Will this will be my last review of my time in and around America, for those who have catched a few of my reviews, you will now ive had quite an exciting time during my stay, and what a way to end my review, by talking about my last stop before returning to good old London. My last stop on this amazing journey was Hawaii; I had been meaning to visit it many times, but never really got the chance. I always thought of Hawaii as a calm, relaxing and down to earth place, and with no misconception it is, its such a tranquil place, however its also exciting, theirs so much to do and in particular see, which is why this place is such a brilliant place to stay. My review will go through my journey, which was only a short 4 day stay, nevertheless I still managed to see and do a hell of a lot. Like most of my other reviews, im sorry if I forget to mention the obvious places to see, however im only going to describe what I saw and what I did, hopefully everyone has had some fun reviewing my USA reviews, and hopefully this will be a fitting way to end them, until I return again this summer.
Brief History of Hawaii
Well it would be fitting to start my review off with a brief into about Hawaii, and its historical past. Hawaii is in fact an American state; it was made the 50th state sometime in 1959. The state has eight major islands, yup eights and they are; Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and or course Hawaii. Since its founding, Hawaii had been ruled at one point by the Spanish and the British; however it was the only American State to have its independence before the civil war. Its population as of 2007 was just over 2.7 million people, with a mean income of $53,000.
Having departed from America me and my friends now embarked on a journey to Hawaii, we intended on staying in "the big island", and so after about 6 hours due to flight delays, we landed at Kona International Airport. After the usual customs and passport checks, which didn't take too long,
we were greeted by native women, who gifted us with some traditional Hawaiian flowers, some folk songs and dancing. It was actually very pleasant to watch because it made us feel really welcomed, would never see something like this in Heathrow Airport. Anyway, we then got onto a coach that took us directly to out accommodation. We stayed at Keauhou Beach Resort, which was about a half hour drive from the airport. Along the way we were able to see some really breathtaking scenic views, my trip so far to America was all about keeping busy, doing exciting things and going everywhere, however whilst I was on the coach it seemed as if time has stopped, I never thought it was possible to see such a calm, relaxing and peaceful place. We could see the calm ocean water, the exotic palm trees, the birds, the plants, it was something that seemed unreal to me, but in a good way. I finally got the sense that my last few days would be one of just sitting back and relaxing, I did want to see the island, but in a laid back approach, and that's exactly what I did. I also promised myself that I would drink less, however things never pan out quite like you want them to.
Accommodation:
Well as stated we stayed in the beautiful resort of Keauhou Beach Resort, a friend of mine had recommended back home. We booked our hotel rooms whilst we were in America, through a local tour operator. As we were only staying 3 nights, and there were eight of us, we hired 4 rooms for roughly £45 per night, however prices may varies and depend upon availability. With this price, we were offered bed and breakfast, a TV, air conditioning, a nice shower and toilet cubical, and a magnificent balcony view overlooking the sea. It was more of a family or a couples location, however it was more than pleasant for us, the service and hospitality was brilliant, the waiters and maids always calling you by sir or madam, and always saying thank you and please. It was good to see that people were so kind, polite and had such nice manors, maybe the jobs in England could learn a few things from them.
Dining at the Resort: We only really had breakfast at the resort and dinner on our first night, however there is such a wide variety of food available. The resort has 3 different dinning options, which I suppose cater for different people. The Kamaaina Terrace is located right next to the beach, we had our breakfast here in the mornings, its nothing quite like having a nice cup of tea, whilst overlooking the crystal blue sea. Breakfast is usually between 6:30 am to 10:30 pm however, if you ask them kindly they do allow the occasional option of having breakfast after 1 in the afternoon. The other two places were you can dine within the resort are Verandah Lounge and Kalanikai Bar & Grill. Again both places cater for different foods, we were offered such a wide variety it was almost hard to choose. Breakfast was all about the exotic fruits, the colour, shape, texture and smell was just simply breathtaking and to be honest half the fruits they gave me I had never heard of before.
Ok now that ive given some detail about the resort, ill start taking about the places, and attractions we saw. And at the end I will write a guide on the best ways to travel around the island.
Volcanoes National Park
The island itself is quite big, if you compare it to the other small islands, and for this reason the big island has so much to offer it can be a hard times to choose what you want to see, especially when you have a limited amount of time. Me and my friends wanted to see a volcano, its probably one of the reasons we were attracted to Hawaii as we had heard the volcano tours were both exciting. Our first visit was to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which a staff member at our resort had told us about. The park is about a 45 minute drive through highway 11, however there are tour buses and guides that will take you their. We took a tour bus, which set us back about $8 per person, which isn't too bad. Now to see the most of this park it would make sense to get there early, the park opens just before 8:00 am and closes after 5:00pm so be quick as the waiting line for tickets can be long. Since we had no car, the fee was only $5 per person. And this pass was for 7 days, children under 15 do get in free so don't forget to ask. I wont lie, we actually spent one whole day on this tour about 8 hours, which was somewhat of a shock, but there was simply so much to see, it would have been foolish to leave halfway. You have the option of going with a guide or walking by your self on a hiking group, they even provided us with hiking sticks. We got to see a lot of the natural landscape, the dusty mountains, the local wildlife, and the plants. The smell of the park was quite unique, you could almost spell the freshness of some of the indigenous plants. We walked for hours, and yet didn't seem to get tired, until we finally got to see an up close volcano, Kilauea was breathtaking, although not alive and no lava pouring out it was just the thought that we were standing on top of something that could be potentially so powerful it could wipe out some of the island. The steam coming out of certain rocks, and the humidity of the summit all added to an exciting trip. Our last stop on the tour was a walk back to the visitors centre, were they displayed some art work, local findings and rock formation for the volcano from about 400 years ago.
Horse Riding
We also got a chance to go on a horse riding trek during our final day on the island, for about $45, you get to go on a journey through the smaller national parks on a horse. They teach you firstly how to ride the horse, and from there show you around the parks, its quite a nice experience seeing as how ive never ridden a horse before.Attractions: There are so many things you could do in Hawaii, for me it was about relaxing, taking in the views and the culture with a bit of nightlife excitement. Hawaii offers so much, both in land and underwater activities, it has hundred of local museums and a brilliant local market, were you can pick up some cheap bargains and local fruits if you wish. A note, you should be careful of your wallet if in the local town as we were advised pick pocketers do operate the street.
Nightlife
Hawaii does offer a relaxing and exciting nightlife and caters for both the older and younger generation. We mixed up our nightlife, we did go and take a look at the local bars, meet some of the local people and try some of there local beer, its weird how the people are so friendly over there, especially the women. All the bars offer some of the traditional beer as well as globally recognised beers such as Fosters, which we found in one bar. There was also the option of just sitting down in your resort and watching the local tribes men and women perform there native ritual dances, which were again fun to watch because its something new. Like most resorts they also often drag there guests into dancing with them in front of everyone, I must say my dancing has improved.
Transport and Getting around the Island
The best way to get around the island is by taking a cab, walking or taking a bus. The local buses charge about $1 for admission and generally take you all around the island, however there are specific tour buses organised by your resort that take you anywhere you want to go, we paid $16 for all three days. Taking a cab is actually quite cheap, I always found the cabs in America to be a rip off, however hear they seemed a little bit more helpful, they didn't overcharge and if there was traffic they turned of the metre.
Hawaii is a great place to visit, its so relaxing and naturally calm, to me this place is all about enjoying the open space, and loving Mother Nature and all she has to offer. The national parks are some of the best in the world, and really give you a feel of the true Hawaii. The friendly people, calm atmosphere all add to a brilliant atmosphere.
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Feb 20th, 2008
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