Seattle
August 2012
We had more than just plain pleasure on our visit to two of the eight islands of Hawaii in the last week of July 2012. This 9 day 'short' trip was not just a glimpse to the beautiful beaches or terrains, but a window into their warm and rich cultural heritage. Hawaii has left me touched and inspired to write what we saw, did and how we felt.
Day 'Ole (Zero)
We landed in Oahu (Honolulu Airport) on the night of July 20th. Jet lagged and ready to hit the bed, we were soon refreshed by the dense breeze of Hawaii. The air was certainly different there, communicating, your vacation starts now.
The different rooms in Hotel - 'Grand Waikiki' are owned by different owners. So unlike a regular hotel, you could be super lucky or super unlucky, depending upon how the assigned unit is maintained and what kind of amenities are provided. Mind you - the prices don't change based on these factors. At least we weren't charged more, when we moved from unit #522 to #822. However the beauty of the hotel was that it was aptly located in the heart of Waikiki area. It was a 5 minute walk to the child safe beach, a 2 min walk to other needed shops and eateries, other facilities and tourist spots.
Day Ekahi, ho`okahi (One)
Our day started with a quick walk to the Waikiki beach, where regular visitors were feeding the birds. In turn some of the birds, especially the sparrows were returning the favor, by perching on to feeder's hands, honestly actually bringing them closer to their food source. The myriad of golden fish enjoying in the water below would frantically gather around the pieces thrown towards them in the water. While Atharv and Avika watched the birds, fishes, the vast landscape of water in awe and silence; Abhinav and I waited for our bus to take us to where Expedia representatives would give us an overview of the island (aka sell their tours / activities). Oddly enough that morning, Abhinav noticed my black and orange beach shoes. (Oddly? - since I didn't know he still paid attention to what I wore.) He even surprised me, by noticing they weren't going well with the rest of the colorful attire and that I should rather buy something that suits me better from the ABC convenience store right behind me. Something abut the ABC Stores first. I guess there are a total of 37 of those in Oahu alone, with more of them on a single block, than you would find Starbucks in Seattle. They sell pretty much everything one would need on a short trip at a rather reasonable price. I wasn't too much into into spending money the first thing that morning, but was way too amazed at his observation and solution, and ignoring all other thoughts, quickly ran inside, grabbed a pair of Hawaiian flip-flops adorning large deep pink plumerias and finally shot out to catch our bus.
Later I would have my first interaction with a native Hawaiian. Or rather second, if I also include the first one with two folks who handed us a bunch of lei - the Hawaiian flower garland, worn around the neck, and took paid pictures of us. The garland is a little smaller than the one exchanged between the bride and groom in an Indian Hindu marriage, but just as elegant and can be made from different colors, to make countless colorful options. They even taught us to make the hang loose gesture for the click. Its basically folding back your index, middle and ring finger to let the thumb and little finger hanging loose. And it's considered cool.
The Expedia rep gave us a 2 hour presentation, mainly trying to lure us to buy either the helicopter ride or one of the other 15 other activities listed on her activity list, which also listed the actual and discounted prices; latter courtesy Expedia. A closer look into this professional woman's personality revealed a contradiction. This was an American woman, who sounded and felt so very different from the other American's I had come across so far.
When taken on face value, she spoke, gestured and joked like a regular American, but somehow lacked the American-'ess'. To me it seemed that her nature was not in sync with this marketing job that she had trained herself to do. Her training had definitely helped her acquire the skills needed to portray those 'tours' and 'activities' in a presentable and attractive way, but deep down somewhere she didn't quite enjoy what she was doing, which is why it seemed that she lacked the American-'ess' in her laid-back, hang loose attitude. In fact how I perceived her, was that she was not an American from any perspective. As I continued listening to her, it slowly dawned on me, that perhaps generally speaking of a Hawaiian entity was as distint from a American entity as is a rose from a tulip or an onion from a potato.
After the two hour presentation, we were dropped free of cost to the Hilo Hattie - an over priced shop, but good for first time tourists. Over-priced - well depends - for me yes. For an average Japanese - may be no. All four of us were heartily welcomed at the entrance with free shell necklaces; which for the record; were available at all the ABC Stores for .59 cents. One of the two unique memories worth remembering from our visit to the shop were the free performances of their most elegant Hulu dances. Oh how had I fallen in love with that soothing music on the Ukulele. The Ukulele is a small Hawaiian Guitar, which has a melodious sound incomparable to a traditional guitar. I happened to find for around $8 in Hawaii and the next week for around $300 at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Back at the Hilo Hatti shop, I don't remember how long I stood in front of one those constantly smiling faces trying to copy their gentle hand gestures. Later among other things, I also learned that the constant smile was a must part of the performance! And why not, how could someone dance to such a soothing, relaxing tune and not be happy from within. Now something from the history - I also learnt that the dance was not merely a pastime for them, but a way to transfer their history from generation to generation in those days when they did not have the written language. Something saddening was when more than one single source also confirmed that back in the 18th century, when the Missionaries arrived in Hawaii, they found the dancers straw skirts too sexy / vulgar and imposed a ban on their dance and later their language too. Wonder what would have happened to those Americans had they lived a little longer to see today's beaches, shops and magazines adorning those colorful bikinis by their own tribes. Anyway, I just googled how to practice one of their very basic dance movements, for beginners like me.
The other memorable thing at the shop, was the software to record a personal caricature as as a dancer. I am yet to upload the video of Abhinav and my caricatures performing that dance. :) Abhinav had a fun time, mainly making faces.
It was lunch time already, so as we waited outside the shop for the trolley to pick us up for the free ride back to our hotel How cool is that!. At the benches we hogged on our home-made poori and aalo ki sabzi (deep fried Indian bread and potato veggies) prepared the evening before. Their buses; or rather their trollies as they prefer to call them; were no less colorful than their leis. And they were a total fun way to ride the town, especially if you sitting in one of the front rows where there are no vertical side boards to stop your belongings from flying out of the trolley under those strong wings. At one time on those buses, I was holding on the two straps of two bags, one each with each of my feet and holding Avika in my lap with one arm and Atharv who so wanted to throw out his arms out of this open bus ride, with my other arm. Oh something that we did not know back then, was that they have their trolley times listed here.
