In memory of 4 of July where the US of A celebrates their Independence Day! This was how we celebrated the day last year in sunny Hawaii... Those were the carefree days... just chilling out at the beach, sleeping in, driving and checking out the malls... and watching Transformers!

Turtle Snorkelling (part 7)

I guess this would mark the last of my Hawaii travel tales! Thanks for reading all this while!!

The eve of our departure was spent exploring Hanauma Bay.. It was such a beautiful day with the lovely sunshine as always!! I was feeling super duper sick.. and the medication didnt seem to work. B wanted me to just rest but I insisted on going cos it would be such a waste just to spend the entire day in the hotel.

So we went...and boy was I glad we did. Hanauma Bay was beautiful!! The views were picturesque!! But the water was kinda cold and I wished that I brought my wetsuit along..hehe although it was just snorkelling by the Bay. The Bay was super crowded with tons of tourists. So it was almost impossible to snorkel without running into another fellow snorkeller. After 'roaming' around aimlessly in the Bay for about 20 minutes and not able to spot the rare green Hawaiian turtles.. I gave up and decided to just lie on the beach. B continued to snorkel around for a while longer but gave up after that as well. So 2 beach-bums were just lying around the bay checking out other tourists.

We went back to the hotel thereafter and continued the rest of the afternoon lazing around the beach. Its so idyllic, hearing the rolling waves and gently rocking me to sleep. I fell fast asleep with a beach towel covering half my body for fear of getting sun-burnt. Whilst B was just glad to finish his book on Goldman Sachs..hard reading for a holiday..hehe.

We kinda ran out of places for dinner..so we decided to go to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. We had to wait close to an hour for a seat. Look what we did after we got bored of walking around...

(L-R): Me with the menu...too many choices available! I decided on the Weight Watchers Chicken Salad! B's steak with fries and onion rings..check out the fries and onion rings.. definitely more than the steak! Thats not a cup of coffee...its a huge cup of ESPRESSO..well thats the size you get in USA! Last pic..Key Lime Cheesecake..yumz yumz....

Ocean Deep (Part 6)

B was really sweet to have booked the Ocean View Room, its nice to wake up and see the oceans in the morning. And we get such nice wondrous views just looking outside our window.

Yes, we can even see the dolphins from our room. Its really quite cool! Friday was spent diving ..the marine life was so-so only. Marine life in Asia is much better.. but still it was quite an experience.

And finally I got my PEDICURE done...~happiness!!!~ Its been such a long time since I did my last pedicure. I was so happy that I can get it done in Hawaii.... cos you hardly get a chance to do it here in Tokyo and even if pedicures are available here, its going to be so so expensive! Oh~oh, the pedicures that we did, was pretty cool! Sat on a massage chair and got a body massage whilst the manicurist worked on my toes! Amazing right? I thought it was quite smart. B thought the pedicure was expensive. But hey, throw in the sort of complimentary massage and its pretty worth it lah.

Went to Ala Moana again to buy some snacks back to Tokyo for friends and B's colleagues. Went to Mariposa located inside Neiman Marcus. The food was quite good but the view even better!

L-R: Mariposa Restaurant, My Tuna Salad, Our Monkey Bread Appetizer, Me gazing at the Sky, B's wine (I couldnt drink :( )

Diamond Hunting (part 5)

The day after 4th of July was spent attempting to go hiking at Diamond Head Crater. But that kinda met with failure cos I wasnt feeling all too great and wouldnt be able to make it all the way to the top without fainting .

Basically, we just took our car and drove round the nature path trail and doing touristy things like stopping at the scenic routes and having our pictures taken.

Was supposed to rest in the room but decided it was such a waste to sleep in, so I braved the heat and headed out to the beach to get more tanning done. B managed to get us a cabana (rental-free) equipped with our very own cooler box filled with fruits and water :)

After that, we took a stroll along Waikiki Beach and saw the lovely sunset. Had an early dinner at Hula Grill and caught another movie! This time round, it was Fantastic Four..yes..its bcos of Jessical Alba.

4th of July (part 4)

Was really excited about celebrating the all-American holiday..4th of July in America! B went for a surfing lesson in the morning. I haven got the guts so I just hung around Waikiki Beach. Was preparing to take in the sunshine when it started to drizzle and put a damper on my mood. So I spend about 2 hours walking around the Waikiki stretch and having a Pomegranate Ice-blended from Starbucks.

