Hawaii Day 3

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I’m trying to do a quick breakfast this morning since Chinatown is on today’s schedule. The guidebook suggested getting out there pretty early to avoid the worst of the crowds and the growing heat. I leave the hotel on foot to find out that once again, it’s raining. I pop into ABC to buy an outrageously expensive umbrella then it’s over to McDonalds.

One of the first things I notice is that there is an Asian choice even on this menu, more fish and rice. They even offer chopsticks. The trashcans, instead of saying Thank You like they do here, say Mahalo. I like that. I don’t particularly like the prices but you have to consider that everything is imported to the islands and that costs money. I grab my meal to go and take it across the street to one of the covered sitting areas that overlook the beach. Everything is still wet so I eat while standing up. The table next to me is full of natives listening to a radio playing island music. They’re singing along and talking when one of them points out to the water. Now there’s something good that came from the rain. A gorgeous rainbow is arcing right over the ocean. I’m grinning like the tourist that I am. That right there is how you do breakfast.

As an added bonus, I realized after I’d finished my biscuit that the bag was still heavy. I looked into it and discovered a plastic container full of pineapple. I didn’t notice the sign at the time but every meal from McDonald’s comes with this very Hawaiian fruit as a treat.

Breakfast finished, I walk back to the hotel and get the car. I’d mapped out the route before hand so I only get slightly turned around before I find my way. Chinatown is spread over several streets that are teaming with tourists and natives alike. There are a lot of food stores, restaurants, and souvenir shops. The array of meats and vegetables sold in the markets is bewildering. I don’t recognize half of the stuff and I’m a little scared of some of the raw forms of the stuff I do recognize. And I’m still not sure why anyone but a vampire would need pig’s blood.

I had two main souvenir goals in coming to Chinatown; a nice pair of chopsticks and a carved walking stick. The chopsticks were easy. One of the first shops I stopped in carried a boxed set of 2 pairs of sticks made out of jade as well as some cheaper wooden ones in nice carrying sacks. The shop, like most in Chinatown, was full to capacity with everything from wooden carvings and teapots to samurai swords and decorative fans. No walking sticks though. The search continues.

There are tours through Chinatown but I prefer to just walk. It’s a bit strange to be head and shoulders taller than everyone on the sidewalk but it does make navigating easier. I wander into a couple of seriously well-stocked bead shops. Again, pearls are cheap and plentiful and I can’t resist buying some. Don’t know what I’ll do with them (I’m not even beading much lately) but at least I’ll have them.

While Chinatown is infinitely interesting, it’s also quite tiring. I’d been walking for a while, realized I couldn’t find the dim sum restaurant I wanted to visit, and I’m getting really tired. I make a lazy loop on the outskirts of Chinatown and find that it borders a finger lake with gorgeous purple flowers growing on the banks. I rest a while then start thinking about heading back.

Dude, where’s my car? I could have sworn it was by a main street but I swear that this doesn’t look familiar. My left foot is starting to hurt. Still I trudge up one street and down another, getting my hopes up any time I spot one of a number of parking lots. But no luck. I look on longingly every time The Bus comes by, knowing that I could just hop one and be back on Waikiki beach in a manner of minutes. I could just tell Dollar to go pick up their own car. I’m sure they know Chinatown a lot better than I do. Ohhhh, I’m starting to get whiney.

Oh look. There’s Legend Seafood, the place where I wanted to have lunch. See? It never fails. When you look for stuff you can’t find it. Get lost and suddenly everything is right in front of you. I cross the street and stop for lunch.

I really need to eat out more. I’ve always wanted to try dim sum and this place is supposed to have the best on the island. This is not a tourist trap. The many tables covered with white tablecloths are mostly filled with Japanese natives. There is a huge sparkly chandelier in the middle of the room and several waitresses pushing carts of covered bowls and plates. The hostess takes me to a seat and sets out some water and tea. Thanks to my visit to England, I’ve developed a taste for tea. This stuff is pretty good even without sugar. A woman comes over and offers stuff from her cart. I have absolutely no idea what’s she’s talking about or what I’m about to eat but I take one item and refuse the rest. She marks my little scorecard and moves onto the next table.

There were no forks on the table and since I wanted the full experience, I decided to take my chances with the chopsticks. I am very proud to say that I didn’t starve to death and I managed not to flip food on myself or others. Pretty cool, huh? (It didn’t hurt that the dumplings were about the size of a small bagel – if I had had rice, I really would have starved.)

