If I’d realised what was to about to fall out of the sky I probably would have taken the umbrella. However, seeing that there was no rain falling, and the fact that I was only four blocks from the hotel I decided to go on empty-handed, and leave my mother and father with two umbrellas between them. Big mistake.
No sooner had I crossed the street the heavens decided to open. And this time, they really went to town. Initially I didn’t quite fathom just how torrentially the rain was pouring, but that changed within about five seconds. I immediately regretted my decision. Yes, I was definitely going to drown. I ran as fast as my battered old flip-flops would carry me across the street, and took shelter under a canopy – hoping the rain would subside. After a few minutes it was clearly not happening. “Screw it,” I thought. And ran for it.
Until I undertook that short dash along the street to the hotel, I was unaware just how quickly you can become utterly drenched by the rain. By the time I got back to the hotel – perhaps 30 seconds later, I resembled a boardshort-clad drowned rat. Water. So much water. But at least I was warm. Thankfully, the rainstorms in Oahu, Hawaii, are of the tropical nature, so when it rains it’s actually quite pleasant – although something less akin to the Niagara Falls would have been preferable. Anyway, now that I was soaked I decided there was only one thing for it. Hot tub. I jumped in and spent a few minutes relaxing in the bath-like water, and marvelled at the sound of the thunderstorm over Honolulu.
Until then, I’d never heard thunder quite like it. It seemed to last forever – a huge crash, and then an almost deafening, ominous rumble across the sky, lasting a good five or six seconds. It sounded more like a building collapsing than thunder. This was a proper storm. I was loving it.
I’d been waiting a long time to visit Hawaii, but not as long as my Dad. In his childhood, he used to trawl the shelves of the local library in his hometown of Leicester in England, staring longingly at photos of far-flung places around the globe. My grandparents never went on overseas vacations, so this was his way of doing it. Turning the pages of the various books, he always seemed to end up at the same place: Hawaii. The land of sun, surf, palm trees, and that laid back lifestyle.
Finally my parents were visiting the famous isles for the first time, and I flew in from Vancouver to join them. Located right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian archipelago is a mammoth journey from England. However, coupled with a week-long break in Vancouver, their flight from Canada to Kahului was mercifully short. They spent a week in Maui, before flying to Honolulu on Oahu, Hawaii’s most populous island. This is where I met them.
Coming from Vancouver’s extremely damp and cold winter, Hawaii was a breath of fresh air. The perfect climate of 26-28 degrees at the time we were there, a complete lack of mosquitos, the ability to wear shorts and T-Shirt every day, beaches to lie on, warm water, waves, rum-filled Mai Tais. It was excellent. The only problem seemed to be that I’d brought Vancouver’s overcast skies and patches of rain with me.
Fortunately, it didn’t spoil the occasion. I was in Hawaii. You’d have to do pretty well to spoil that. On our first full day there we met up with some friends of my parents, and visited the historic Pearl Harbour. Famously attacked preemptively by the Japanese on the morning of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbour is somewhere all budding WWII enthusiasts should check out. What I don’t recommend is checking out the public transport there from Honolulu – it takes an eternity.
Fortunately, we arrived at Pearl Harbour to bright sunshine, palm trees, and a beautiful view over the water to Ford Island. The island plays host the USS Missouri – now a floating museum, and the USS Arizona Memorial – with the remains of the huge dreadnought battleship still sitting below the surface to commemorate the crew who were lost on that fateful day 70 years ago. As we got to the USS Missouri, the heavens opened. With fortune being on our side we got into the Missouri before the rain really hit and then spent a good hour touring around the labyrinth of the great battleship, seeing how 2,700 members of the 1940s US Navy lived in truly canned sardine-like conditions. I’m definitely too tall for the place – the bunks were tiny. Fortunately the captain’s quarters looked rather more comfortable.
We checked out the ships huge arsenal of immense 16-inch guns, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and a bunch of other scary looking weaponary, now once again flanked by sunny skies, and saw the spot where the Japanese surrendered on board the Missouri at the end of WWII – in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. Pearl Harbour – A great, truly historic place to visit, rain or shine.
Another highlight of the trip? Oahu’s North Shore. Famed for it’s world-class surf spots, the northern coast of the island starts in the atmospheric town of Haleiwa – which distinctly reminded me of a certain trip to Ucluelet, BC, last summer. Following a tremendously American breakfast courtesy of IHop, we drove the huge Ford Explorer SUV we were lucky enough to have been leant by friends Jackie and Bill up to Haleiwa – ensuring any more painful public transit experiences were thankfully avoided. A coffee break in what was probably the coolest coffee house I’ve ever visited was followed by stop-offs at legendary surf locations such as Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline. I’ve only surfed once before – on that same trip to Ucluelet, but the size of the breakers that day – over 20ft high, were jaw-dropping. I’ve never witnessed such power in the ocean, seeing the foaming, white water crashing down, surfers dropping in to the waves, some more successfully than others, and then Sea Turtles. Sea Turtles! Casually feeding on algae like there were no waves even in sight.
