HOSTEL, More new friends, and Hanauma Bay

I checked out of the Queen Kapiolani hotel and into the Waikiki Beachside Hostel last tuesday. As soon as I checked in I had to go because I was going up to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which was fabulous. I highly recommend it for anyone coming to visit Oahu, but just remember it's near the North Shore. I didn't think about when I'd be on the North Shore so my bus ride there was 2 hrs... but worth it!

 At the Ali'i Luau:

Pig in earth oven:

Canoe Pageant:

I got back past 11 and was exhausted. When I woke up the next morning I met Kelly, a girl from Batavia, NY! Thats around 40 minutes from Buffalo, but we meet in Hawaii! Another girl was leaving the room for Kaua'i and within an hour of meeting each other, Kelly and I booked flights to Kaua'i for a trip together for the next 2 days. 

That day though, we went to Hanauma Bay, which is BEAUTIFUL and a great place for snorkeling. We went with two other girls from my room at the hostel, Emilie (from France) and Moeko (from Japan).

 

Taking it easy

I'm scared of getting sunburned so I'm spending the morning at least out of the sun. Hide and I were going to see Pearl Harbor, but I decided I'd better start thinking about my living situation so I booked a room at the Beachside Waikiki Hostel for a few days starting tomorrow and have been apartment hunting... Hopefully I find something soon. :)

After not much luck with the apartment hunting, I went to the Honolulu Zoo, which is pretty nice. I had a good time walking around seeing all the animals and cool plants. 

I spent the rest of my day on the beach, and watched all the surfers and paddle boarders, trying to learn by watching, just in case I get brave enough to try it!

My First Full Day in Hawaii

My inner clock is all screwed up now so from 3 am on, I had trouble sleeping. At 5 am I woke up for good. I made a few calls since New York is 6 hrs ahead of Hawaii, then loaded the lotion and sunscreen on and got ready for my first full day in Hawaii. Since I got up so early I saw the sunrise:

I met Hi-de and we caught a bus to our destination. There were many beautiful sights passed during the bus ride, I really enjoyed it and Hide was happy to get to practice his English. We are fortunate friends, but I'm more fortunate because I spent no money yesterday. Hi-de took care of bus and lunch, and even packed me breakfast. He was worried I was starving because I had mentioned the word yesterday and he didn't realize I had gone to Subway. He didn't know what "starving" meant and when he went home and looked it up he was worried and packed me food! 

Since it's his friends company, I went snorkeling and body boarding for free, and we also got free lunch. BBQ chicken, rice, and some Hawaiian comfort food called Loco Moco. It was all delicious. 

The beach we went to first was Lanikai, which means Heaven of the Oceans in Hawaiian.

Hi-De:

Me with Snorkel gear! :

His friend, Tomo (pronounced Toe-Moe), picked us up from the beach and we headed back to get lunch and to pick up Japanese tourists. Hi-De only had to give the lesson to two people, a mother and her adorable 9 year old daughter. The lesson was so much fun with all of them.

Body boarding at Kailua beach:

When I got back I was so tired I fell asleep til 8pm. Hi-De met me back at Waikiki beach later on and he brought me a pineapple from the garden he takes care of. He cut it up and we ate it right there at the beach. 

Then we walked down Kalakaua Ave and saw many shops and street performers. We visited the International Market Place, where I got a bought a necklace that means Happiness Infinity, and then walked back the beach way. It was a very good second day in Hawaii. 

Street performers:

The "Amazin' Asians + 1 White Boy":

My First Friend in Hawaii

18 hours of travel, two cups of cran-apple juice, and one bag of peanuts later (I refused to buy gourmet airplane food -- who needs a goat cheese apple salad on a plane??), I finally made it to my hotel! The Queen Kapiolani is in the PERFECT location. Right down the street from Waikiki beach and on the same street as some hostels I will be looking into staying at after my 3 hotel nights are over.

I freshened up and headed straight to the beach. On the way, I called my dad to let him know of my safe arrival and a bum overheard me commenting about the food prices. I was starving but I was not going to pay $5 for a hotdog at the hotel restaurant. He laughed at me and said, "Expensive, huh?" I said, "Yeah!" He then told me there was a subway right around the corner and I should get a $5 footlong. I thanked him for the good advice. Hobo Heidi was a good name for this blog...

