Hawaii Travelogue - I

I have been thinking to post my Hawaii trip experience for a long time now. Today, I have overcome my laziness and here I am writing my first ever travelogue. I intend to divide the travelogue into each of the days I spent in the beautiful Hawaiian islands.

Our travel to Hawaii was planned more than a month ahead, so that we could get good deals in air tickets and hotels. We googled for the best places to visit for a 4 day 4 night vacation. Since this was our first time visiting the islands, we were in an exploratory mood rather than a luxurious, relaxing one. We also read that the best time to visit is in the month of May since it is an off-season in Hawaii. But I wouldn't think so. There were lots and lots of people in Honolulu where we stayed for 4 nights. The city was always buzzing with tourists.

Now, let me just tell you the geography of Hawaii. Hawaii state consists of six islands- Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Big Island, Maui. Of these, Oahu is the most advanced with modern luxuries but preserving the inherent beautiful nature in it. Honolulu is in the island of Oahu.

On Friday evening, we landed in Honolulu.Before landing, we need to fill up a Hawaii state agriculture department form. This is a way to ensure that people do not get plants/animals which are not indigenous to Hawaii. One of our flight attendants said that there are no snakes in Hawaii and just last week they had arrested a person who was trying to smuggle in snakes from the mainland. I was surprised as well as relieved when I heard there were no snakes. Relieved because, we could go hiking to forests without getting to worry about the snakes!!

ALOHA - Welcome to Hawaii.

The warm, moist but gentle evening breeze of Honolulu welcomed us... The sweet, subtle fragrance of primavera flowers on our lei welcomed us..They also conveyed to us "Mahalo" (Thankyou in Hawaiian) for visiting.

Most of the hotels in Honolulu area are in Waikiki, close to the famous Waikiki beach. There is a bus shuttle, $9 per person, from the airport to the hotels, which takes atleast 45 min to reach Waikiki. We reached Aqua Aloha Surf Hotel for our night stay. Though 6 hr flight from LA was a pleasant one, but the time lag made us weary and tired. Hawaii time is 3 hrs behind the Pacific Time.

Waikiki beach was a small walk from our hotel and we enjoyed the twilight in Waikiki, appreciating the cool breeze and the lights along the beach. Since it was a Friday night, the beach side hotels had an array of music and dance performances from the local artists wearing costumes in authentic Hawaiian prints. We enjoyed the performances along the beach side, with the sun slowly setting and the Hawaiian music blending with the sound of ocean waves.



We had planned a day trip to the Big Island next day morning, so we retired for the day after our dinner. Both of us were eagerly looking forward for our 4 days in Hawaii.

This post is continued in Hawaii Travelogue-II.