Saturday, August 29, 2009
Back on wed!!! Sobz, good times always fly so fast...this trip is special and unique in many ways. Of cuz first, it's my bday that makes it so special, hehe..and also, this trip is much more relaxed than the other trips Cha has planned, cuz Hawaii is a place to relax and go beaching around!! =D
After taking 12 hours of flight, plus 8 hours of overnite at the airport, we finally reached Maui, a little bit exhausted, but very excited!! Cha also decided to rent a Chrysler convertible with an extra $20 per day, so that we can celebrate my bday in grandeur..hehe, not only this lar, but Cha also very gian to drive a performance-oriented convertible. Somemore this is Hawaii!! So must open up the roof and enjoy their sea breeze leh...and hor in spore i think it's extremely costly to drive a Chrysler car, so might as well seize this upgrade offer =D
Maui is a must-go island out of the Hawaiian island chains, because it is much more tourist oriented, with more snorkelling, dinner at the cruise, parasailing, and aerial tour packages...and there are so many gorgeous beaches around... I think a beach lover can just spend the entire vacation beach-hopping on the island...And I super like our accommodation, because it is newly renovated, spacious and most importantly, very clean...Two thumbs up although it is not even a 4 star hotel..
We visited the Lao Valley and did the Road to Hana which consists of various stopover points such as waterfalls and breathtaking beaches along the 60 mile road. But this famous route fell a bit short of our expectation cuz their waterfalls were so small~ The only place which was worth our time (and fuel) is the Black Sands Beach. The sand there is all pure black!! Have never even heard of it, so we find it very interesting to know that they formed as a result of volcanic activities. So used to seeing white sands at the normal beaches, that it feels almost strange to see black shore lining the waters... But the color contrast is really stunning and nice...
We also got visit the Haleakala National park to see the multi-colored volcano craters...We have to drive up to the top and walked to the summit to see the overall view of the various craters. The color combinations of the craters are very nice, and Cha really likes it a lot, so he kept on snapping pictures of the craters. But soon after that I feel really unwell due to low air pressure on higher elevation, so we went back to hotel to start off our first beaching activity!! But at the Wailea Beach, I was constantly swept away and rolled around by the strong currents near the shoreline lor... haiz, so un-glam -_-
On my birthday, we also went beach hopping to see how the various popular beaches look like. Out of these beaches, Napili Bay has the best waters, it was so clear and blue and the beach was relatively quiet, making it very exclusive, as compared to the rest. Finally it's my bday dinner!! But we still cannot decide where to go while I changed into nicer clothes and put on light make up...in the end, we settled for Hawaiian local food at Aloha Mixed Plate (aka Singapore style chai beng), which is cheaper and also has a great ambience...Although there was no complete bday cake, but still I enjoyed this dinner a lot and was completely happy with my chocolate mousse cake with no candle (cuz restaurant ran out of candle liao)...I think this is the happiest bday I've ever had so far, not to mention that this trip is the best bday present I've ever received as well...=D Thanks Cha!!!
Next day was the most fun part of our trip, we did snorkelling at Turtle Island where giant sea turtles could be seen and Molokini which is renowned for its perfect snorkelling location... the water there is so, so nice that it is almost bright blue in color! Water is so crystal clear that when we snorkel from the top, we can actually see everything at the bottom of the ocean with the corals and fishes, so amazing...wahaha, I love snorkelling trips, even though I need lots of flotation devices to help me float =D A pity Cha was sea sick ALL THE WAY and had to stay at the rear to puke, so we were not able to take lots of pics together and snorkel for a longer time at Molokini...And the sad part was...he only recovered on our way back to the harbour and was not able to ingest any BBQ lunch that the tour package offered...haiz...a bit wasted...
The dinner that day was also the highlight of Hawaii! Old Lahaina Laua, is another very expensive package which includes hula performance, buffet local food and free flow of alcoholic drinks, SHIOK! Each tix costs us USD 95 somemore, expensive sia..But one VERY SUAY thing just happened to us 45 min before the feast started. Our CHRYSLER CONVERTIBLE broke down!!!! How unlucky can we get!! So we went thru a lot of trouble trying to call the rental company, made towing arrangements, and given how slow ang mohs work, this thing ding donged for an hr...bo bian we had to take a cab down to the dinner place..Lucky we were not late!
Our mood took for a change when we saw the set up of the dinner feast... Very Hawaiian style, with huts serving drinks, and wooden tables set up around the center stage. The people there welcomed us with leis (flower rings) over our heads and mai tai. The entire set up was placed just next to the oceanside, so that we can enjoy the sunset while waiting for the feast to begin. There were also various demonstrations, such as showing the audience the process of collecting the Kalua pork which was roasted in an underground oven for the entire day (our main dinner course as well)...As we had our dinner, we also got to enjoy the traditional polynesian dances put up by the hula girls and boys at the same time... As I wanted to make our $$ worth, I had around 3 cups of cocktails and one more sangria in our hotel room, in the end had diarrhoea the following day, when we had to catch our flight to Hawaii Island -_-" haiz...next time must remember not to be so gian beng~
I love Hawaii as a whole as I feel that the Hawaiian ppl are really passionate and sincere in their services. Taxi drivers and chambermaids here dun really expect guests to give them any tips, even when we leave $$ in the room for them, they never take!! Totally diff from mainland USA lor...
3:30 PM