I was hungry, but seeing the beach was more important. It is beautiful. As I waded shin deep in warm, clear blue Hawaiian water, I thought to myself, "This is the best thing I've ever done." Coming to Hawaii I mean, not just the wading through the water. 

I continued to walk down Waikiki beach, but the lowering sun was in that direction. It was blinding so I turned around and decided it was time to go back and look for Subway. To my dismay, I discovered the bum was wrong. They no longer have any $5 footlongs. Poor guy, he must not have been here in a while. I got the footlong anyways. It was the best investment I could have made after 20+ hrs of surviving off a fun size bag of peanuts. 

I then went back to Lemon Rd.  to check out a hostel. The Beachside Waikiki does not require a ticket leaving the state to make a reservation, so I asked the long haired David Spade look-alike front desk guy if I could see a room. He showed me the small size (4 people share) and the large size (8 people share). There were a few girls in the large room. They looked my age and had similar style, this made me feel comfortable about possibly staying there. They were cute and had cute accents, probably just traveling on a budget like myself. 

I didn't have any other plans so I grabbed my guide book and a few flyers at some activity booths along the road and headed back to the beach. I got there at the perfect time to see the sunset. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. 

With some city lights and left over sunlight, it was still comfortably bright enough to browse my reading material. Hanauma Bay (Snorkeling), Diamond Head Crater (Hiking), Polynesian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor... What should I do tomorrow? I'd prefer to do something outside for my first day, but I felt kind of apprehensive about going snorkeling or hiking alone. I gave up on my guide book and was about to head back to my hotel.

As I got up to walk back, I heard music coming from a pier I had not ventured down. I curiously headed towards it and walked up it. There was a guy playing a guitar and singing, and later a girl came to join his show by blowing bubbles. I sat there just enjoying the beautiful place and the random show. 

Thats where I met Hide (pronounced "Hee-Deh"). He's from Japan and he's in Hawaii trying to improve his English. We talked at the beach and he bought me coffee. His friend has a tour company for Japanese tourists, and sometimes he helps him out by teaching body boarding. He asked if I'd like to go the next day and I very happily accepted, since I had been kind of down about not having a friend to do things with earlier. We continued to talk and we decided we'd go snorkeling too before the body boarding lesson. I was so fortunate to meet him. We agreed on meeting at 7:30 am to catch the bus and parted. 

That was my first day in Hawaii. 

Graduation... Check. Goodbye to my friends and fam... Check. Sunscreen... Check. Bikini... Check.

Okay, I'm ready to go!

So I bought a one way ticket to Hawaii. I've always wanted to visit paradise, and why not go now? I think it's the perfect time, before I get caught up in grad school or a career or GASP, a serious relationship.

I was thinking about this program called WWOOF (yes you say it like woof). It stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Not that I want to be a farmer really, but it's this cool trade set up, where in exchange for some help on an organic farm, you get room and board. I've always wanted to learn more about sustainable living, it would be exercise, I'd get to live with locals, and most importantly, I'd save money (possibly even make some). I haven't found a position thats a good fit for me yet -- all the places with indoor plumbing all seem to have reached their quota of WWOOFers -- but who knows what might come up? 

As a workaholic, I know I'll start wanting my employment fix. I know it sounds kind of strange that I'm preferring manual labor, but picking mangoes, growing coffee beans, being outside, and just learning... it sounds so much more enticing right now! I have the rest of my life to sit behind a desk... though I may have to just go with this route anyways since my selected WWOOFing sites are full and open clerical positions seem abundant. 

Maybe I will resist the temptation of work (and pay) and stretch my savings out over the summer. Though I'd leave Hawaii broke as a joke, I could actually carry this extended vacation out to the end of summer. 

Anyways, I plan to see all the major islands. Oahu (Lost is filmed here), Kauai (Jurassic Park was filmed here), Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island. Inter-island flights will be the key. First stop, Oahu. I'll be there TOMORROW!