My hopes of finding Mila Kunis working at the Turtle Bay Resort were unfortunately dashed. We hung around there for a few minutes – it’s a lot larger than it looks in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the weather was once again closing in, so we headed back to Pipeline and watched the waves for a while longer. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay, learn to surf on some of the smaller waves, and get a job in one of the trailers selling Hawaii grown and prepared food for locals and tourists alike. Unfortunately my letter to US Customs and Immigration asking for honourary citizenship on the grounds of being “rather British and liking your island paradise” has thus far been met with no response.
Also, in truly British fashion, my parents and I – along with Jackie (also English), and Bill (definitely not English), went for Afternoon Tea at the Moana Surfrider Westin Hotel. It was truly an experience of sheer arrogance. I was in my element. The Surfrider has a distinctly colonial feel to it. The architecture screams it. It’s also located right on Waikiki Beach, and that lunchtime the sun shone, we ate tiny sandwiches, pastries, drank tea, and discussed, well, just how arrogant this whole experience was. Something to definitely do again.
Following that – it just so happened that the Honolulu Festival, which promotes cultural understanding, friendship, and cooperation between Hawaii’s extremely diverse population was happening. It was clear that, along with Americans settling there, Hawaii’s population is made up of people from all over eastern Asia – Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, Tahitian, Samoans, Koreans – you name it. The festival centred around a parade along Honolulu’s Kalakaua Avenue – backing on to the Surfrider, so we spent a few hours watching the performances from groups both from Hawaii, and from around east Asia. It was all very impressive, it started raining again (obviously), and was followed by an equally impressive firework display.
Next: the beach. Waikiki Beach. It’s world famous, and although I’m generally not one for huge tourist destinations, it truly is a place worth a second look. As well as lying on the beach, tanning, drinking more Mai Tais, and generally doing the whole beachy thing, there’s surfing available. Fortunately the waves are much smaller, beginner level types. There’s also catamaran rides, dragon boars, paddle-boards, dinner cruises, and many other activities. It also has great views of Diamond Head – a huge volcanic crater which dominates the backdrop of most photos you’ll see of Waikiki Beach. We decided to hike it.
“An hour and a half it’ll take,” said the gentleman on the bus. “You guys look fit though – you’ll probably do it in an hour.” That was the advice we received on the hike at Diamond Head. Getting off the bus, we made our way to the trail entrance. 25 minutes later we were staring out from the old WWII pillbox at the peak of Diamond Head – offering panoramic views of Honolulu, Punchbowl Crater, Hanauma Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Apparently an hour and a half was a bit conservative. We returned to the city, and visited the beach again. Until the heavens once again opened. Fortunately, we were located right next to the Shore Bird bar and restaurant on the beach. What’s that? Mai Tais for $3.50 between 3-5pm? The perfect way to let the rains pass.
And then it was over. At 4:15am on Wednesday my parents left the hotel – their flight to San Francisco for a mini-break before returning to England was leaving at 7am. I was flying out that evening so had the day to myself. After saying goodbye (who knows when I’ll see them next?), I went back to sleep.
A few hours later I awoke. Usually the night was punctuated with the unmistakable sound of rain pounding on the windows. Tonight? Nothing. I looked at the time – 6:45am. Lazily and bleary eyed, I pulled back the curtain and was bathed in soothing, golden light. The sun! Not a cloud in the sky, after almost a week of what felt like endless sudden downpours. I got up, packed, grabbed my gear and was off.
Following a breakfast consisting of a Chai Latte (naturally) and a toasted Bagel with cream cheese (Jew good to turn down – bahaha…) I managed to be one of the first ones on Waikiki Beach. I knew it would be packed later, so made the most of the opportunity to get some photos, do some swimming, and take in what Hawaii is supposed to look like. This was the paradise that my dad has seen in those books all those years ago, and what I’d seen on Google Image Search, on those dull days at work. I rented a paddle-board for a couple of hours, made my way around the bay, fell off a few times, and managed to catch a few waves. Lunchtime? Well, of course I hit the Surfrider Hotel again – but only the beachside bar this time. A chicken Panini, some Coconut Water, and a few chapters of Long Way Down later and I was back on the beach, taking in the rays, and doing some more swimming.
As the afternoon wore on reality started to set in. I’d be flying back to cold, wet Vancouver tonight. A 9:30pm flight. Landing in YVR at 5am. I made the most of my last few hours in Honolulu, wandered around the pristine streets, chatted to fellow guests at the hotel, and hit the hot tub for one last time. Now I’m back in Vancouver, and guess what – it’s raining. Fortunately, West Coast 2012 starts in a month. It’s all good.
