very interested in my trip. After telling her about my adventures she asked me a question.  “And what is your opinion of our Lord now you have seen such places?” I literally had no idea how to answer this question! I explained I was I was not religious, and told her a bit more about the religions I have encountered along the way. She was fascinated. She told me she would pray for God to keep me safe. I thanked her. 

Off the plane into customs!! I had to fill out a document on the plane listing all the countries I had been to since leaving home. This took a while. And flagged up a lot of questions by customs. It took an hour to get through the queue to customs, and then a further 15 plus minutes talking to the customs guy as he read every stamp in my passport in detail and asked me questions on my length of stay in the USA. 

Finally through security I jumped on a shuttle bus and headed to the hotel. 

Probably should mention to you I actually have some company in Hawaii. Remember me mentioning Huw in New Zealand? Well he has decided he wants to see Hawaii and has gatecrashed my trip. Looking at the cost of Hawaii, I think that is just as well. 

I was too early to check in. The woman behind the desk made a comment about it being a really nice room, or if I wanted to check in now I could have a different room. I opted to wait. I went for a walk and grabbed some lunch and by the time I got back the room was ready. 

Kid in a sweet shop comes to mind! The room was on the 38th floor of 39, it was on the corner and had views over the ocean and diamond head. I don’t think you could have gotten a better view of Hawaii! We were right on Waikiki beach and could see the whole length of it. 

Huw was not getting to Hawaii until late that evening, so I spent the afternoon wandering around. 

The ocean is the most clear blue warm ocean I have ever been in. It was unbelievable! I also found a rum bar on the beach – put that into my memory for later! 

I spent all day just walking around exploring. I stumbled across local artisan markets and tourist spots. On the beach there were people playing ukuleles and walking around with parrots on their shoulders. 

Well of to the airport now to pick Huw up. We have not really planed anything yet so that will be the first thing to sort out. 

Night dad x