Aloha!

6 March, 2015

After a short night of peaceful, and surprising un-nervous, sleep I was up bright and bloody early to start my 21 hour journey to the States. The lack of sleep couldn't get me down with all the adrenaline and endorphins running through me! Excitement and disbelief were in full force now that the adventure that I had been planning for over a year was actually here. I still don't think I've come to terms with the fact that I'm actually here (somebody pinch me!).

To cut a long 21 hours short, the trip to Sydney was uneventful and the 8.5 hour layover was possibly the most mundane thing in the world. My cheapskate subconscious stuck up her back about paying a whopping $40 for a return train ticket to Circular Quay and opted to spend the time in the domestic and international terminals of Sydney Airport. Granted, the shopping looked like it could be great fun, and I had a beautiful avo-feta-ciabatta lunch, but really, there's only so much you can do there for 8.5 hours. Pineapple M&Ms and the Rock of Ages album on repeat eventually saved me from falling into a boredom-coma.

Finally(!) it came time to head to my gate and hop on board a big airplane! This was possibly the most frustrating 10 hours of my life! My eyes wanted sleep, but that bloody chair wouldn't allow it. I vow to win the lottery/marry rich so that I can start flying first class. Maybe then I can sleep. Brightside, they were showing some good movies and the dinner was lovely (Barramundi with sweet potato mash and lentils)! They also served brekkie, but I would prefer to forget that.


6 March, 2015 (AGAIN!)

Finally, I landed down in Honolulu at 7.30am on the same day I left. Super weird feeling. It honestly feels as though this has been one long day since waking up in Adelaide. The lack of sleep really didn't help either. The airport was quite retro, and felt more like an underground bomb-shelter from the 60's. It didn't take us long to get through border protection and get our bags thankfully.

Ever the organised, I walked up to the first shuttle service I could find and asked to hop on. This is apparently not on in Honolulu. After some frustrating language barriers with the operator over the phone (they couldn't understand my accent!!), I managed to book in on the shuttle, was given a shell necklace true Hawaiian style, and I was off on my adventure once again!

The Waikiki Beachside Hostel is definitely one of the better hostels I've ever been in! It has a kitchen and a bathroom, both unexpected surprises, and one of  the most comfiest mattresses I've ever been on. Would recommend!

Anyway, once my bags were dropped off and my bed was dibs-ed, I immediately changed into my bikini and went to the beach to get the plane feeling off of me. The beach is about 100m away from the hostel. When I went for a swim, the sun was shining and it was quiet a mild morning. The water was beautiful and made me feel instantly refreshed! When I got out, I managed to make my first friend; Jonathon, a guy visiting for business from Utah. After a nice chat with him, I made my way up the beach and watched the USA Girls Volleyball Competition for a bit before exploring Kal?kaua Ave, the esplanade along the beach. By this point, the mild weather had turned, and it was blowing a gail! It was a beautiful walk regardless of this though. The streets are beautiful down to the smallest details. The palm trees and large Ficus Banyan trees (yes, I looked this up), and the fountains and beach make this place a tropical paradise!

After getting back from my walk, I had truly hit a wall. I decided to hop into bed and mercifully did not get waken up for a good hour. After my nap, I managed to make friends with a Californian girl in my dorm, Laura. Nice and refreshed, we decided to head back down to the beach for a relax and chat. The sun was scorching by this point, and it was welcomed on my very un-tanned, but very sunscreened skin. After the beach chat, I decided to sort out some activities for the coming days. I headed to Shaka Tours and within 5 minutes had organised a day tour around the island, including snorkelling with turtles, and a good old fashioned Hawaiian Luau. Very happy with myself, I decided to reward myself with another rest..this travelling stuff has worn me out!

Around 6ish, the sun was ready to set and I was told that this would be a great site to see. I decided to head in a different direction down the beach and came across a strange little pier made out of rocks and with no barriers. Braving this, I explored to the end, getting my feet and jeans wet in the process with the rising tides. The views were magnificent! Unfortunately, the sunset was covered by clouds a bit too much to appreciate fully, but the view of the beaches and the city and Diamond Head Crater from the end of the pier was incredible. After a few sneaky selfies, I walked back and came across a small cafe on the beach, with tiki torches out front and a live acoustic band playing. I ordered the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken and sat down and enjoyed the view of the beach. The food was amazing; though I am not usually a fan of pineapple with savoury food, the chicken was incredible! Though there sure was a lot of it. After eating half the meal, I couldn't handle anymore and walked back to the hostel.

Once back there, my dorm mate, Laura, and I started drinking beer. I generally hate beer, but Blue Moon beer is surprisingly yummy! A popular beer in America, it is the main choice in beer for many girls for it's fruity flavour - OK, so I have to start slow if I'm going to get into beer. They don't have ciders anywhere here! After a drink, I convinces Laura that she should also come out with me to celebrate her last night in Hawaii. We headed down to one of the many ABC (convenience) stores - without exaggeration, there are approximately 3 ABC stores on every block! - and bought another 6 pack of Blue Moon. It was $10! I was over the moon and my cheapskate subconcious was quite happy with this too.

When we got back to the hostel, we sat down and started drinking. It took me a good minute before asking the guys next to us what the hell they were doing. They seemed to be very focused on a dice drinking game, which didn't seem to have many rules (they were drinking on close to every roll). It seems the drinking game works better with more people, so of course we joined them. The guys were from Germany. Their names were Marco and (possibly) Lucas - by the end of the night, Laura and I were still unsure and were both too embarrassed to ask him after so much time. Instead, we just decided to name him Polo.

The drinking game was called 3-man. It's very simple and very effective in getting you nice and drunk! Like kings, the dice decided whether there were rules to be made, but the rules could be limitless if you continued to roll the right numbers. By the end of the 6 pack, we were the crazy ones in the corner knocking our drinks on the table, drinking them with two hands while closing one eye, and all without being able to point, say "I", "me" or "you" or ask questions, lest we have to drink again! It was a vicious cycle of rules and by the end, we needed to leave before we went crazy!

We decided to go to a bar that Marco had found out about called Rum Fire, which was located in a swanky, expensive hotel on the beach. It was such a lovely spot and was right next to the resort pool, which was decked out with palm trees and the like. At around 1am, I was truly spent. The day had caught up with me and I was ready for bed! Thankfully the DJ had the same idea and finished up his set. The clubs here close at 1am! If I wasn't so tired, I might have minded this!

The walk back was nice and mainly consisted of Marco and I arguing over my accent..it is not anything like an English accent! We got back to the hostel and stayed up to talk for a little while longer, but my eyes were not staying open for long and I quickly went to bed.

Overall, it was a wonderful day and I loved every minute of it! Hawaii is a truly beautiful place!