B came back 2 hours later, battered and bruised. Apparently, surfing wasnt as easy as he thought. The guys and gals in the movie Blue Crush made it look easy but it wasnt! Boy was I glad I didnt go surfing. I would just not be able to walk the next couple of days if I did that.

After a rough morning of surfing, we hung out by the beach doing more sun-tanning and I just reveled in reading trashy magazines...hehe..

While the rest of America celebrated Independence Day with their barbecues in their backyard, the 2 of us caught the latest movie that would take 'forever' to come to Tokyo.. Transformers!!! At first, I wasnt too hot about the movie but after watching the trailer...WHOA...I bugged B to go watch it with me..his first choice was Fantastic Four, cos of Jessica Alba. But Megan Fox, she's hot! And the Autobots, they are realleeeee KEWL.

Its really amazing watching Transformers in 3-D cos all I knew about them when I was young were that the robots were 2D and that cheesy song that goes.. "Transformers..more than meets the Eye!" My guy cousins grew up playing with Transformers so seeing the robots in the movie screens its like WHOA...COOL....

Pineapple County and Up North (part 3)

International House of Pancakes = IHOP

Woke up bright and early to have the free breakfast at our hotel but it was pretty crap so B decided to bring me to IHOP!!! He has been raving about IHOP eversince he discovered that there was an outlet in Honolulu. And he was bugging me to go for late-night suppers saying that it is ultra-happening at IHOP. With so much raving about that place, I just had to see what it was all about.

When I stepped in the restaurant, the sweet smell of pancakes filled the air and made me even more hungry. The menu is ultra-extensive and I just go 'confused' having to make my own choice for breakfast cos everything looks incredibly good! In the end, I decided to choose the sinful Breakfast Platter that consisted of 2 sunny side up eggs, hash and 2 sausages PLUS 3 PANCAKES FILLED WITH STRAWBERRIES AND WHIPPED CREAM. All that for US $8 plus. Thats pretty cheap!

B, being the all-rounder glutton, had the STEAK for BREAKFAST!!! Thats not all....it came with 3 PANCAKES as well. Well, no guesses, he finished up the entire STEAK for BREAKFAST....

See..thats one happy satisfied IHOP customer....the portions for meals are huge in the US of A... its like the country.. HUGE....

After the ultra-filling breakie, we headed to Kahala where we checked into our ultra super nice hotel that overlooked the ocean. The drive up to Kahala was scenic...stopped by for some pictures and then off to check in. Got greeted by the Kahala Hotel Staff the Hawaiian way.... ALOHA....

As our room wasnt ready, we had to hang around outside till about 3-ish. We decided to go Up North to check out Dole Pineapple Plantation and check out the beaches along North Shore.

Fell asleep on the 30minute drive to Dole Pineapple Plantation cos I basically stayed up the night before watching American TV and tossing and turning around the bed. It was HOT HOT HOT and we braved the heat and went to the World's Largest Maze.. the PINEAPPLE GARDEN MAZE. The world record holders took only 12 mins to go through the maze to suss out the 8 secret stations. Well, we took like close to an hour and could only find 6 of the stations. I was pretty desperate at one point in time that I practically followed the kids who said they knew where the Pineapple and Hula Girl Secret Station were. In the end, we gave up. It was too hot and I think we were getting too old to be running amok in the heat.

Later on, we took another road trip and headed up North. More photo-whoring..

When we arrived at the corner of North Shore, we desperately tried locating for Giovanni's White Van. Apparently, the shrimp served by the owner is widely recommended by tons of guidebooks and it was voted the 'Must Try' by some travel website. So being the typical tourists, we had to try it! USD $12 for a dozen shrimp. A little expensive but it was really good...FINGER LICKING GOOD..the garlic with the shrimp was superbly delish...

BOO!


Check it out...a seal suntanning in the lovely Hawaiian heat.





B acting KEWL while waiting for our ride!

While waiting for our dinner at this quaint Italian restaurant at KOKO Marina, B and I headed to this Kona Brewery to check out the local Hawaiian beer. My luck wasnt good..kept losing at all the drinking games!