On our way back to our hotel, we stopped at the US Army Museum (which is different from the Pearl Harbor Museum) and has free admission. The sight of those 3' long shells being manufactured by the defense forces made me turn sick at the thought of the capacity of the damage they could or would have done to human lives, when fired from a missile. But anyways there has to someone, to protect our boundaries, so that the rest of us can live in peace. I offered a quick thanks to God, for not ending up me or my hubby in any profession even remotely gruesome as that, and dashed out mid-way with a howling Avika; who just like me did not find anything of her interest in there. By the way, in contrast Atharv was seemed rather excited those guns and other weapons.
The partly grassy ground outside the museum was warm and shady. It led to the Waikiki beach at it's back and had towards a beautiful architectural collage of high rise buildings to it's front. Once Abhinav and Atharv joined us, we started walking on the beach towards the hotel, but since at this portion of the beach, many hotels had constructed their buildings over the beach, they were now actually 'owning' a part of those beaches which left no thorough pass way to the child safe area where we intended to go. For those staying in those hotels and paying a premium for this facility, this is definitely 'an added feature' provided, but is buying that public piece of land really justifiable? What are your thoughts?
So we made our way back, between hotels, shopping malls and other areas of tourist interest.... buying a pair of crocs for Atharv, a lei of tequila for Abhinav, and two bags full of other very very much needed stuff as we trotted on! What a wonderful way to have tourists make contributions towards the federal income (yeah the 30% tax which the shop keepers pay later) while also distracting them from the thought of where or how did the beach disappear.
That evening Atharv and Avika had their first time experience on the sand in a tropical weather. Many times even during the day, the waves can get too dangerous and throw you off to the coast, but since we were at a child safe area of the beach, the few feet high wall built many feet away from the beach calmed down the angry waves to become milder by the time they caressed us at the shores.
But it took both of them a few more visits before they finally went for a dip into the Pacific themselves. Till then happened, they directed all their efforts transferring sand from one bucket to the next one and back to the first one. Busy young people! Abhinav's favorite postures were one of the three - sitting farther from the shore, sitting in waist deep waters and lying down buried deep down in sand. Wish we could have pictures to share of the last pose. But sand, cameras and water dont go too well with each other :) Between the two of us we had a nice time at the beach, as Abhinav would be on theh sandy portions while I would be trying my hands at swimming.
Day Elua (Two)
The folks back at Expedia had successfully managed to sell us at least one of the activities. It was the snorkeling tour at the famous Hanauma Bay. Well we did save some money after all. The activity was a whole $2 cheeper than the $18 price mentioned in the Oahu Revealed by Andrew Doughty!! The Tommy Tour guide driver picked us up from our hotel at 6 am in the morning, rented us the snorkel gear and later in the day dropped us back at one of the times we chose time between the two choices we had; all inclusive in the $16.
The best thing about being early was that we are able to appreciate the tranquility and serenity much more than if say we would have arrived at say 10 am when the place was full of people. A couple of years ago, they used to allow bus tours to the place and then people would come to Hanauma Bay by the hundreds and flock at every nook and corner of the bay, to have more humans than the fish in the entire bay. That would be damaging to the reefs, corals and the marine life, as people wouldn't have enough space to snorkel; so in recent years they stopped bus tours and one could only drive to this place in a car or in a smaller van.
Today was our first ever Snorkel experience, or as Abhinav described in his distinct way - our first visit to an aquarian where the fishes and we shared the waters. And boy-oh-boy was there anything as beautiful. When after some practice of wearing the gear in the water, I finally learned to stay as still and calm as I possibly could be, dozens of fishes would swim past me, below me and the very tiny ones, may be even above me.
Ok, time for some snorkel gyan. I had taken the pains to read about snorkeling before my trip and made some notes from different websites. I have pasted them below too.
1. Rent a wetsuit for $10 more. If you are cold, you wil not be able to enjoy and might have to return (By the way - I never needed one, cause Hanauma Bay waters aren't that cold). 2. In exhaling, swimmers have to remember that the first thing they have to do when they get to the surface is to clear the water from the snorkel BEFORE inhaling.3. http://www.tomzap.com/snorkel.html4. http://www.usdivers.com/index.php/snorkeling-101/faqs#faq35. Rather than using a life jacket it is better to use a snorkeling vest. Snorkeling vests are worn on the front and held in place with straps around the back and chest. You inflate the vest by blowing air into it with your mouth. Even a little air in the vest can make a nervous snorkeler much more confident, and fully inflated vest allows one to rest comfortably at the surface. Snorkeling vests are recommended for people that are not confident swimmers. They are becoming more popular every year at the world's best snorkeling destinations and aboard many of the major cruise lines.
Ok, time for some snorkel gyan. I had taken the pains to read about snorkeling before my trip and made some notes from different websites. I have pasted them below too.
1. Rent a wetsuit for $10 more. If you are cold, you wil not be able to enjoy and might have to return (By the way - I never needed one, cause Hanauma Bay waters aren't that cold). 2. In exhaling, swimmers have to remember that the first thing they have to do when they get to the surface is to clear the water from the snorkel BEFORE inhaling.3. http://www.tomzap.com/snorkel.html4. http://www.usdivers.com/index.php/snorkeling-101/faqs#faq35. Rather than using a life jacket it is better to use a snorkeling vest. Snorkeling vests are worn on the front and held in place with straps around the back and chest. You inflate the vest by blowing air into it with your mouth. Even a little air in the vest can make a nervous snorkeler much more confident, and fully inflated vest allows one to rest comfortably at the surface. Snorkeling vests are recommended for people that are not confident swimmers. They are becoming more popular every year at the world's best snorkeling destinations and aboard many of the major cruise lines.
