returns to O`ahu for a full measure of fun and front-row view of Polynesian culture.
O’ahu is no secret island.
Neither are its white-sand beaches, salty breezes, fresh seafood and youthful insouciance—things that continued to haunt me long after my first visit. I knew I had to go back.
And I did.
Unlike the first time when I covered O`ahu and Maui in a week, this time, Oahu had all my attention. I decided to stay, yet again, in Waikiki because that’s where the action is, but instead of checking into a hotel, I stayed at a rental. Many visitors, especially those staying a week or longer, opt for rentals as they are cheaper. The problem with rentals, however, is that you never know for sure if what you see on the website is what you’ll get—until you actually get to the doorstep.
Thankfully, my patient search online (www.blue-rentals.com), paid off. I fell in love with my rental studio, Uli Hale, the moment I walked in—the unit was exactly as it appeared in the photos. The owners thoughtfully furnished the place with plantation-style décor and stocked the closet and shelves with snorkels and masks, floaters, Hawaii guidebooks and DVDs, even a Wii player and an iPod speaker dock. On the dining table, a woven basket was filled with Hawaiian goodies such as macadamia chocolates, potato chips, Hawaiian-style popcorn (with dried pineapples) and Kona coffee. Uli Hale was an ideal base. I loved coming home to the comfortable bed after a long day and whipping up scrambled eggs and Spam for breakfast at the small but well-equipped kitchen. It felt like home.
Most days, I loved just walking along the length of Kalakaua and Kuhio in Waikiki. I spent hours exploring charming stores and back alleys, and watching street musicians and actors perform at night. Everywhere, artists were doing the portrait of anyone who’s willing.
DIY Island Tour
O`ahu is small enough to circle in a day, and a do-it-yourself tour is the way to go. Just follow the driving directions on www.alternative-hawaii.com and you’ll be fine, as we were.
We took off for the North Shore, stopping at popular tourist spots like Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Waimea Valley which provided an easy hike to a 45-foot waterfall, and the Dole Plantation, where I tried the famous Dole Whip (soft, frozen dessert topped with fresh pineapple).
Guidebooks recommend a number of food you must try in Hawaii, including the traditional plate lunch consisting of two scoops of white rice, mayonnaise-heavy macaroni salad and an entrée, which can be anything from Korean kalbi to Philippine pork adobo or Hawaiian kalua pork. I would skip that for the butter garlic shrimp sold in shrimp trucks on the North Shore. The shrimps are perfectly cooked and packed with flavor.
Another good reason to get out of Waikiki is a day trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in Laie. It’s best to get a guide to take you around (US$15/person) and provide background information and insights about the different cultures of Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawaii, Aotearoa and Fiji. The guide will also help you manage your visit as the place is sprawling, and you could lose precious time just figuring out where you are and what to do next.
Our first order of business upon arrival was the canoe ride, which took us around the villages and offered an overview of what was to come.
A Polynesian Picture
At 2:30 p.m., we gathered around the man-made lagoon for the Canoe Pageant. It was quite a sight, this showcase of different tribal costumes and dances. Although the performances bore similarities that marked them as Polynesian, the movements, themes and costumes also underscored their unique traits and temperaments: some colors were fiery, others subdued; some movements were brusque and warrior-like, others fluid and gazelle-like.
I had a blast at the Tongan performance because it was very interactive. The drummers picked out three participants from the crowd to try their hand at drumming.
Try the local favorite: butter garlic shrimps sold in shrimp trucks. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Before leading us to the next show, Germaine, our guide, took us to the Fijian chieftain’s house. Unlike other structures, which were replicas, this house was the original home of a Fijian chieftain. Germaine told us the bed was exclusively for the chieftain’s use. The favorite wife stayed in the same house; the other wives lived in the same village but slept on the mat-covered floor. The printed textiles on the floor, bed and walls—which I absolutely loved—were sophisticated and spoke of the impeccable taste of the tribe.
Back at the Canoe Pageant, the Samoan performance was pure laugh trip. The performer did a stand-up act, talking mostly about Samoan culture. According to him, in Samoa, men did everything. They hunted, they cooked, they cleaned the dishes. “That is why there are no men left in Samoa,” he said, in jest, of course. He did show us how to split a coconut using a rock, grate the meat using a wooden “rabbit” grater, and squeeze out the milk using the coconut husk. If there’s one performance you should not miss, this is it.
After the tour, we parted ways with our group and went to dinner on our own at the Gateway Buffet restaurant (not one of our brilliant ideas—the food was so-so).
Booze Cruise
We returned to the PCC grounds for the evening show, Ha—Breath of Life. It was a spectacle, with over a hundred performers from across the Pacific, impressive special effects such as a fire-spewing volcano, and a world-renowned fire knife performance. It was an exuberant ending to a journey through the cultures of Polynesia, and we left with a newfound appreciation of the people from this side of the world.
Of course, a visit to any island in Hawaii isn’t complete without some water activity. Swimming is the obvious choice but sailing is a pretty good alternative. The sun sets on Waikiki Beach so on my last night in O`ahu, I booked a sunset cruise with the Outrigger Catamaran.
It was 5 p.m. when I slid out of my slippers and boarded the boat, along with a few seniors, young couples and a group of rowdy but good-looking college varsity boys. We let the trade winds take us along the Kuhio Beach, Diamond Head, and Black Point. There were unlimited drinks on board (this was, after all, often referred to as the “booze cruise”). The mood was casual; the price, at US$41 per person, was quite affordable, and the experience, something to write home about, especially when the sun made a final curtsy down the horizon and the lights of Waikiki, as if on cue, overran the shore.
