Cherry blossom is one of my favourite seasons of all year. I love how the flowers colour up the streets and make them look like one of those surreal and romantic scenes in Japanese animes. I always think that I'm not so fond of things but colours really capture my attention instead.
:) And this also reminds me that it's time to hit the parks for a slow walk. More photos coming up soon!
Japanese visitors take up quite a significant tourist population in Waikiki, hence many things are customized in favor of the Japanese culture. That's absolutely the place for a Japan lover like me!
I even spotted One Piece shuttle bus in Waikiki, which I don't see in Japan at all!
Being the state capitol, Honolulu is a vibrant and blessed land filled with beautiful nature, historic landmarks and the inevitable shopping district. That means you can easily get a hang of everything from surfing to shopping, awesome isn't it? However, we spent more time at the beachside relatively to other places because beaches are still the main attraction of Honolulu to us.
If we haven't been to the beaches here, we haven't been to Hawaii.
Despite the heat, sitting at the beach can be a truly blessing here with such an amazing view and clear blue sky.
Sunny weather+breathtaking beach views, what more can I ask for?
After some leisure beach time, we moved on to the next destination- Downtown. Good thing about public transit here is that lots of buses pass by Downtown from Waikiki. Tada, we reached downtown in merely 20 minutes. We were immediately welcomed by the King Kamehameha statue and Iolani palace.
King Kamehameha statue
Iolani Palace
State Capitol Building
Honolulu landmarks have very unique architecture compared to other parts of the U.S, where skyscrapers blossom in the heart of the big cities. Buildings are relatively lower and less commercial in Honolulu. In fact, some of the buildings even remind me of the Southeast-Asian architectural design back home.
Among all, State Capitol building is one of its kinds as it portrays the history of this land through architecture . It incorporates the Aloha spirit and landscape in it to resemble the Hawaiian open political system.
We went back to Hilton beach by evening to catch the Friday fireworks which is held on every Friday. :) Catching the fireworks by the beach with the crowd was just fantastic, it was definitely a romantic moment which spiced up our trip.
The entire performance took about 4 minutes. I think it's a must-do-thing in Honolulu as you get to see good performance for free, in this Aloha land where passion is all about. :) It's a nice bonus to the trip!
One thing I love to do after coming home from work is browsing through traveling images.
After one whole exhausting day at work, all I want is simply returning to my source of rejuvenation and be inspired. Many of the pictures I find online are so surreal, they motivate me to work harder to make the surreal to real.Especially when my job is highly repetitive and partially disconnected from the outside world, seeing images of these breathtaking scenery widen up my sight and allow me to join in the virtual world temporarily. Hmmmm, I want to step foot on these places and breathe in the awesomeness myself.
The world is just so big and full of wonders, it never fails to amaze me.
We booked an evening flight so it wasn’t too tiring. The
6-hour flight was so smooth and we even got to watch the beautiful sunset on
plane, what a romantic way to start our journey!
It was night time when we touched down Honolulu. We took the public bus to the hotel and it
was a 45-minute ride. Fortunately, google map did its job accurately this time and the bus stop was only 5-minute walk to the hotel. The $2.50 bus ride saved our pockets from taking cab. However, just be aware if you are carrying big
luggages as you may not be allowed to get on the bus. In that case, airport shuttle may be
a better option.
For less hassle, we actually took a shuttle to the airport on the last day and the price was reasonable, only cost us about $12 each person. The hotel bell boy was thoughtful enough to have lent us a hand in the arrangement.
We were pleasantly welcomed by friendly receptionists at
Aqua Palms hotel. Room rates were reasonably priced at $125 CAD/night including
tax. Considering the big room size and strategic location, I think this hotel
was truly a gem and worth every penny we paid. On top of that, they even
provided lemon water and fresh apples for free in the lobby.
Location was also quite ideal as it was right across from
Hilton Hawaiian Village. It was only 5-minute walk to the Hilton beach, so you
could catch the Friday fireworks night at ease. For shopping lovers, this hotel
was about 20-25 minutes of walking to Ala Moana shopping centre. There was a
bus stop near the hotel and buses and shuttles came by quite often, so we had
no problem moving around.
J
Best thing I love about the hotel is the blue theme of the room decoration. It
makes everything looks aquatic and fresh! Bed is lined with tropically designed
bed scarf and cushions which is just a perfect resemblance of the sunny island.
It helps to boost up the Aloha spirit instantly.
I know I know.... I should have blogged about my Aloha trip long time ago but I was always caught up with something else before converting my trip into words. But there you go, I've finally sat down to work on this and decided to split my trip into a few posts to include more details.
Being a girl coming from a tropical country with summer all year round, there are times when I miss the sun and summer fashion back home. Only until I've come to Canada, I realize how being able to wear short sleeves and flip flops out at anytime of the year can truly be a blessing, really! And Hawaii is the closest geographical substitute to home from Vancouver.
Another reason Hawaii is on my list is because of a Japanese drama I watched long time ago. Courtesy of Proposal Daisukusen, the last proposal scene filmed in Hawaii was just stunning and made me in awe of the beauty of this land. Really wished I could enter my laptop screen and be teleported to Hawaii at that moment! *fangirling*
My trip finally came true when baby had some credits left from the previous flight cancellation and it must be used before September. That was just a perfect vacation time for me as my work was less busy at that time. August was the off-peak travel season for Hawaii I guess, the low airfares was a double bonus for me! :D I know I know...Hawaii welcomes me with open arms.
Going to Hawaii means a lot to me. It's a teenage dream come true, it's my first long trip with baby, and it's the time to pull out my summer clothes and put them to use. Raincouver weather made me lazy and I just wanted to get away of the gloomy weather in exchange of a few sunny days.
It had been a while since my travel luggage was so mini and light, thanks to the hot weather *Tee hee* And here I am, proudly presenting my fashion posts for the entire trip.
City tour day
Snorkelling day
Half-day tour to Pearl Harbour and National Memorial Cemetery
Shopping day
Beach day
Hehe, I shall stop my narcissism here and write about my trip experience on the next few posts. Stay tuned!
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