Having read in detail and then also having spent a considerable amount of time just acclimatizing myself in shallow waters with the snorkel gear on, there was one important piece of information that had been missed out, even by our guide. At any point of time, if some water accidentally enters through the top of the exhaling wind pipe; as it sometimes may; by either a strong wave of water or otherwise; the diver would catch that water in his breath, There is an easy and effective way to get rid of this water out the same way it entered, and that is - by blowing hard from your mouth a few times while remaining calm under water. There is absolutely no need to panic, as I did that morning. The entering of water from the top is pretty normal and common. Not familiar with swimming, I had panicked so much that I gestured for help and had one of the life guards come and rescue me and take me back to the shores on one of their surf boards. When I regained by breath at the beech, I learnt that Atharv and Avika had been playing with those orange emergency posts, by re-designing the emergency rescue path laid out by the life guards, and collecting all of them to pile those 50 or so neatly on top of each other. For their age and wisdom, the orange thingies were all over the place and should rather have been stacked up neatly. Ah what intelligent kids, do I have!
Oh another thing if you end up entering that Bay before 7, you save another 7-ish dollars, on the entrance fee to the Hanauma Bay Park; something which we were reminded of a zillion times by different people on our way to the Bay. So thats a solid saving of 0.22% on our entire Hawaii trip. Woah what a deal!! It was noon now and time for us to head back to our pick up point. Back at the hotel, we had a quick home made warm khichDhi lunch.
I was dying to go to the International market, in which Abhinav had no interest. If he could, he would have turned our weekly grocery trips to bi-monthly at least and then gradually to monthly by now. So for him, the activity of shopping was nothing more than aimlessly wandering geared towards wasting money in stuff that we dont need; and which would occupy more space in our already over-stuffed home. As for me, there is always room for more stuff; even if none visually; at the very least in my heart. :)
Honolulu Zoo was at a stone's throw from our hotel. We had been told that Hawaii's zoo is not in the top most recommended places to visit since it has nothing unique of Hawaii, since all the animals had been bought from other places of the world. However Abhinav feels, that every city's zoo has it's own distinct character and the Honolulu zoo would too have something unique and special to offer. So for the next 3-4 hours, Abhinav and I parted our ways. Obviously the kids too wouldn't enjoy shopping as much they would at the zoo, so it was decided that the kids would be with him while I would spend some time in self gratification. On the 10 min walk to the International Market, I happened to stop by another Tours and Activity Guide station and booked a ride on a Parasail. For some background - when I tried it out the first time, a couple of years ago with my friends Preeti Bhabhi and Prasanna at Crater Lake, Abhinav purposefully choose to stay behind - or his own words - close to the ground, and not sore high in the air. No wonder - he needs to fly for his Kavi Sammelans so frequently, that it is in his best interest to stay close to the ground at all other times. LOL :)
This parasail experience was far different from the previous one. I was picked up by a bus from a designated location at a designated time. At the lake, the boat drove us at full speed into the middle of the Kewalo Basin. High above from 350 feet, views of the Waikiki beach, the Honolulu skyline and Diamond Head were truly mesmerizing. Parasailing was exhilarating the first time, and quite fun this second time too, but not as exciting. But the drive in the motor boat from the edge of the lake to the center and back to edge was worth the money alone. (Note to self - need to try a new thrilling adventure on my next trip.)
Later in the evening, having put Abhinav's hard earned money towards some dirt cheep jewelry to good use, the four of rested on a bench in the park outside the zoo, next to Gandhi ji's only statue in the state of Hawaii; before finally returning back to our hotel.
Day Ekolu (Three)
Before leaving for Hawaii, we had booked a tour from DiscoverHawaiiTours. Due to high parking costs at parking lots and hotels alike, we did not rent a car on Oahu. To compensate for that, this tour was a great way to check out the popular points of interest. If our kids could behave like young adults for just that one day, we would have put every cent spent on the tour to great use, but on hind side, that was not only a far fetched dream, but would also had been unnatural on part of the kids.
First some tour specific gyan. I recommend this #11A Tour from these folks, which showed us the major spots that day. In this day long 11.5 hour tour, pick up and drop off to hotel is included in the fee and so it's worth the money if you calculate the amount saved on gas, car rental and parking fees. However if you have a week in Oahu, you would want to, at the very minimum spend at least half a day at each of the locations this tour covers, so this tour won't be as fruitful.
As we began our tour that day, 'J', our mixed breed Hawaiian Tour guide (as we later on learnt how to identify a mixed breed one from the pure Hawaiian breed), told us to visit both the museums at the Pearl Harbor. He explained one was from the American perspective and the other from the Japanese. It was hard to make out which one was the latter. When I asked Abhinav who, (jokes apart), has a deep understanding of not only the Indian history, but also a good amount of knowledge of the world history at large, could not make out the difference either. Wow I so was relieved that I was not alone here, and even more glad at the thought that I wasn't as dumb as I thought I was :)
Oh and there was a short firm footage of the Pearl Harbor attacks that we got to see. Of the 30 minutes movie, the two sentences that kind of threw the wits out of me were 1. Japanese were showing signs of aggression in the Asian countries. The Americans too had an interest in the Asian countries. (I bet the Japanese too would use those words the other way round) 2. In the 1800's the Britishers were over ambitiously pursuing to capture the Hawaiian islands. (Can someone please explain again how did Hawaii become America's 50th State). Anyways politics was never my area of expertise, so may be I should leave this for some one wiser than me to ponder upon.
That day, our tour guide, did not just us keep us entertained, but also helped us understand the Hawaiian culture further deep down. You could not miss the sadness in his voice, when he made attempts to hide his feelings about America annexing the islands of Hawaii. He sounded proud when he expressed how Hawaii had produced their President of United States, and was tried to sound excited adding that ever since tourism become their #1 profession it had helped their economy grow, and that the second generation of Hawaiians, did not view the annexure by Americans as something bad or evil. Although he tried a great deal, yet those few sentences crystal clearly displayed his inner true feelings. His unsuccessful attempts would leave him off guard when his polished and sophisticated tone, precisely trained for the perfect pitch and modulation would suddenly give way to a low and gentle voice. For those were the times when he was being his true self, unlike at other times when he tried to depict the Western-ness, which the Expedia representative too had tried her hands on before.
