A lot of changes and travels this year. It will be hard to top. And probably impossible to top in 2010, considering I've burned through my savings like the pile of paper it is. Without a job or a job in site as the year closes, I will have to cut down my extra curriculum activities and stay put in Japan -- mostly.
I started this blogspot in May, but probably missed one of the most exciting trips I had taken prior to that. My "honeymoon" trip to Hawaii back in March 2oo9. Well, it wasn't our honeymoon, but we told everyone in Hawaii it was to get "free stuff". How can you resist the extra stuff and fluff when it's free? Well, you just can't.
So the first thing I did was to get us some free desserts at Alan Wong's. Needless to say, the food was amazing AND very pricey. But what's surprising was their list of frufru drinks which they incorporated fruit flavor such as litchi. YUM! It's hard to say no to that.
The next day, we decided to spend some time on the North Shore visiting sites such as Sunset Beach and some snorkeling at the cove at Turtle Bay resort. But not before we skydived from 12k feet in the sky. The scenery from 5k feet of the North Shore was unforgettable. After a tired day of skydiving and snorkeling, we chilled at sunset beach watching hot Japanese surfers walk by (that was mostly me), and having north shore garlic shrimp. Although, there was probably more butter than garlic.
Our most memorable tour was the "Hawaii Food Tour", which is a must for first-timers and we highly recommend it. http://www.hawaiianfoodtours.com The tour introduces a few of the local eateries in Honolulu and a bit of interesting facts of the history of the city. And gave us lots of good suggestions of where and what to eat while in Honolulu as well as Kauai, our next stop.
The next morning, we woke up extra early to hike up to the Diamond Head (an inactive volcano) from our hotel. The hike was about perhaps about 10 miles, which include the ascent to the base of the volcano. Most people drive to the base, and hike up from there, but the scenic view on the way there was beautiful. Lots of expensive houses and the homes belonging to my once favorite TV show LOST casts.
Voted the #1 beach in USA, Lanikai beach was probably well worth the drive across Oahu. It's situated right next the US Marine Corp base that Ray would have gotten stationed at had he chose to go to beautiful Hawaii instead of middle-of-nowhere Japan. The beach was one of my favorite spot. Even though, it was chilly cold, I still took a swim in the water... that's rare for me.
The shortest plane ride of my life was from Oahu to Kauai. The flight schedule said it was supposed to take 1 hour and 10 minutes, but we arrived shortly after 30 minutes. We were probably in air for less than 10 minutes that was not in take-off or landing mode.
Kauai is beautiful and most importantly peaceful. There were beautiful waterfalls, hidden and only accessible after a long and exhausting hike. 
And a little preview to my experience at Grand Canyon, this is the Waimea Canyon on Kauai.
Our most memorable tour was the "Hawaii Food Tour", which is a must for first-timers and we highly recommend it. http://www.hawaiianfoodtours.com The tour introduces a few of the local eateries in Honolulu and a bit of interesting facts of the history of the city. And gave us lots of good suggestions of where and what to eat while in Honolulu as well as Kauai, our next stop.
Iolani Palace: the only palace in United States, which belonged to the monarchy in Hawaii until the 1800's. The structure is fairly new built with European influences and is situated in downtown Honolulu on a big piece of beautiful green lawn with lots of palm trees.
It was time... to say good-bye to my faithful sandals that have followed me for 5 years through many trips across the globe. I was sad to let them go. Bye-bye shoes.
The next morning, we woke up extra early to hike up to the Diamond Head (an inactive volcano) from our hotel. The hike was about perhaps about 10 miles, which include the ascent to the base of the volcano. Most people drive to the base, and hike up from there, but the scenic view on the way there was beautiful. Lots of expensive houses and the homes belonging to my once favorite TV show LOST casts.
Voted the #1 beach in USA, Lanikai beach was probably well worth the drive across Oahu. It's situated right next the US Marine Corp base that Ray would have gotten stationed at had he chose to go to beautiful Hawaii instead of middle-of-nowhere Japan. The beach was one of my favorite spot. Even though, it was chilly cold, I still took a swim in the water... that's rare for me.
The shortest plane ride of my life was from Oahu to Kauai. The flight schedule said it was supposed to take 1 hour and 10 minutes, but we arrived shortly after 30 minutes. We were probably in air for less than 10 minutes that was not in take-off or landing mode.
And a little preview to my experience at Grand Canyon, this is the Waimea Canyon on Kauai.
I felt really at home in Kauai, it almost didn't feel like we were in Hawaii, except for the beautiful sceneries. We rented a small one-bedroom apartment with a deck, kitchen, pool, and a hot tub of our own. We shopped at the local grocery store, enjoyed shaved ice with sweet cream and red bean paste, and ate giant coconut shrimp. Life is wonderful.