I think one of the women from the next table can tell I’m clueless (was it my color that tipped her off?). She points out the menu and tells me to be on the lookout for the carts that have the items I want. I know I don’t want the chicken feet (I’m not that adventurous) but I do have the chicken puff thingies (3 on a plate), the shrimp dumplings (3) and the happy beef something (they look like ground beef rolled up lasagna-style). The chicken thing was good but the shrimp thing was covered in this scary cellophane-like material that felt like clammy skin on my tongue. Ewww. The beef stuff was okay only there was way too much of it.

With only half the food eaten, I’m very stuffed. That’s another thing I noticed while in Hawaii; I didn’t have much of an appetite. Oh, I’d eat to keep from passing out but it wouldn’t take much to fill me up. I sit at the table with a dazed look on my face and sigh at the thought of trying to find the car again.

I finally get up, take my little score card to the cashier, and pay the cheap bill. Back outside, it’s up one street and down the other for at least another half hour. Okay. Now I’m starting to get annoyed. Why didn’t I pay more attention to where I parked? Haven’t I already been down this street? Where is it leading me? Turns out the street I happened upon let out onto the side of Chinatown that faces the docks. I kept following it and sure enough there’s the parking lot. Deep sigh of relief. I’d honestly had thoughts of forever wandering Oahu Chinatown – I’d die of exhaustion and end up as the legendary ghostly traveler, just another story to add color to Chinatown’s history. Did I mention that I was tired? And loopy?

I was never so happy to see a gray Corolla in my life! I paid the outrageously high bill and high-tailed it back to Waikiki. I ditched the car, changed clothes, and headed straight for the beach. After laying out my mat, water and book, I went for a little dip.

There’s a part of the ocean that is blocked off by a retaining wall so that the water remains relatively calm. There are only a few baby waves and it only gets to be about 5 ½ feet deep. Nothing can make the water any warmer though. I wade out for maybe a half hour or so before heading back to the beach to lay out.

This is just what Waikiki encourages you to do: absolutely nothing. Sure, there are plenty of sights to see, lots of shopping and tours to take. But there is nothing to compare with just chilling out on the beach. I lay there reading my book in no hurry to do anything else. When it started to rain, I pulled my towel over me and when it stopped raining I took the towel off. It’s just that easy.

After maybe an hour or two, I decided to get up and take a walk around. I followed the shore in the opposite direction from the main hotels. There is a resort on the water and some kind of preserve. Or maybe that was part of the aquarium. The aquarium itself is a small building that’s almost directly across the street from the Honolulu Zoo. Since Kalakaua in this direction becomes Diamond Head Road, I decided to follow it. It’d be nice if I could get an idea of how far it is to the start of the trail.

(Long story short – I couldn’t)

On the way back, I stop at a gorgeous spot marked as Queen Kapiolani’s Garden. I’m snapping shots when my digital camera decides it is finished. I had no idea how many photos it held but I certainly thought it was more than 40. Oh well. At least I know where the park is so I can go back.

Back at the hotel, I do a little exploring and find the resort’s 2 pools on the 3rd floor. Hoping against hope that the nearly deserted pools are heated, I dip a toe in one. Nope. Just as cold as the ocean. I lay out anyway until I realize that the third floor is just as windy as the twelfth. I go back to the room to change.

When I get back onto Kalakaua, I see that the tiki torches are already lit. Darn. This is supposed to be a big ceremony according to one of my free mags and I missed it. A man dressed in native attire runs down the street with a big torch and lights all the torches along the street. Maybe I can check it out tomorrow.


Waikiki is even busier at night than in the day. On the beach, I can see a crowd of people gathered around a bandstand. There are musicians and dancers entertaining the crowd with Hawaiian music. I catch a bit of the show then keep on walking.

On the other side of the street, I notice a man standing on the sidewalk. He was noticeable because he was dressed in a gold suit with gold paint on his face and hands. A gold top hat was on his head and a gold umbrella was in his hand. Even the cup he’d set out for tips was gold. It reminded me of the blue man I’d spotted in Covent Garden in London. Striking, but it didn’t compel me to give him any money. I shook my head and kept walking.

I wander past hotels that have their own entertainment at night. That’s one thing you really note in Waikiki – there’s always music playing somewhere. Whether above me on the balcony of a hotel or on ground level around the pools, something’s always going on. I had every intention of going out dancing – it’s something I missed out on when I was in Europe. But whether it’s the time difference, the atmosphere or the fact that I’d been walking all day but I have absolutely no energy left to do much but find a meal and sit down. There is a Wolfgang Puck restaurant near my hotel. I order a pizza to go and take it back to the room. I can’t sit on the balcony because of the wind so I just sit by the open balcony door and eat while watching the lights of the city.