We continued our journey to the the Dole Pineapple plantation. This place serves vegan ice-creams. If you happen to miss those here, try grabbing one of these delicious must-haves at one of the shops at the International Market. The plantations were beautifully lined with acres of pineapples of different sizes and shades of black, red, purple and the most common one - the yellow variety. There is a little History behind their pineapple and sugarcane plantations. In the 1800's Hawaii was identified by Westerners to have the perfect conditions to grow pineapples, and grow enough for export out of the islands. Since there were was more demand of these plants than there were plantation workers on the islands, many people were brought as slaves from countries such as Philippines, China and Portuguese. Today, as the demand for the socially acceptable drug called 'coffee' has risen, these plantations have been converted into coffee plantations. Pineapples are no longer exported from Hawaii.
We later drove past some of the North Oahu's famous beaches, stopping at the Polynesia Cultural Center at around noon. Our guide was well informed and kept telling us stories during the entire journey. At lunch time, he ensured we were the first in line for the buffet. On the way to PCC, he had to jokingly threatened us all to leave anyone behind who was late at any the previous stops. By being on time for lunch, we not only saved time in the queues, but also got to see all of the six live demonstrations by the six different Polynesian island folks. These shows were lined up one after the other, right after lunch time. One of them including the scraping out fresh coconut using a non electric tool, made out of long bamboo stem and a sharp crescent knife at one of it's ends. At the end of his demonstation, I went up to him to proudly tell him that in the Southern part of my country, every home has one of those tools. and people use only fresh coconut in their preparations even today. He responded back to me - 'Welcome Home!' with a big broad smile. For a second I felt I was!
Our day continued towards the Tropical Farms Coffee / Macadamia Plantation, where in addition to sampling a variety of their multi-flavored Macadamia nuts, I also got to eat my own freshly peeled ones free of salt or other additives plus at free of cost. We ended our tour visiting the Buddha's Byodo-In Temple and the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.
Day Eha (Four)
Today was the first day, when we got up in no hurry to get to any place. Just as we like it best, we had no agenda or plans to implement and were going to live the day as it would unfold. Err, except for one. Today Abhinav was super excited at the thought of meeting Acharya Ramanath Sharma. Acharya Sharma is a professor of Sanskrit in the University of Honolulu and indeed very scholarly. No wonder Abhinav had said earlier that morning - more than the beaches or the tour or anything else I did or will do in Hawaii, I will treasure the few moments spent will Acharya ji after I go back home. That morning, in addition to receiving Acharya ji's and Mataji's blessings we also got to eat some yummy sooji halwa that noon.
I had not quite had my share of shopping and this after this short meeting, this time I was successfully able to drag Abhinav along with me. Also a word of advice - the market is famous for bargaining. Something which I just love to do and Abhinav's - well hates to. Once we would decide upon the dresses and stuff to buy on a stand, Abhinav would walk in the opposite direction, as far as he could, while I would spend the next 10 minutes haggling for a bargain. Ah so much fun, just doing that... even better when you do that in American Dollars instead of Indian Rupees.
Later that evening I had a mind blowing snack there. This shop had chopped pieces of several fruits available and was serving not freshly squeezed, but rather kind of freshly ground sorbet. We ordered papaya and pineapple. The shop keeper threw those chopped fruit chunks in his powerful juicer, and handed them to us without sieving. This way, we not only enjoyed the juice but all the pulp with it too. What a treat!
As much as I was enjoyed at the market, Abhinav was getting tired and beginning to get slightly irritated. Just before he managed to drag me out of that place, someone ended up ging me with a smile from side to side. At the last stall where we stopped to buy just one more hair clip, was a lady not native to Hawaiian. After I had tendered her the exact change, I wonder what made her curious about my age. Since she asked, so I replied back - "early 30s". She said she didn't believe me. Then I pointed at Abhinav - and introduced him, adding - that he is in his early 30's too. Guess what her reply could be? Yeah he looks that old, but not you. You are definitely looking around 20 something. Someone was already burning here!.. Oh Deepti - She was trying to sell you her stuff, and she knew this would get your attention. What else could Abhinav say in self defense? :) And again just for the records, every year around some 5 million tourists visit the island of Oahu alone. The folks of Hawaii meet way more people from all around the world than you can imagine. When Hawaiians interacted with us, they mostly ended their first introductory conversations with sentences like - .... and since you are from India, you already know what Mangos taste like / You folks are from a far rich cultural background than we have ever come across / India - Yeah you guys have been vegetarians since so many centuries / India - Namestey / ... so let me explain me who our Goddesses of Volcano is... just like your God Shiva and Goddess Kali.... This last interaction completely threw me off. What? They even knew the names of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and not only that - even what Shiva or Kali represented. Not only plain awareness, but I had also experienced such a deep respect for the Indian culture in the islands of Hawaii, something that I had never felt in any other part of US before. Every time it felt like experiencing home.
Day Elima (Five) - My very own personal adventurous experience.
With not much cooking, and follow up clean up to do in the morning, I decided to take a stroll on the Wakiki beach, trying to catch on the early morning serenity before flying off to the island of Maui later that day. Abhinav was feeling sleepy and so were the kids and so it was decided - what better time to view in the beach in the opposite direction, more so which Abhinav had been highly recommending. I told Abhinav I would be back within the next 45-60 minutes and thus left empty handed without a purse, any money or my cell phone and started walking on the ocean front in the left direction. The ocean view from the other side too, was no doubt very beautiful. The incomparable peacefulness of the morning kept me walking far enough that I passed the Waikiki area until I crossed it's border to enter the area of Diamond Head. Something within me kept me going, till I reached the dead end of the road where I could no longer see any beach shores or even go ahead since the hotels around here had once again blocked entire portions and free passages to the beaches. Two blocks on my left from where I stood, I could now see a slope going upwards, seemingly towards the Diamond Head. Now that was something interesting.
