Off to Hawaii (Ohau) - any advice or recommendations?

Discussion in 'The Green Room' started by Ebeneezer Goode, Mar 25, 2017.

  1. Ebeneezer Goode

    Ebeneezer Goode Gobshite

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    Off to Hawaii in a few days, staying in Waikiki and just wondering if anyone has any advice, recommendations and warnings?

    There for 10 days, although for 2 we're island hopping to Hawaii itself to go up Mauna Kea (go to the middle of the Pacific and go find the spot where you need gloves and a parka! :D )

    Not sure I'll get chance to pop by to say thanks for any advice 'til I'm back, but can still peruse via the phone! :)

    Aaagh, misspelled Oahu! /edit
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  2. oldfella1962

    oldfella1962 the only real finish line

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    My only advice you already know - the top of Manua Kea is cooooooold. I guy I knew many years ago (pre internet/research/google) went out there and had to buy a winter jacker at the last minute at sky-high prices because he didn't realize that elevation matters a lot, no matter where you are in the world.
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  3. Paladin

    Paladin Overjoyed Man of Liberty

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    Near Mauna Kea there's a very cool black sand beach that's worth checking out.

    Visit Pearl Harbor/U.S.S. Missouri!

    Get poke for lunch one day, then get shaved ice for dessert!

    Arrange to be somewhere you can watch the sun go down while sipping on a Mai-tai.
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  4. Volpone

    Volpone Zombie Hunter

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    You absolutely HAVE to go to La Mariana Sailing Club. It's hard to find, tucked behind a warehouse area, and the signage directing you to it might as well be a rusty windowless van with "FREE TOYS AND CANDY" spraypainted on the side, but go anyway. Have a Zombie if you're not driving anywhere.

    Possibly Shark Cove on the North Shore. Good snorkeling in the summer, but wading the tide pool behind the coral seawall may work now. But be aware of surf this time of year. If there's no one else down in the tide pool, be doubly wary. Big surf can and will come over the seawall and that could ruin your day.

    Find a shrimp truck on the North Shore. The one I liked was actually over in Kaneohe Bay instead of on the North Shore, but I forget its name. Really, none of them are bad. Shrimp straight from the pond to the pot. Although I wasn't a big fan of having to take the heads off myself. I like that already done. Keep an eye out for sea turtles. There will probably be one on one of the beaches on the North Shore. Kind of cool to look at.

    Diamond Head is nice. And a tiring hike. Snorkeling at Haunama Bay is touristy but safe. You might see a sea turtle in the water there.

    What else? Buy some poke from the deli section of pretty much any supermarket--especially with a nice Primo or Longboard beer after a day at the beach. I preferred Chinatown to Waikiki for nightlife. Although it is a lot seedier, it's less of a circus and probably better prices and some nice spots if you look around.

    Oh, banana split at Farrel's Ice Cream Parlor in Pearl Ridge Shopping Center (If you don't see it, there's two mall buildings. You might be in the wrong one.) And the Battleship Missouri.

    There's a US WWII sub at Pearl Harbor that's a nice tour. You can go see the USS Arizona Memorial but there will be waiting. You'll have to take a shuttle bus to the Missouri if you're not with someone in the US military. There are 3 tours you can take. The cheapest one, I've never done. The middle one is pretty good. Something like 20-30 people and a guide. You get to see the command center, which is like the bridge on any sci-fi space battlecruiser. The most expensive tour is like, 6-10 people and you don't see the command center but you get to see the targeting computer, gun turrets, and all kinds of things most people don't get to see.

    There's a...Buddhist(?) temple on the...leeward(?) side. And there used to be a nice pancake place on...Kapiolani? That's about it. Oh, and the hookers in Waikiki are like they're out of a late 1980s cop show--hot, hot girls in evening gowns, just standing around on the sidewalk. It's kind of surreal. I have no idea what they cost or if you'll wake up in a tub of ice, missing a kidney, but I thought I'd mention it so if you see some girl standing around, looking like she's going to prom, you'll know what's up.
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  5. LizK

    LizK Sort of lurker

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    And whatever else, while on Mauna Kea, don't pick up any lava rocks. Don't bring any back to the Mainland with you.
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2017
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  6. Will Power

    Will Power If you only knew the irony of my name.

