Diamond Head
Another day in Honolulu! After waking up and getting ready we made our way to Diamond head. While the plan was to wake up earlier and try to get to the top to see sunrise, we took our time getting ready and only arrived to start our ascent. The problem with arriving at this time is it starts to get busy and temperatures start to rise. We started our ascent and stopping for photos whenever we wanted to.
The hike up diamond head isn’t especially strenuous. There are parts which do get your breathing going (namely the stairs) and the heat doesn’t help, but you get to the top in a short time, and the views from there are pretty spectacular.
After spending a little time at the top taking photos, it gets very crowded during midday. So while the views are great, it gets quite cumbersome trying to navigate the limited space up top.
Car Return and Alicia’s Again
After getting down from Diamond Head, we all had different plans for the afternoon. I wanted to go to Pearl harbour and Cactoose decided to tag along. Our group also decided to return both vehicles today since we didn’t use them that much once we got back to Waikiki. So on the way to return the cars at the airport we decided to stop off at Alicia’s Market once again to get our hands on some tasty tasty poke with some surprisingly good macaroni salad!
Pearl Harbour
With our bellies full, Lebron and Antetokounmpo dropped us off at Pearl Harbour before returning the car. Being a bit of a history geek and also knowing that the tragedy of Pearl Harbour occurred on the same day I was born made this visit something I was looking forward to all trip.
The area is actually a collection of different historical sites. What made planning difficult is most sites are operated by different groups many have an admission fee. There are a few areas in the “park” that are free to visit. These areas are like museum exhibits with models, stories and even recovered wreckage from some of the sunken ships. There is also a lot of different memorials for crews of ships, airmen and other casualties. The whole area is very well presented and is sobering to realize the loss of life that occurred during the war.
USS Arizona Memorial
A majority of the exhibits is outdoors or in open covered area. What this means is that if it is a hot or muggy day (which for us it was). Then there isn’t much relief to be found among the exhibits to get out of the heat. Cactoose and I ended up popping in and out of different gift shops just to cool off.
We didn’t end up going into to any of the exhibits save for one the USS arizona Memorial.. But nfortunately, it is closed for repairs during our visit. So instead of visiting the memorial, we boarded a small boat to take a short “cruise” around the memorial and the surrounding areas. It was a bit of a bummer but it was still cool to get as close as we did to the memorial. Sadly though, it was really muggy and by the time we got back to the park both Cactoose and I were done. We decided to hop on a bus and headed back to our Airbnb.
Ala Moana Center
After getting back, cleaning up and resting a bit, our group decided to visit Ala Moana Center. This is a HUGE open air mall which we spent the rest of the evening exploring and shopping. After a few hours, Cactoose would leave us and head to the airport as she would be leaving us a little earlier.
ShiroKiya Japan Village
The rest of us started looking for food and ended up finding this amazing food court called Shirokiya Japan Village in the “basement” of Ala Moana Center! One half of the food court is like a regular food court with different stands selling a variety of food, all asian themed. The other half of the food court is this cool setup where you purchase tokens and use them in these ball machines where you have a chance to turn the knob and get a small plastic ball. Within the ball is a piece of paper with a value on it. If you’re lucky, then you can win quite a bit of value for your single token. At worst you get the value of what your token would have been worth.
With the value that you get you can use it in exchange for different prizes. OR you can use it at one of the four stands offering different kinds of cuisine. Its a little bit like a food casino. So instead of getting food at the traditional food court, we all opted to gamble, and ended up with a little extra value than when we started. With the value we received I ordered a pork curry katsu. I have to say, for both the experience and the food quality, it was pretty fun and very tasty.
After dinner we Ubered back to our Airbnb to turn in before our last full day in Hawaii.
Honolulu Zoo
Although the zoo isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Hawaii, it turns out that we stayed pretty close to the Honolulu Zoo. So FunkyCat, Vino and I decided to check it out. We arrived in the late morning, paid our admission and ventured in. Its a large zoo with exhibits that feature animals from all over the world. While there is an abundance of different features, I think the time that we went wasn’t the best. I suspect that a lot of the animals started to hide from the sun around the time we arrived, and so during the hottest time of the day, we were out and about and a lot of the animals were not. Nonetheless we did see some pretty cool animals and while not the biggest or best zoo I’ve visited, it wasn’t disappointing and I think is a decent zoo all things considered!
Pioneer Saloon, Monsarrat Shaved Ice and South Shore Grill Fish Tacos.
With the zoo visit over, we met with Lebron and Antetokounmpo for lunch. A friend of mine had recommended the Pioneer Saloon to me and so we met there and ordered some food. I ordered a steak with rice and macroni salad and it was REALLY good. Especially after having been in the sun all morning looking at animals, this was a very satisfying meal.
On our way out, nestled in what seems like a little alley right beside the restaurant is a little shaved ice stand called Monsarrat Shaved Ice. It seemed kind of hidden and pretty unique so we ordered one to share. Seeing as it was a hot day, there were no complaints.
Once done with the Ice, Antetokounmpo also suggested we stop by South Shore Grill to have some Fish tacos. After eating steak and shaved Ice I was pretty full. But I HAD to try one anyways. Living in Canada I don’t get that much opportunity to sample a lot of tacos, so I don’t have too much to reference it against. But I did enjoy this one!
Staying in
After tacos, we all headed back to the airBnB where we kind of relaxed and watched some TV while others napped. As evening came, we decided to head back out into Waikiki to stroll and shop around. I’d read that McDonald’s serves a siamen noodle soup and I really wanted to give it a try. So we walked to the nearest McDonald’s and I was able to order it. I’ve never had something like this at a McDonalds before and I have to say I like it. With all the fried foods and burgers that McDonald’s sells, this is a welcome change and one I’d love to see in McDonalds near me!
After that we headed back through Waikiki picking up food along the way. Since it was our last night in Honolulu, everyone picked up something they wanted. We all headed home to eat, pack and relax. I ended up getting another Udon. After packing, we watched more TV, namely season 1 of Criminal minds!
Last Day
FunkyCat had an early flight so he got up in the middle of the night to catch his flight. The rest of us didn’t fly out until the next evening. So we had the better part of the day to kill. We left our luggage at the AirBnB and headed back out to Alo Moana mall. We shared some Jollibee Chicken, did some shopping and hit up the Shirokiya Japan village one more time.
By then it was time to head back to our AirBnB and make our way to the airport. We checked in, boarded and settled in for the overnight flight back home.
All in all I really enjoyed Hawaii. Seeing as this is my first time, I’m thankful for the variety of experiences I was able to have. This won’t be my last visit to this part of the world. As I’m already “hungry” to return in the near future!