Let's ditch this icy cold city for a tropical paradise. Around early June we went for a two-weeks getaway and treat ourselves with some sun-kissed oasis and found serenity in a lush tropical haven. The place that we visited was none other than, Hawaii, babieh...
We flew with Jetstar that took around nine and half hours direct from Sydney to Honolulu (I heard that Jetstar will no longer operate flights for this route by October this year). Anyway, Qantas is still running as normal. On the flight, we pre-booked the meal and entertainment which cost us cheaper than buy it up there. We got the beef lasagna and it was delicious. So cheesy and creamy. It was better than I expected to be honest.
Our flight was leaving Sydney in the late afternoon and arrived like 5 am in Honolulu. It could be good and bad. Good that we have the full day but bad because Sydney time was kinda still midnight. So, we were extremely exhausted and sleepy. We bet our luck and headed straight to our hotel hoping that our room is ready. There were so many taxis on the taxi stand. It is very convenient if you don't mind paying a little bit more expensive. Otherwise, you can call Uber. For taxi ride to Waikiki, we paid $56 USD including tips and other fees. Not bad actually.
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| Taxi stands @ the airport |
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| Stay Hotel Waikiki |
It was nearly 8 am when we checked-in. We were soooo lucky, there was room available and we can get in straight away (without paying any early check-in fee too). We dropped our stuff in the room and grabbed a quick breakfast (I planned to get something from the famous Musubi store near the hotel, but the queue was unbelievable so we changed direction to an ABC store instead). And free coffee is available in our hotel lounge. That was enough for morning snacks.
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| Complimentary coffee at Stay Hotel |
We chose this hotel because of their location and reasonable price. It is not a 5-star hotel. It has parking space underneath the hotel; however, it is limited and on the first come first serve basis. You need to pay USD 45/per night for a car park. There is coin laundry facility, beside there isn't much from the hotel. Oh!!! Filtered water machine is also available near reception. You can also borrow some beach towels, beach seats and umbrella, but again these stuffs tend to run out very quick. So, do come early and get them from the reception.
The room itself is pretty spacious. There is queen bed and sofa bed, so very comfortable for the four of us.
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| Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Statue |
Right after breakfast, we had a snooze and when woke up again, it was sometime in the afternoon. Feeling fresh and power up, we went for a city stroll and a hunt for some delicious dinner.
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| Waikiki beach |
We didn't go too far and stopped in International Market Place for dinner. Nothing really planned for tonight's dinner. Just go with the flow. We spotted this poke restaurant on the second floor. Bought two bowls of poke for a start. Then we got more food from Kuhio Ave Food Hall on the ground floor.
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| Shrimp and salmon poke bowl USD 18.75 |
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| Spicy tuna poke bowl USD 18.75 |
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| Baby back ribs with 3 sides USD 19 |
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| Hawaiian Pizza from Aloha Pizzeria |
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| Let's toast for a wonderful trip |
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| Shave ice USD 8 |
As we walked back to our hotel, we saw this shave ice from a Korean food truck. Not from one of my list of places to try though (like Waiola or Matsumoto) but why not!!! We did not know how shave ice taste, but this first one that we got was totally below standard. It was kinda plain grated ice with some flavoured syrup. No wow factor at all!!! But it didn't stop us to try more shave ice from another store (Shave ice from Waiola blew my mind and made me understand why they are so popular, will be in my later post - so stay tuned all).
2424 Koa Ave, Honolulu
Ph: +1 808 923 7829
International Market Place, Shop 208, 2330 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu
Ph: +1 808 501 0388
Cheehoo BBQ
In Kuhio Ave Food Hall
Open: Daily 11:00 - 19:00
Aloha Pizzeria
In Kuhio Ave Food Hall
Ph: +1 808 470 3463
Open: Daily 11:00 - 19:00
