This past reading week, my family and I (except my brother because he's a nugget) visited Hawaii. Hawaii has always been on my bucket list, and as cliche as it may seem, I would highly recommend to everyone! I never really realized how far Hawaii was from Canada, and my trip there was not the greatest experience either. My family and I were supposed to arrive in Hawaii Friday evening, but we didn't get to the island until Sunday afternoon. It's a long story that doesn't really need that much attention. But in short, we missed our flight by a minute because of Pearson's insane customs (I literally watched the plane fly off) and had to stay at the airport for about 30 hours, waiting for another flight out. We were placed on standby until Saturday evening and had a 10-hour layover in LA. And to make matters worse, our checked in bags were just everywhere. Two were in Hawaii already, and my bag was never put on our flight, so I didn't get it until my last day in Hawaii. But despite all of that, I had an amazing time in Hawaii!
We stayed in Honolulu, specifically Waikiki. It's the most popular tourist destination on the island. My family and I stayed at the Ambassador Hotel. It was a short walk to the beaches, and very close to all the shops and restaurants. We only had three full days in Hawaii (which is way too short), but we made the most of it.
A couple of things that I've noticed about Hawaii (Oahu specifically):
- There's a lot of Japanese tourists, especially in Waikiki.
- The weather was insanely nice. In the morning, the weather was very mild (19 degrees celsius), during the day it would be hot and sunny (28-30 degrees celsius) and in the evening it would be cool again. Hawaii gets a lot of wind too so it was never humid either.
- There were absolutely no mosquitos!! Which is definitely a big plus.
- It was very clean.
- I felt very safe wherever I went and at whatever time it was during the day.
- The locals are very friendly and willing to help you if you need any assistance or guidance.
- The transit was a very useful and practical way to get around the island if you didn't want to rent a car.
- Hawaii offers a lot of things for you to do and it really depends on who you go with to the island. There's a lot of family friendly activities but there's also a lot of daring and adrenaline filled activities you can do too. For example, you can go skydiving, hiking, or windsurfing. Lots of outdoor activities!!!
My sister Lisa :-)
The first beach we visited from Waikiki Beach. It was definitely the most visited beach on the island. It was a long beach that stretched around the front of the neighbourhood. You also get an insane view of Diamond Head monument. I also wrote about my experience at Waikiki Beach
here.
A picture of my parents being cute on Valentine's Day.
Momma Huynh, the fashion killa.
Hawaii was five hours behind Canada so we were always up super early. I woke up at 5:30 AM every day and got to see the sunrise from our balcony. I don't usually take the time to watch sunrises so it was definitely a calming and beautiful experience. It was a great reminder for me to slow down in some of the things I do, and be more aware of and to cherish the little things. Watching the sunrise was definitely an amazing way to start my days.
My father was way too excited for me to take this picture.
On our second day in Hawaii, we decided to do the Diamond Head Trail. I can now say that I've hiked up a volcano. It was a short trail that only lasted an hour altogether (up and down). I highly recommend this trail even though it can be very busy. If you go super early in the morning, you'll be able to avoid the crowd.
A couple other hikes that I really wanted to do and are still on my to-do list are:
- Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
- Haiku Stairs aka Stairway to Heaven
- Deadman's Catwalk
- Waimono Falls and Pools
- Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail
After hiking Diamond Head, we headed to a small town called Kailua. It was only 45 minutes away from Waikiki. It was super windy when we visited so the waves were insane. Everyone was windsurfing when we arrived and it looked so cool. This beach is definitely quieter and more peaceful. You can read about my experience in Kailua some more
here.
On our last day in Hawaii, we visited Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay is a preserved natural spot in Oahu where you can relax on the beach or snorkel through reefs and swim with sea creatures. I got the opportunity to go snorkeling for the first time and it was definitely harder than I thought. You have to get used to breathing through the snorkel, but once you do it was very enjoying swimming underwater. Also, snorkeling was more physically tiring than I thought. I literally knocked out on the beach afterward and got a nasty sunburn (FUN!!!).
Overall, Hawaii was an amazing experience and I totally forgot about my horrible experience with my airline. Leaving was so hard because there were so many things that I still didn't get the chance to do. In summary, my family and I just ate a lot of food, went beach hopping, and slept. It was freaking great.
(Will post food pics later- warning food pics made me really hungry)
But with that being said, anywhere I am home will always be Toronto (I mean Mississauga).
Outfits:
Swimsuit Look 1: Set from Forever 21
Hiking Look: Adidas Shorts, Rebook All White Shoes
Kailua Look: Wilfred Tank, Levis Shorts, Vintage Bomber, Saltwater Collective Blessings Shirt
Swimsuit Look 2: Set from Boohoo
Last Look: Peace Collective Toronto vs. Everybody Shirt
February 14-18th, 2016 with Lisa, Mom and Dad
Labels: travel