Hawaii - Oahu Day 2
I woke up around 5 am, I have the alarm set to 6 am but couldn't go back to sleep because I was super excited about our first real day in Hawaii!!! It was dark outside, not even sunrise yet, I was surprised sunrise in Hawaii is at 6:45 am which seems pretty late for me. I checked the weather.com and it said chance of rain 50% uh-oh! We picked up our cousins at HHV at 7 am and returned to our hotel to have breakfast around the Waikiki area. We were walking around to see which restaurants open for breakfast and we saw Denny's. We had our breakfast at Denny's which was pretty good for breakfast.
After we got out of Denny's, I immediately looked up the sky and it was blue sky yay!! So I decided let's go to Diamond Head because it requires clear-sky to be able to have the beautiful view of Waikiki! The drive there was hard to find the exact address to the entrance of the Diamond Head with our GPS!! I checked google before our trip and it has the address as Diamond Head Road at 18th Ave...so the best I can do was to enter in as an intersection in our GPS. It took us near Diamond Head but we were able to follow the signs to get us to the entrance. On the way, we stopped by a scenic look-out:
We arrived Diamond Head entrance and parked our car right near the start of the trail, parking was $5 for the car.
The area around the park was beautiful so don't forget to save some time to take pictures!
Before our climb, we went to the vending machines to buy water but all the vendor machines were broken!!! Oh well.....ready, set, walk!
At first, the paved walk was very easy...
then dirt road so don't recommend that you do the trail when it's raining...
then we went through a dark tunnel and the up the stairs....those stairs were the killers!
And then bent down to a low clearance exit to finally the view of Waikiki! The view was amazing...very well worth the climb!
This sporty couples walked to the war bunker (there was a dangerous sign posted to warn people not to walk to the bunker!) and then they do push-ups and sit-ups urgggg!!!
On our way down, we spotted the lighthouse:
I took this photo looking up the "summit", the white grasses and the blue sky was really pretty!
Coming down was so much easier than going up and by now we were getting dehydrated so we walked down quickly!
There were a lot of people coming up so it was good that we started early before it gets hot!
We got down and there was a truck selling water and SHAVE ICE!!! It felt so good to have shave ice after the climb!
After we were cooled down, I took more pictures of the park area :)
Those flowers really match my flower clip haha!
Beautiful tropical flower!
My favorite pink -- plumeria!
After Diamond Head, we drove to Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, parking was $3 but only coins and credit card/debit card, no dollar bills accepted!!!!
The view was good but not great due to the clouds!
We really like the mountain forms around the island, it was incredible how nature created itself!
Very unique tree:
We spent less than half an hour at the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout and then we planned to drive to Byodo-In Temple but we had a tough time finding it! Google has the address as 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe
but our GPS won't let me enter 47-200 so I can only enter 47 and got us to a wrong place!!! (Note, we did our 2nd attempt to the Byodo-In Temple later on and it was in the same highway only need to turn at McDonald's and it was the entrance to a cemetery).
We were hungry and saw a shrimp truck so we stopped and have lunch at Monkey Mike's Huli Huli Chicken and Shrimp Truck.
We ordered the shrimp plate...it was like $15 for 8 pieces of shrimps and it was just okay.
After our lunch, we didn't attempt to find Byodo-In Temple because it was cloudy already so not ideal for photos so instead we drove back to Waikiki to do our shopping!
We went to the International Market Place right near our hotel, this place has a lot of vendors selling souvenirs, you can bargain a little :) (Note: if you do have plan to visit the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, don't buy from the International Marketplace yet because 99% of the things you find in International Market Place, you can find in the Swap Meet and cheaper too!)
We happened to be in the market place on Thursday which they have a Farmer's Market!!! Time for some fresh pineapples and fruits!
Freshly cut local grown pineapples - $3 per box, very sweet and juicy!
We got some beach and coconut donut-like buns!
This seller lady was really cool with pink hair haha!
There were cooked food too!
After some fresh fruits and snacks, we continued to browse around shops. For dinner, we had in the market place because we didn't feel like driving out Waikiki and back! The food court at the International Market Place has plenty to choose from too. I read reviews about the Blue Water Shrimp & Fish Market at the market place so we ordered from there. The food was really good value!
I ordered the shrimp and steak combo around $17:
Hubby ordered the shrimp and fish combo around $17 as well:
What's better to do after a full dinner than to exercise by walking down the street of Waikiki at night??? Waikiki at night was lively; full of beautiful shop displays and street performers!
Coming from Boston, Christmas tree and shorts were rarely go together LOL! It was very warm at night even in December so it was comfortable to be in shorts and flip-flops! Christmas tree and lights at the Royal Hawaiian Center:
ABC Stores were around every block so do not tell a friend to meet at an ABC Stores!!!!
Love the architecture of this complex, the ceiling like growing stars at night!
Colorful window displays by Louis Vuitton!
Christmas green and red lights!
Watch display right outside of Dior!
Our first day in Hawaii was awesome! I really like the lively atmosphere at night and plus the warm weather! I am really looking forward for tomorrow :D
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