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    I've never been to Hawaii, but have an awesome time while you're out there ecky :techman:

    While you're there, be careful of those huge centipedes. I hear have those really big ones there.

    You probably won't run into any, but just be cautious of them anyway.
  7. LizK

    LizK Sort of lurker

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    The centipedes really are big.
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  8. Damar

    Damar Liberal Elitist

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    Try the malasadas (Portugese donuts) at Leonard's Bakery. Either original or custard, both are good.

    It's also fun to stop by Bailey's Aloha Shirts. The guy has a collection of over 15,000 Aloha shirts.
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  9. Ebeneezer Goode

    Ebeneezer Goode Gobshite

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    Managed to get quite a bit done, but not everything - prolly go back next year for a good month or two so can properly island hop and really do everything, just depends on how the new businesses go.

    Kept intending to get to Pearl Harbour, but closest was when I hit the Swap Meet at Aloha, something always came up when I planned to go.

    Mauna Kea was fantastic, although had to be really careful given the reduced oxygen. Flying to Kona, the wife looked out and saw Haleakala, paled and asked if that was Mauna Kea given it's height. I pointed out MK was higher. She paled some more :lol:

    As for it being cold, it was around 1 degree celsius until a few minutes before sunset, so it wasn't much of an issue. In the UK we call that spring ;) As the sun dropped, so did the temperature, so was a bit chilly when it went south of zero, but nothing that bad, we have it colder than that for a couple of months of the year where I live.

    We also stopped halfway up at an abandoned government property. Looked like Leatherface's holiday home!

    Diamond Head was good going too, although I was amused when I was heading to the entrance tunnel someone heading back said I should've parked inside, when I told them I'd just walked down from Waikiki I got a marvellous WTF face and a "good luck"... I may be a few stone overweight, but I do a 5 mile easy-to-moderate hike most days from April to November without catching a breath, so whilst DH required the odd breather (those fecking stairs... Me and a Japanese tourist high-fived at the top) it wasn't the most difficult hike I've done, and the view is worth it. I'd cheerfully do that most days and watch the lard melt away!

    Leonards was a good call too, it was just over a 30 minute walk away so I ambled over via the canal and came back bearing a wide range of doughnuts. We tasted them all, although we only manage to actually eat half of what I bought (got every flavour and filling), but yeah, very nice.

    The water is lovely, not too hot, not too cold and not too busy.

    Hit a luau, which was fun. Completely ersatz touristy stuff, but hey, we were tourists. Had some poke there, which was ok. I found poke to be nice, but not moreish.

    10 days went way too fast.
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  10. LizK

    LizK Sort of lurker

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    Glad you had an enjoyable time. Next time try a visit to the Pali. But be careful of the breeze at the top. Hint: people have lost footing up there
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  11. Damar

    Damar Liberal Elitist

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    Was the Swap Meet any good? I drove by it a few times but never stopped and got out.
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  12. The Original Faceman

    The Original Faceman Lasagna Artist

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    Yeah, I spent 10 days on Maui last summer. Also went too fast, especially when you're negotiating with children. We keep debating over San Diego or Maui again for this year. Leaning toward SD because of the shorter flight.
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  13. Ebeneezer Goode

    Ebeneezer Goode Gobshite

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    Yeah, but go early. The concrete soaks up the heat and re-emits it, so early afternoon it's essentially an open air oven. There are water sprays on the food area to keep things cool, but strolling between the stalls gets hot.

    Also, it's stupidly big, so pick a quadrant and stick to it especially as what is sold tends to be repeated after a while, so you can maybe find what you want cheaper, but I'd argue that any savings aren't worth the effort especially as you can haggle a little.

    You'll find a lot of Asian stall holders whose English isn't the best, I found myself shifting into 'telephone' voice rather than 'conversational' voice to get my Northern UK accent into a comprehensible range for them.
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