A Visit to Honolulu

Last week we spent a few days in Honolulu.  We’d been to the city many times before (Ken’s family is from Honolulu) and it was great to be there again.  Here are the things we love (and sometimes miss) about the big city: food and shopping.  We stuffed our faces at Shirokiya (a Japanese department store in Ala Moana mall) with sushi and ramen and fresh gyoza and other nostalgic Japanese delights you just can’t get here, with dim sum in China Town, and with our favorite Korean BBQ (Kaneohe’s TastyBBQ which has the most amazing vegetable bar we’ve ever seen).  I was able to purchase hula supplies from a little old hole-in-the-wall hula supply store, and we temporarily satiated our consumerism by wandering Ala Moana Mall (a truly beautiful open-air mall).  We spent an afternoon at Kailua Beach, one of the world’s finest beaches (white sand, purple-blue water), and would have stopped by the Valley of the Temples but ran out of time.  We took Conlan to Honolulu Zoo (he enjoyed the meerkats the most) and walked all over Ala Moana Park and through Waikiki.  It’s undeniably fun to be in the city.  Restaurant service is friendly and helpful, the restaurant scene is so competitive that most places have to be good, and stuff is open late (our quiet farming island goes to bed early and rises early). 

But we were also reminded of all the not-so-nice things, too, and were glad to come home.  For example, the most jarring thing was simply the noise.  The day after we got home I was doing maid service in our cottage and paused momentarily, taking in the silence.  I could here absolutely nothing.  The coffee mill wasn’t roasting, the birds weren’t even chirping.  There was no one here, no cars, no people-sounds.  There was only a faint sigh from the trees as the wind blew through.  The city is LOUD: jack hammers, garbage trucks at five am, scooters and motorcycles and huge buses and loads of cars roaring by.  And drivers are impatient!  I know it’s not Boston-impatient but we’ve been spoiled by the laid-back attitude of our kind Big-Island drivers who let you in and don’t tail gate or cut you off or honk a milli-second after the light turns.

We’ll probably return to Honolulu in a few years to once again eat and shop at Shirokiya and share Ken’s city with our babies and get our big-city fix.  But for now we’re loving the quiet life here at home.  For visitors to the islands, I would suggest doing your homework and choosing the place that’s the right fit.  For shoppers, Waikiki offers up Coach and Rolex and Armani and Tiffany’s and all the other big names seen in all America’s cities.  It’s filled with resorts and you can walk easily for miles.  Stuff is open late and there is always something to do.  The Big Island always gets low marks on Trip Advisor for “nightlife”, which makes us laugh.  If you want a hoppin’ nightlife, go to the city!  Like all fabulous cities, there’s plenty of music and food and entertainment.  For guests who seek a respite from city noise and pace, the Big Island will be the better fit.