Aloooooooha!!!

They say the longer you hold that 'oh' sound, the more fun your having. If that's true then I'd probably go on longer than those La Liga commentators do every time a goal is scored (yeah I mentioned this before, twice is nice OK?).

Yes, this past weekend I went to Hawaii! Like I said at the beginning of November - this month was and is going to continue to be awesome - starting with Hawaii, and ending with thanksgiving in LA. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision to go hit the beaches, but I only have one relative in the States and that's my cousin Hanqing. She lives in San Diego but we decided that, if all there is to do in SD is go to the beach then we may as well just fly out to Hawaii and catch up there. It's my second time to Hawaii, but the last time I came I was 9 years old and not quite capable of taking full advantage of all the islands have to offer.

Queue the beach, cocktails, leis, floral shirts and of course, funky ass tropical island music:



I could feel the tropical heat drench me as soon as I stepped out of the airport terminal. That's what I've been craving - Berkeley has been getting cold lately and I've been daydreaming about the beach back home, so Hawaii has come at the perfect time. We spent 3 nights and 3 days in Honolulu. Of course, we did all the cliche beach lounging, snorkeling and cocktail sipping. But we did some cultural stuff too.

But first, the hotel. I have to give a shout out to Wennie for introducing me to Hotwire. Best travel deal website ever. You get the cheapest prices on 'hot-off' deals because they don't actually release the name of the Hotel, because the big names don't want the general public to know that they will sell that cheap. Instead, Hotwire gives you the location and the star rating of the hotel. It's kind of like a lucky-dip but you're guaranteed to get something good. You know, like you're playing secret Santa and everyone else is a millionaire.

So basically I booked through Hotwire, and scored the Hilton Prince Kuhio in Waikiki for $200 for the 3 nights. To top it off, when we got there, I ask for a free upgrade - and I got it! Oceanview room on the 25th floor? Yes sir, I'll have that and the Mai Thai.

That's my balcony!

First day on the island we just spent on Waikiki beach and checking out the strip. Unlike the Cott or Scarb, there are a million things to do right next to the beach. Shop, eat, hang out with Elmo, you name it. There's even a 24 hour fitness one block from the hotel, right in front of the beach. I know what you're thinking - do a few sets, then straight out to the sand while you're still PUMPED. Oh, you weren't thinking that? Bullshit.

Next day we snorkeled Hanauma Bay. It's meant to be the best snorkeling on Oahu, but the snorkeling I did 10 years ago off the big island was better. Anyway, it was raining, but the water was clear and I did see a green sea turtle, which is pretty amazing. I also saw a franger floating in the ocean. That wasn't so amazing, in fact, it prompted me to leave. I'd have to say our tour guides on this trip were amongst the funniest I've ever had. This particular guide looked like a Mexican people smuggler and had a voice like Abruzzi from Prison Break:

"If you see turtles, don't play with them. If you see a shark - good luck." And when he handed us our snorkel masks: "You see the try-hard professionals spit on these when they got foggy. You don't actually have to do that. I already did that for you." He also knew where Keanu Reeves lives in Hawaii, which I found surprising. He must not visit much - his ass was way to pale in the Matrix 3.

That night we hit up a Lu'au, which is basically a traditional Hawaiian buffet/dance/sundowner on the beach. They had the traditional whole pig pit roast, a Samoan fire knife dancer, and the best cocktail that I've had for a long time - the 'Lava Flow' (sorry no picture of that).

I wonder why my face is like that.

OK, so besides the awesome beaches, the culture, the cocktails and the grass skirts, what else do you go to Hawaii for? Sunday Brunch at Orchids of course! Holy shit. This has got to be the best buffet brunch I've ever been to. Wait, make that the best buffet full stop. I'm sorry but this place makes the Atrium look like Sizzlers, no, even worse, it makes it look like a soup kitchen.

It opens at 9am and doesn't close until 3:30pm. Plenty of time to get your eat on. The selection was just HUGE. At first I only saw the main section with the hots, the carvery, the fruit and desserts. Then I noticed the whole cold section, the breads and cheeses, the salads and sandwiches section, and the deli section. Then I delved further and found the Japanese section. I'm pretty sure this place is the solution to global hunger.

You have to wear a collared shirt. I wasn't wearing one, so they gave me one.

Orchids hires its own Iron Chef to personally cook your custom omelette right in front of you. You choose what you want in it, and he whips it up for you. He said he'll be going down to work in Melbourne's Crown next year.

I hung out here quite a bit.

And this is the plate which killed me. It was that piece of watermelon. Damn you! If only I had fried chicken.

After gorging ourselves for a couple of hours we did a hiking tour to check out the waterfalls and explore areas where they film Lost! It was pretty damn filthy in the jungle, but it was good fun. I kept trying to look out for the monster, or a polar bear, or at least have a flashback of Perth - but to no avail. I did see one of the 'others' lurking in a tree though:


I was also hell close to getting tickets to the Fray concert that night in Honolulu, because the lead singer was actually on the morning session of the tour we took. Apparently he got everyone on that tour on the VIP list. Damn, should've left the buffet earlier.

I'll post all the pictures and videos from this trip up on facebook soon. Anyway, back to reality and away from King Kamehamaha (I'm not kidding that was the Hawaiian Chieftan who united the tribes). 3 more weeks until final exams. I hope everyone back home is enjoying the start of their holidays!