Here I am standing on the foothills of Diamond Head, wondering whether to tick off one more must-see spots for tourists or rather just call it off and go back. An urge within me starts moving me towards the foothills, telling me; even if not to the very top, it wouldn't hurt to touch just the foothills. At least then I have a chance to make Abhinav jealous about what he missed by just being lazy. My heart started racing with joy at the last thought of teasing Abhinav. For the next few minutes the feeling was powerful enough to keep me moving, when a security guard officer gestured at me to I stopped abruptly. A quick conversation exchanges and he pleasantly directs me to the correct route, telling me to get down that foothill, take a quick right just down below and soon I should be on the right trail to the hike. I check out the time with him (since I am not carrying my cell with me), do a quick math and calculating that based on the fact that the way he described it, looks like the real foot hills are not more than 5 min from here; I should be back at the hotel by 9; and left with enough time to pack everything and and not miss my flight either. So off I march to the bottom of the famous Diamond Head Crater. I am trilled at the thought to be have a chance to be in time for what would be one of the beautiful sunrises I would have ever witnessed in my life. 5 minutes quickly turn into 15; into 30. In the mean time, I have been redirected by a couple of other folks who have sometimes confirmed and other times redirected in complete opposite directions, towards where I wanted to reach - everyone telling or at least suggesting me that I should soon see the signs to the where the hike starts, until.... until I meet someone who genuinely tells me to walk 15 more minutes! She is the sweetest non-native Hawaiian I have met and spoken for more than 2 minute on this trip. But when I started the conversation with her, I had already told myself a zillion times in the past 30 minutes that since I wasn't going to make it to the top anyways, so why worry visiting even the foothills. And that at least I tried and that the spirit is all that mattes, and any ways I dont have money to even buy water and plus I am wearing cheep flip-flops which are not good enough for a hike anyways; in addition to any other motivational stuff that I could remember to tell myself. So I hadn't asked her the route to Diamond Head in the first case, but instead to the Waikiki beach... just in order to confirm that I had not completely lost my directional sense. Incidentally she was walking in the direction of the Diamond Head and so we both kind of the had the company of each other for the next 5 or so minutes, during which I told her my whole adventure thus far. And guess what she tells me - Oh I am sure you can make it - In the most inspiring voice I have heard in a very long time. The feeling of teasing Abhinav had totally died away long back, as had the desire to see a beautiful sunrise by now. It had given way to meet someone's faith. I had renewed energy to move forward as also fear had started gripping me at the thought that Abhinav would have woken up now and would have begun to get worried about my well being! I kept walking now beginning to wonder what exactly was I trying to do here and why and just why was I not returning back. In those thoughts 15 min seem like a grueling 30 minutes and just as I tell myself very sternly to go back and drop the futile idea, I see boards and directions to the Hike. At that very moment a bus full of young people step down. Their body language describes the kind of mental preparation they were all doing before starting their hike-of-the-day. This is how most of them went: Water bottle - check. Sneaker laces tied - check. Backpack closed and on shoulders - check. Camera - check. Ready to go uphill - Check. Wohooo - so much preparation... and here I was; in shabby flip-flops, empty handed, haven already made a 1.5 walk this morning on foot so far. I told myself - shame on you Deepti, that you are trying to run away like a coward, having come off this far. Fresh thoughts brought fresh energy, and with new determination I decide to enter the enclosure. In the next 10-15 minutes I finally reach the point from where cars and vans could go no further and the actual hike would start. So finally the hike started! Oh what a relief that I was where I thought I would be an hour ago! I had thought of going back another 1000 times in the past 15 minutes that had passed. I was still wondering if I should go ahead or rather just turn back. After much ado, I explained myself that having finally come this far, it would have been so foolish of me to not see the famous sun rise - which of course was already risen more than an hour ago. But then if sunrise was all that mattered, why were the 100s of people who were present there at the same time as me that same morning. I looked around me - yeah literally 100s of them - all in groups - with either their families or friends. I was the only one who was all by herself out there. More negative thoughts creep in - what would happen to my kids, if something bad happens, like my foor slips off a cliff and I become unconscious. Abhinav doesn't even know when am I. Plus he must be terribly worried about me by now. I finally mustered courage to request someone passing by to make a phone call. It was 7:30 am and when I made that phone call and Abhinav and the kids were still asleep! What? All that stressing about he stressing about me - for no good. More over Abhinav too sounded happy that I was there and rather encouragingly told me to to go ahead and complete my trek. Okay, with renewed moral support and the satisfaction that Abhinav finally knew my geographical location I told myself that the next 1.5 hours were going to be just me and the hike and no one else between the two of us in this very intimate journey. For the first time I actually made a stop, raised my head and absorbed the beauty of the surroundings in peace. Finally at the top - the ocean in all directions was nothing less than magnificent. All that headache from that morning seemed finally worth it. More than else, I had lived up to the faith of that 5 minute co-traveller of mine. Truth behold - had it not been for her, I would not have made it to the top. At the time of writing this post, I am trying to recollect her email address, hoping that I can write back and send a thank you note for your encouragement.
The hill was just 750 feet, and is believed to have formed from a single volcanic eruption, attributing to its nearly perfect round shape. Back down the hike, the water from the fountain tap seemed like holy nectar to my body and I think after more than a decade I had tasted the salt of my own body when I licked my lips. The saline taste reminded me to make a note to self - I have not been exercising enough and have become very lazy in the last decade. This needs to be addressed.
When I finally reached the hotel at 9:30 am, Abhinav was steaming hot and almost fled out of the hotel as soon as he could to take a walk on the beach himself. Since the phone line wasn't clear, he didn't quite understand that I wouldn't be back for the next two hours and felt rather overwhelmed with the two kids by himself. The room was exactly as I had left it. I had 45 min to pick up the clothes from the dryer in the basement of the hotel - that I had left before my walk that morning, pack up all our stuff, prepare a quick snack for the kids, load the dishwasher with dishes from breakfast and take a shower. All this before the hotel shuttle would have arrived to take us to the airport. Finally at 1 pm, I had my first bite at a solid since morning - a banana. After that holy nectar that morning, the banana too tasted totally heavenly.
