We felt the slight impatience that most weary travellers do as they stand in a queue. We were at Customs in Honolulu. To amuse ourselves we watched an American get the once over from his fellow countrymen before he was escorted down to corridor for more scrutiny.
Under the tv screen that said "this sign is no longer in use" we waited until it was our turn. The Customs Officer - scanned our eyes and asked about our intentions, where we were staying, when we were moving on and why. He handed us our passports and with a smile said "its sunny and we have warm water - enjoy".
Outside the airport we found a seat in the shade and notified the taxi company of our arrival via their online portal. Back flew the message to go across the road at emergency pillar 32 and through the garage to the blue wall. Not too difficult since we were sitting by emergency pillar 29.
The driver was quiet and it was a fairly uneventful trip - perhaps that was good since a sign told us that the "last fatal accident was five days ago". "Perhaps it was a blessing that the driver was quiet" I thought and then I noticed he had one hand on the wheel and the other on his phone. Pretty sure a man can't talk, steer and text all at the same time.
Find the lock box said the instructions. "Which one?" we asked as we viewed the rack. Our early check in didn't eventuate - there was no key in the lock box!!
The receptionist ignored us until I asked her for assistance - she looked startled as though I had woken her from an afternoon nap. We could leave our bags, for a fee across the road at the car rental place she told us. Relieved of our big bags full of Marmite, Shapes, Weetbix and other kiwi goodies we wandered down the road carrying our cabin luggage.
We found a loo to change into cooler clothes and a place for me to eat a mahi mahi burger (the waiter said it was egg mixed with flour and grilled so I assumed there was fish involved somewhere) and Harry had an omelet and half my burger.
Waikiki is full of shops, I can't quite fathom how they manage to stay in business. The beaches are busy and so are the cafes but the shops are virtually empty (eg two shop assistants stood outside and enviously stared at us while we ate an ice-cream later in the day).
On to the beach. We smiled when we saw row upon row of deck chairs and umbrellas (reminiscent of Europe) and smiled even more when no one seemed to notice that the tide was encroaching under the chairs. "Rent me" said the sign on the chair. Later that day we read that the Council is bringing in a rule that chairs and umbrellas can only be put out once they are rented - in the hope of ensuring the beach remains accessible to everyone.
We paddled along the beach for a while and then lack of sleep hit us. I found a nice place to lie on the grass for an afternoon snooze and Harry did some people watching.
Back at the hotel with keys in hand we made our way up to the penthouse. Luxurious by name and probably it is compared to the other rooms in the complex. I would call it comfortable and clean with all the essentials (pool, kitchen, comfortable bed and balcony).
Talking of the pool, during our refreshing swim we watched little geckos performing their mating rituals (gecko porn was involved). We turned the air conditioner off and took the battery out of the clock (both too noisy) and were asleep by 4.30 pm lulled by the hum of a hundred air conditioners around us.
Even after that outrageously long sleep we were slow to get up. We wandered around looking for a supermarket (rather than the shops that sell $2 shop type items and a splash of food) and eventually found one with yummy deli food - must have taken an hour to decide on the next few nights dinners (fish burgers) and breakfast (fresh fruit and cereal).
Over the few days in Waikiki we wandered through a maze of hotel lobby's and outdoor shopping centres to get to the beaches, decided not to hire a surf board and went to the Honolulu Army museum.
On the second day back at the hotel I realised we hadn't checked out our emergency exits. The only door down to the floors below was beside the lift and it would not open. Harry tried and then the burly six foot cleaner tried and with three fairly hefty shoulder pushes managed to open it "It's not locked just stiff" he said as he closed it. We asked him to leave the door open - as we didn't want broken shoulders should an emergency occur. "Who should we tell?" we wondered hoping that no one would come up and shut the door during our stay. Reception was closed in the weekends (the only time we saw it open was on our first day during the lock box saga). We emailed Agoda suggesting there was a maintenance issue and could they tell the owner and also the Fire Department suggesting a future potential risk.
Every night, we checked the emergency door was ajar...
Sunday was the round the island trip for us and 22 other tourists. We agreed that at each stop we would take turns at the window seat. The bus stopped a lot (photo opportunities, sandy beaches, watching turtles, a fairly ordinary lunch, the Dole plantation, local shops and macadamia plantation). There was a lot of tightening and loosening of seatbelts along the way.
It took 80 minutes on the Number 20 bus to get to Pearl Harbor on Monday morning. On the trip (and also the return) we sat and looked at architecture, scenery and passengers and listened to a deep throaty male voice say for the umpteenth time "stop requested" and "please hold on, the bus is departing". One intriguing part of the trip (about 30 minutes) was under the motorway.
Pearl Harbor was better than I expected and probably matched Harry's expectations. We particularly enjoyed the walk through the Battleship Missouri, submarine Bowfin and the control tower and unsurprisingly Harry found the aviation museum captivating.
There is a lot to see at the museum, but not really a lot to say... so here are a few of the things we learnt.
- A New Zealander was at the signing of the end of the war Air Vice-Marshal Leonard Isitt. The other signatories to the agreement included US, China, UK, Australia, Canada, France and Netherlands.
- The Missouri and all other US warships are built to a width that means they can travel through the Panama Canal as many of the ship yards are on the east Coast of the US.
- The Kamikaze Pilot who flew his plane into the Missouri was given a military funeral the next day. The captain said "an enemy that can not retaliate is no longer your enemy" which apparently was not a sentiment shared by the crew.
- The copper and brass on the submarine was so shiny you could see yourself in it. Whoever cleaned it was a perfectionist and a saint, but I find it hard to imagine it would have been in that condition during the war.
- The war had a significant impact on the locals. Dorinda Nicholson wrote a book Pearl Harbor Child of her experiences when she was 6. It sounds like a must read.
Photos of the Missouri
The Bowfin
- There are no pesky insects like mosquitoes and sandflies (or perhaps they just don't like kiwis).
- There are lots of pigeons and hens but we didn't see any sea gulls.
- Hawaii is into solar panels in a big way - we are impressed.
- We still don't get the tipping - we inadvertently forgot to tip someone who came to help us with the internet - feel very guilty about it - but just not one of those habits we have embedded in our brain.
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