Aloha Oahu*

*Warning this entry may contain some cliches

There's nothing like chipping up to the airport check-in desk quietly humming the Hawaii 5-0 theme tune only to be told that you don't have a visa for the USA to shatter your hula dreams in one go. Yep, rule of travelling 101 - find out visa requirements before you go anywhere. Yet we had foolishly assumed that the USA welcomed holidaying Brits with open arms. Not so these days - the check-in staff at Sydney informed us it can take 72 hours to get your visa approved by the US border control peeps. Cue a very panicky half hour at Sydney airport filling in online applications and crossing our fingers... only to get the approval email through five minutes before the check-in for our flight closed. I literally ran up to the desk shouting 'They're letting us in!!" to the confused looking staff. I have never been more relieved to get on a plane in my life. We were finally off, by the skin of our teeth...

Landing at Honolulu airport on Oahu, I was fully ready to embrace the kitsch and get totally Maui'd. Not sure what I was expecting - to be greeted from the plane with a flower lei and a cocktail perhaps? I was disappointed when all we got was a sleepy Aloha from one of the ground crew - but it was only 6am, so fair enough.
By 7am we were on the iconic Waikiki Beach watching the sunrise while lying on our backpacks. And what an insane beach - nothing can prepare you for Waikiki - like something out of a 60's film it's a sliver of sand framed by swaying palms and massive high rise hotels and mega-resorts. They are everywhere. They even seem to dwarf the Diamond Head volcano which overlooks Honolulu. Waikiki, It's not beautiful these days but it does have a certain glamour.

As the sun came up I couldn't believe how peaceful it was - just a few joggers and paddleboarders, otherwise we had it to ourselves. An hour later it was a totally different story - as if from nowhere hoards of people arrived to claim a patch of sand and we were surrounded. Literally - if we'd rolled over on our beach towels a little too far we'd have ended up straddling an unsuspecting Japanese tourist.

Waikiki is mayhem - banana boats, novice surfers and paddlebaorders claim every inch of the water and beach towels leave little space for actual sand. Made for some fascinating people watching. Behind the beach is mall upon mall and every designer store imaginable. Exhausting, even for me. But still, I wasn't sensing much of a Hawaiian vibe - we didn't hear so much as a whisper of a grass skirt or glimpse a coconut bra all day. I was beginning to feel a bit disappointed at how un-Hawaiian our first day had been although I think Stef was pretty relieved. Then I heard about a nightly, free hula show that was performed at sunset by the beach. So I dragged Stef along, only to find it wasn't on that night, despite it being 'nightly.'

Thankfully, we found a cheap tiki bar serving $5 mai tais so that helped ease the pain. And as we left we heard the faint strains of a steel guitar and a hula song drifting over from the beach - some local guys had gathered to play, so we had our own impromptu Hawaiian night after all.

Next day we decided to climb up to the summit of the Diamond Head volcano in 30 degree heat. Diamond Head is an extant volcano that overlooks Honolulu. A military base was once stationed inside the actual crater iduring WWII, but these days the crater has been turned into a car park (God bless America!)
We avoided taking the bus to the top and decided to walk the seven mile round trip. It's pretty crazy - part of the climb is through disused military tunnels and you walk through look-outs and gun turrets. The view over Honolulu and Waikiki from the top is amazing. It actually looks quite beautiful.
To cool off after the slog we went (well attempted) stand up paddling surfing, a favourite Hawaiian past time. Mainly just so we could say we'd surfed off Waikiki beach. In reality I spent most of the time falling into the water and trying to avoid decapitating the hundreds of people swimming around me with my board. Stef was more successful and managed a full ten mins without going in the drink. I timed him (I'd given up and was sitting on my board by this stage!)
After a few days, Honolulu is exhausting, even I was experiencing shoppping-fatigue - so we've decided to hire a car and take a trip around the island to discover the 'real' Oahu away from the crowds...
More on that another time,
Love Beth xxx