The actual travel to Maui island was a short 1/2 jour flight journey. The open airport, the cool breeze blowing right into the face, strong enough at times to carry away Avika's stroller, and the majestic mountain ranges at one side - felt like saying - The Shukla Family, we all welcome you to our island. After this spiritual experience and after picking up our rental car, we headed to Lahina, a famous market place with some historical significance too. We had a quick yummy customized Vegan lunch at a noisy American restaurant called the Lahina Coolers and rushed to watch the Ulena show.
While we were waiting for the show to begin, someone from Seattle was chatting behind me. She would from time to time, compare the Ulena Hall with our local '5th Avenue' and 'Paramount'; both of which are certainly at least 4 times bigger than this one and much more grand too; but at the same time not as cozy and intimate either. The Ulena has been cited to be the equivalent to the Cirque-De-Soli show by some, and very sub-standard compared to the latter by others. They sel the show under the guise of a magic and mystic experience, however is the narration of the historial events in the last few centuries plus the future events they believe would happen. In our opinion, this must-to-do show was breath-taking! We are yet to see the real Cirque-Du-Soli show of Vegas, but I can assure you - This was based on actual historial facts. It was a story of the Hawaiians, by the Hawaiians, and there could be nothing like this in Vegas; for if there would be, it would miss the Hawaiian essence or rather that Hawaiian-ness. After the play, one of the flute players - Anthony - mingled with the audiences in the lobby and helped those who stayed back - play his flute. Ah! the sound of flute alone was so surreal. On my suggested list this show was definitely a must see status.
After the show, tired from the long day, we headed to our hotel - The Outrigger Palms - One of the best ones that we have stayed in all our US trips so far! Our unit also had some beach toys, a small beach umbrella and two body surfing boards, which although we never used, since Abhinav had already rented these from a third company; but none the less it felt good that the hotel thought about its customers a little way ahead and provided more than just the very basic minimum. Something else that delighted me up was that there were extras of everything - including the dishwater soap, laundry soap, kitchen towels etc saving me the time and energy to call up the front desk folks.
Day Eono (Six)
This morning, when Abhinav woke up, he seemed to be somehow totally sold off for a helicopter ride. After a quick breakfast, it was decided that Abhinav would drop us at a kids-safe beach while he took a ride. We soon lost our way and the next thing on our mind was to somehow reach the helipad in time for Abhinav's scheduled ride. So while Abhinav was busy exploring valleys, mountains and oceans from the top view of Maui; Atharv and Avika very super busy transferring pebbles from one pit to the other outside the helicopter station. And I was the busiest shooting my kids. :)
By the time Abhinav joined us back after his exhilarating ride, it was noon already and time for lunch. 'Down To Earth' - which serves warm vegetarian and vegan buffet daily is a heaven for people like me. We had a nice time there. Day 6 and this was the 3rd meal out of the total 4 meals we had at any restaurant. Pretty impressive huh! Time for a quick pat on our back. In fact two pats, for except the occasional cookies that I snacked on, nothing this far had contained dairy. I had been much worried about my second trip away from home after having choosing veganism for myself, however it didn't seem all that difficult now. (My first trip was to India earlier this year - where veganism had gone out of the window. For me, every time I look at food containing dairy, all I see instead is a herd of cow some angrily, others pitifully looking back at me, telling me to leave them alone.)
It was 3 pm now. We decided to do a quick drive around the Northbend loop. The 1.5 mile curvy drived seemed reasonable for the 3-4 hours we had ahead of us, before it got too dark. In my head, we had time for multiple quick stops to appreciate the nature on our way; although our chauffer ji kind of disagreed 90% of the time. With it's twists and turns the drive was seriously crazy, yet the beauty was un-parallel. Every time, I would step out of the car to take a few clicks and Atharv would make a hue and cry to be allowed to step out too and be able to join me. A nature loving by birth huh?
We stopped on our way back to buy their famous Banana Bread. Alas even the banana bread had eggs in them! So I did not get to taste those. BUT instead the stall owner instead offered some sample Pasion Fruit and Dragon Fruit. And ahhhhhhh I could totally die for that taste any day. There was nothing on this earth more juicy, tangy and sweet, all at the same time than that heavenly passion fruit. The Dragon fruit tasted somewhat like a bland Kiwi, but was very refreshing. It was expensive too. $30 for just one fruit. When we reached our hotel we were dead tired, but full of enthusiasm to conquer the famous Road to Hana the next day.
Day Ehiku (Seven)
We drove from between the well manicured lawns, lined with tall pine trees, passed the dry and arid mountains, via the crowded Paia market - popular among the youth for being open way into wee hours; into the lush green jungles of South-East side of Maui. This was the day for the famous Road to Hana. I could fill in pages trying to describe the beauty of the this drive. No 3rd tree on a road was like any of the previous ones. From multicolored barks of Eucalytus trees, to dense thick rain forests, to bright blood red 'Mexican Primrose-willow' flowers in the midst of no where, this was a haven for botanists. Back in the days when my mom was doing her PhD, she would have gone head over heals over the variety of these plants if she got to see even a small patch of them. This was the real and only paradise on earth, with one exception - my Seattle. Well, okay I could be biased for my town, but even Abhinav felt the same. Seattle's Olympic Mountains and Forests are seriously no less amazing. But those forests back in Maui, their magnificence had left us speech-less. A bit of gyan here - We had rented the 'Road to Hana' Gypsy - A GPS software that works only on that particular drive and totally changes your driving experience for the good. It is a must for non-natives. But a word of caution with it - dont follow it blindly. Since we started around 9 am in the morning, instead the suggested 7 am, we were nervous to not be able to make it to the end of the road before it got dark and we skipped several points that we would otherwise have stopped and looked at - just in order to squeeze the must-see-five-points that the GPS suggested. To be honest, we didn't even stop at the first two recommended by it. The gyan here is that, start as early as you can - 7 am is good, if yo start even earlier - the better. And stop where ever you feel like. Also save at least 2 hours for the Garden of Eden, which most surprisingly did not make it to his must-see list. The entrance is paid, but once you enter you wont feel like leaving without covering the 3 mile track in it's bits and pieces. Okay let me also take the liberty to be a fun spoiler here and tell you - what is at the end of the 'Road to Hana'. It's a 2 mile treck, at the end of which you the famous 'Seven Sacred Pools'. By the time we reached there it was 6:30 pm already and we only had time to do a 0.5 mile treck which led us to beautiful waterfalls, one forming a pool before converting into the second water fall. We wanted to hit as much of the curvy and dangerous road in day light as much as possible, but kind of missed it. The things about the drive is that the drive is more beautiful than the actual destination. Even the GPS commentator opens this surprise, but thats only while coming back. He supports the reasoning by saying - thats its an important lesson in life too. I guess I would have to agree on that one. If you want to know more about the stops on the drive, here is a nice blog I just googled.
