So we explored the Waikiki Beach area many times, because it was like 5 minutes away from where we lived. The girl we stayed with was so sweet, she let us stay in her room (and mess it up) while she slept on the couch in the living room for 10 days. We bought her Godiva chocs as a thank-you gift. She was so laidback, just like everyone else. It made me feel like no one in Hawaii had any sort of goal or purpose in life. They were all just drifting along, enjoying life, doing what they wanted. Perfect for me! But then I think I would be bored with it after a while, just like Singapore.
Friday night was our first night out in Hawaii!! So we went to this place called Level 4, which was a 10 minute walk, and my feet really appreciated that. It was pretty packed and fun. We met this funny korean guy who wouldn't leave us alone, and his friend, and got stalked by some other asian guys. Was pretty interesting.
We went to the mall on Saturday, supposedly it was tiny, but we found it to be so huge that we didn't even finish walking around. There were tons of brand name shops - Hawaiians/japanese tourists are super rich.
And there, in the mall, we made the worst decision EVER. We bought this bottle of vodka called 'Fleischmann's', because we were being cheapskate and it was only 8bucks. But boy, did we regret it. That crap smelled like nail polish remover (and probably tasted like it), and it gave us the worst feeling in the world the day after. Needless to say, we spent sunday at home trying to recover. Lesson learned - never buy cheap alcohol ever again. Ever. Like seriously.
Monday was an interesting day. After laying out and swimming at the beach, we went to the Cheesecake Factory to get reservations. It's supposedly this awesome restaurant we both never tried but always wanted to. So while walking around Waikiki area waiting for our reservations, these two guys bumped into us and started talking to us.
Their first words? 'Do you girls know where the Cheesecake Factory is?' We were like, YEAH! We just came from there!
And so we got talking, and they asked if they could join us for dinner, and we said yes. It was kind of random, but they seemed pretty cool and funny, so we thought, why not. Dinner ended up being really fun, and they paid for it, so that was the icing on the cake. They also got my number so we could hang out again. Wish this type of thing happens more at boring old Taylor.
Tuesday we went on a tour to the Pearl Harbor memorial, which was pretty sweet. Got to see all the ships and missiles and stuff, but the waters were too choppy to go out to the actual USS Arizona memorial, so that was depressing. But we got to take a tour of Honolulu and see the king's statue and chinatown and all that.
Wednesday was beach day again! Hilton beach this time. They had a nice man-made wave-free beach, but the wind was insanely strong and blew sand into our faces every few minutes. At least we got tanner. And then we met those guys at night for dinner/drinks and hung out. It was cool.
Thursday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, but we got there late so we didn't get to see everything, which was kind of annoying. But oh well. We ate dinner at a luau, got leis (flowers) around our necks, got to see a pig being roasted and dancers perform during dinner. It was pretty fun and the food was good - sweet potatoes (I love), pulled pork, real rice and noodles, taro buns, yum. Much improved from bland DC food. Then we went to the night performance where the natives danced and acted for like two hours. It was so fascinating seeing them dance; we were inspired. They sure can shake what their mama gave them.
Friday we went to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling! I am so proud of myself for being able to go into the ocean without freaking out. Seriously, ever since watching the stupid shark movie 'Jaws,' I haven't stepped into an ocean in like, maybe 5 years. Or a pool. Not even kidding. So the fact that I've gone swimming so many times in Hawaii is some kind of breakthrough for me. It's actually pretty fun, although I still do get the occasional mini panic attack if I go out too far or if I get too close to the corals. I always think they will swallow me whole for some reason, even though I know that's completely ridiculous. So we got our snorkeling gear and swam around fishes and rocks, and then I got tired and took a nap on the beach while Cartoon snorkeled for like, 2 hours. Also, we got to see the studio where Lost is filmed and several movie star vacation homes, including Keanu Reeves'.
Friday night we went to this place called Oceans 808, supposedly an asian-filled club, but it was so not. (I have recently realized I like Asian guys more than Caucasians, I don't know why. Cartoon attributes this to my mom's persistent prayer. She must be praying hard for me to like asian guys. haha.) We joked that we've never seen so many ugly people in one place before. Sounds awfully mean, I know, but so true. Compared to all the places I've been, this ranks low on the looks scale. But we had fun anyway, picked up some local guys, talked to these two rich guys from LA here on a business trip, got lots of free drinks (which is always nice). AND THEN, we met my friend's ex-boyfriend. This is such a small world! Of all the people to meet on a Friday night, we met him. I only recognized him because I saw him in her pictures on facebook. So weird, huh. But anyway, we got a free ride back from them, and the only reason I accepted their offer was because I recognized him and knew he couldn't be that sketchy (which he wasn't). They bought us late night supper at Jack in the Box and took us home safely. Man, Hawaiians are so nice.
Saturday those two guys from Monday night were supposed to take us skydiving, but they bailed, so we went to Chinatown instead. We ate dim sum, which made me super duper happy. It was so cheap, too.
At night we went back to Level 4, but it was dead. We met these 3 asian guys who paid for a cab ride to Ginza, which was supposedly way better. One was from LA, the other two were from Maui, another island in Hawaii. They were SO incredibly nice! I still can't get over it. We were pretty worried about money, because we didn't bring much out, so we asked if we could borrow cash from the guys for the freaking 30dollar cover charge. They lent it to us, but then when we reached the cashier, she said we could go ahead without paying anything.
So we shrieked in joy and yelled repeatedly, 'Yes, now we have money to go home!!' Pretty pathetic. And we hugged the LA guy in joy. (I call him the LA guy 'cause I have no recollection of what his name was, which was a shame because we really wanted to thank him). At that time, he didn't reveal it, but upon looking back, we're pretty sure he paid for our cover charge. 60dollars!! He must be rich. And he bought us drinks and paid for our cab ride back home and DIDN'T TRY ANYTHING. I mean, how much nicer can a guy get?? So yeah it was a pretty fun night for our last night in Hawaii. We made more friends, some of whom we're facebook friends with. haha.
Sunday we went to the beach, and met my friend's ex-boyfriend and his friend, who took us out to dinner at this nice restaurant (and paid for it). I love getting free stuff from guys :) They were hilarious, and dinner was fun. Also, they didn't try anything. So I'm thinking Hawaiians are incredibly nice. Then we karaoke-ed the night away.
Monday was so sad - our last day in awesome Hawaii. We walked around the area one last time, said our goodbyes, and left.
Such a great spring break. Unforgettable, too. Totally what I needed after being bored at Taylor since january :)
I guess this is appropriate. Apparently I have an angelic face/reputation.
Watching a dancer hula dance.
We cooked food for ourselves a lot in an effort to save money.