And now time for my rantings. On our way back, the nice and detailed commentary turned into a historial but highly politically biased one. It was devoid of any kind of appreciation of the rich Hawaiian culture. It mentioned nothing about the true meaning of Aloha, the skillful ways employed in aquaculture or the Kapa system - in which the farmers with the least fertile lands were given larger portions of the land, so that every farmer had the opportunity to grow the same amounts of grain. A highly systematic administration where no single person owned anything and every commodity was shared. Before the 1800's the islands of Hawaii used to be a pristine place, devoid of any illnesses. No one has known or heard infections like common cold or leprosy or the like, numerous ones gifts of the modern world. With the arrival of Westerners and other immigrants for the sugarcane and pineapple plantations, also came with them the several diseases. The Hawaiians did not know know how to deal with sickness. Their pure breed quickly started falling down in numbers. Today's combined population inclusive of the multiple generation of immigrants is the same in Hawaii as it used to be of the Hawaiians alone a few centuries ago. There was no mention of any of the trouble that the Hawaiian invited for themselves by allowed others to dictate what they should and should not grow. On the contrary the commentator's focus was geared towards establishing and proving as to why the Hawaiians needed to be recused by the Christians; how inhumane were their lives, trends and beliefs; how badly they treated their own children and women, how when 2 Hawaiian boys left Hawaii to make East Coast of America their home in the 1800's - listening to their painful tales, the Christian Missionaries decided to make personal sacrifices and made this perilous year long journey by sea only to enlighten the Hawaiians; how the the Americans had taken up heroic deeds to shape the Hawaiian economy and agriculture from nothing to what it is today. The commentary even went on to prove the people of Maui wrong - by making a stand to go against further infrastructural development. The argument by the commentator was, that not allowing development, the people would lead to more unemployment and higher tax rates in the future in the islands of Hawaii. Can someone please remind him - that the tax rates are the lowest in Hawaii in the entire of US. Moreover we did not encounter a single homeless person in our 9 day stay, something that I can't boast about Seattle or other cities in US (or even in India for that matter).
These people were giving and selfless. They believe even today, as have been believed for generations - when you do something good today, it for sure affects some being on the planet. Hence the more good you do to others, the more it comes back to you. The more you share, the more you get. Vice versa, if you spread out negativity, it is bound to impact someone in a negative way. That impact could be someone unknown, an un unknown place, at an unknown time; but since it's a negative thought- its bound to cause trouble in some way. Thats why they have learnt to love not just the fauna and flora, but even the soil and rocks of their land. I have not seen a sign anywhere else in the rest of US mentioning - please do not throw cigarette buts at this place as this plantation is holy for us. I have not seen entire adult markets where alcohol is prohibited (The International Market is an example). I have not seen as many signs in 6 years in US, as many I as saw in those 9 days, mentioning - 'No alcohol beverages beyond this point, this place has a spiritual significance for us'. After the Namestey in Hindi - Aloha is the only greeting which I have come across to have a deeper meaning, much beyond just plain Hi, Bye and Good Day. The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” It comes from “Alo,” meaning presence, front and face, and “ha,” meaning breath. Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect. Its deep meaning starts by teaching ourselves to love our own beings first and afterwards to spread the love to others. No wonder they talk about the Hindu 'Pran' (Breath and Life)- while explaining the meaning the Aloha. Earlier at the island of Maui, placed on table at the entrance of of the Coffee Plantation was a printed paper explaining what Aloha meant. Te definition was an excerpt from the book called ' The Betrayal of Liliuokalani' written by an author named Helena G. Allen. The definition went something like this - "Aloha - A Deeper Understanding -
And whenever we went and said "Aloha" in meeting or in parting. "Aloha" was a recognition of life in another. If there was life there was mana, goodness and wisdom, and if there was goodness and wisdom there was a God-quality. One had to recognize "the God of life" in another before saying "Aloha," but this was easy. Life was everywhere - in the trees, the flowers, the ocean, the fish, the birds, the pili grass, the rainbow, the rock- in all the world was life - was God - was Aloha. Aloha in it's gaiety, joy, happiness, abundance,
Because of Aloha, one gave without thought of return; because of aloha, one had mana. Aloha has it's mana. It never left the giver but flowed freely and continuously between giver and receiver. "Aloha" could not be thoughtlessly or indiscriminately spoken, for it carried its own power. No Hawaiian could greet another with "Aloha" unless he felt it in his own heart. If he felt anger or hate in his heart he had to cleanse himself before he said "Aloha". Life had a tremendous spirituality in the paradise of the Pacific in 1838."
My minimal interactions could gather only so much, which the naked eye could see, but there was much more to their rich culture that I could gather or have the capability to explain in the limited vocabulary I possess. At their local aquarium shop, there were a bunch of bill boards for sale which went something like this - 'Do not try to copy. You were born unique - stay that way.' Speaks volumes, about how much the Hawaiians have ended up loosing their own self respect during their unwanted transition of loosing their own identify.
Listening to that commentary my heart was filled with empathy for the Hawaiians. Even Abhinav's heartbeat was racing... but for a very different reason. Tonight was the third consecutive day when we were returning back to our Maui hotel in dark, and tonight was also the third consecutive day when we had lost our way. We had been driving for more than an hour back and forth and round and round on the same roads, that too -just a few blocks away from our hotel. On hind side, Maui lacks proper road maps. We had a whole bunch of them with us, but none of them could tell us the road names accurately enough. Highway 8 was also Highway 30 was also Highway Pihallani. Highway 31 and 311 were the same; as were 30 and 300. Abhinav had to stop multiple times to ask for directions, before we finally made back to the hotel - completely exhausted, less from the long day; more from being out of practice of getting lost in the US.
Day Ewalu (Eight)
We had spent 3 nights in Maui so far. My version - and not utilized the money spent towards renting the umbrella or beach toys... Abhinav version - And the kids had not been able to enjoy in the sand. It was unanimously decided to hit the closest beach - kid friendly or not, just go somewhere. Remember we had already lost our way, trying to find a kid-friendly beach on the first day in Maui. When finally we all decided to go to the helipad as a group. And mind you that incident was in broad day-light.
This beach had the finest sand we had ever experienced in our life. So fine, that until you actually massaged it off your body, it would refuse to come off with just plain water. Abhinav had fun lying under a huge pile of sand for a while. I though not a swimmer, had fun, being able to stay in water for anywhere between 20-30 min. The kids had their share of fun - transferring sand from here to there using those toys one by one, and then back to here. Phew, they had so much to do, and there was still so much left to do. By the time we got back to our hotel, had a shower and a quick and warm home made meal, it was 2 pm already and there was not much time left for any more excursions. The Expedia representative at the hotel's front desk, known as MG, was a talkative yet helpful guide. Gauging that we had to leave the next day, she recommended us a quick trip to the Maui Aquarium. She added that among all the aquariums she had visited - she liked the Maui's - the best. And it later turned out that she indeed wasn't wrong. The Maui aquarium known as the Maui Ocean Center, was indeed magnificent. The snorkeling tour no doubt had added a new perspective to this visit too. My ah moment was when two gigantic 'Spotted Eagle Rayfish' - who even had teeth and a mouth so similar to humans, started talking to each other - just 2 feet above me. I watched them for a long time as I stood there silently, in that transparent tunnel constructed for visitors to pass through that huge aquarium, with larger than life clear windows. At one area at that larger than life aquarium, an Ocean Naturist was deep down between those 50+ huge fishes, giving a presentation to the visitors, occasionally shoving away those fishes with bare hands coming right into her face. The presentation was amazing. Another unique feature was the section which displayed the environmentally friendly tricks employed by early Hawaiians to catch their fishes. How an eight year lad would know exactly which one those tricks to employ to catch the specific breed, in precisely which terrain or reef. Also all those present at the shores to help the fish catcher of the day, to pull back his catch - would all get a share in return to the favor of helping pull the heavy net out of the seas. No business, no commercialization, no loss or gains and no attempts to destroy the delicate eco balance. Interestingly a highly skilled and developed Kapa system - which has so much to teach the modern world.
The museum closed at 6 and we had an early and yummy Thai dinner, with my dishes, as always customized to cater to my vegan and soy-free needs. What next - the Wailea Shopping Complex was a 2 min drive from here. I asked him to drive me to the complex, in hopes to make any last purchases if I was lucky to find something fancy. It was 8 pm and most of the shops were closed already. I am sure Abhinav tried hard not to ask, but was unable to resist the temptation to ask - 'Kuch sahi mein lena hai tumko?'.. 'Do really need something?' Seeing the dangerous direction in which conversation could go, I choose to remain silent. Instead I glanced down one more time to admire my beautiful pink flip-flops which had worn out from being worn 16 hours a day in the last 8 days, on rocks, mountains, beaches and roads. The ends of the straps were visible from beneath the surface, and there were areas of gray now. As I got down at Wailea, snap went one of those straps. For a moment it felt like they were saying - we were born (manufactured) to help you - but now that you are going to leave tomorrow - we want to be buried (left) in the same soil from were we arose. I sadly bid Aloha to my faithful flip-flops.
Day Eiwa (Nine)
Oh couldn't Abhinav's leaves get extended for may be just a few more days. I had already asked him a trillion times since we had arrived in Maui, even though I knew the answer. My mind was racing for all the lovely must-see, must do things we had missed out on - the Haleakala National Park, the sunrise at the peak of Haleakala, the volcano mountain, the Zip Line, The molokini tours and the snorkeling in those pristine waters, the beautiful rainbows, the goat farm, sugar museum, The Wailea Beach - considered one of the best beaches to bath, the Makena beach, the Lahaina market - which we couldn't explore at all any so much more. Plus didn't we plan to return to the Garden of Eden - for just a few more hours, and that beautiful Northbend which we had to rush through that evening and didn't have enough time to absorb all the wilderness. I consoled myself by saying that there was so much left that a couple of days of extended leaves would do no good, so why worry at all. It was now time for reflection and contemplation mixed with feelings of sadness of the thought of leaving this paradise. Abhinav had never packed his carry on with such detail, as he did today. The morning was progressing much slower than usual. We had to leave, unaware if we would be able to make such an expensive trip in our life time again. But we were leaving with good feelings and renewed energy. On our way back to the airport, Abhinav pointed out how the palm trees had drooped down even more that morning to bid us farewell. Even the mountain ranges looked sad at our departure and seemed to wish us good luck.
We got a chance to have an understanding of the extend of damage and development that took part in the past few centuries. Today more Hawaiians are employed in the business of tourism and hospitality than anything else, but the bottomline is that had it not been for the Americans, people like us would never have bothered to get a Visa stamped to visit something as insignificant on the map as those islands, inhabited by those small bunch of people, with welcoming and warm hearts. Aloha my dear fellow beings, you will always remain in the recesses of my memories for the rest of my life.
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