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  • New Year's Day Visit

    I was just the on Oahu and Kailua-Kona this New Years day for 2 weeks and it was NOT enuff. My girlfriend now is a haole (sorry, no pun intended) and I did take her to Hale Koa for dinner, to show her what the military enjoys, she was awed at the nice hotel and the ocean at Waikiki, I told her it gets better, after dinner, we went to Aloha market to listen to Hawaiian bands and enjoyed the fireworks. Also took her to Plynesian Cultural Center and did the ali'i luau, nice too, I'll have to ask you all for another suggestion for a luau besides PCC. We only had 3 days there on Oahu and the rest spent in KOna. We stayed at Bellow Air Force Base (I'm military) and the cabins were right on the water, she was awed and we woke up each day to the sounds of the crashing waves offshore.

    At Kona, we spent each day enjoying the sun, I actually got more sunburn that her, and I'm Filipino, weird huh? Snorkeling and just enjoying Hawaii was just one of the best vacations I've ever taken. I've been around the world, thanks to the Navy but Hawaii will always be in my heart and will always come back to. Only I wish I can make it and call it Home. Missing Hawaii till then.

    Aloha to everyone.
    - Manuel

  • #2
    Re: New Year's Day Visit

    Aloha, Manuel - you got me wondering about something. You asked for recommendations about lu`au other than PCC, so I pose this to folks in the Islands...

    My assumption about ALL commercial lu`au in Hawai`i is that they probably have a high percentage of "show for (relatively ignorant) tourists" and very little that is "authentic." I think it would be hard to stay in business otherwise. The most "authentic" lu`au I've been to are never public events - rather, they are thrown by families/friends/etc.

    Tourists always ask where to find "authentic" things in Hawai`i, not just lu`au; but can tourists ever really get to a truly authentic level? Would they understand it if they did? Example:
    Most times when I go back to visit the Alpha Female's Kane`ohe family, she asks me if I'd like to go do at least one "touristy" activity. A few years ago, we went on a guided tour of `Iolani Palace. Near the end, one tourist got into an argument with the docent, regarding "how much better off Hawaiians were under the US government, how happy they were to throw off the shackles of their repressive monarchs" and so on ... I'm not the violent type, but he really made us furious with his display of ignorance. We stayed after the tour and talked at length with the docent (as I had some questions about Queen Liliu`okalani, since I had just read her book.) Finally, I had to ask her how often she gets that kind of ignorant tourist on her tours. She said, "every day...every single day." She shrugged it off and said she can't let it get to her anymore, or she would have to stop giving tours.

    It makes me realize that most malihini wouldn't know how to deal with "authentic" if it bit their okole. So my guess is - you want authentic? Spend much more time in Hawai`i, open your mind & close your mouth, learn, study, absorb, understand, see the downsides to "paradise," recognize that Hawai`i doesn't function like any other place you've ever been. If you can't do that, then just come and spend money, make note of how much you "love the happy natives," then go home with your sunburn, puka shell necklaces and souvenir mai-tai glasses.

    Manuel - this rant isn't aimed at you by any means, nor anyone in particular; I'm just in one of those moods today where I have a low tolerance for people who profess to want to see "the real Hawai`i," but that isn't what they want at all. The "real" Hawai`i can sometimes be ugly and filthy, just like anyplace in the world, but it takes a lot of effort to see the distinct and unique beauty that co-exists right along with the ugliness. More effort than most are willing to make.

    And dammit, I'm not even from the Islands, so where do I get off ranting like this???

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: New Year's Day Visit

      Aloha and Mahalo to you, Leo Lakio
      You're right about a luau. I lived on Oahu for a few years and yes the best luau is the ones our family had.
      - Manuel

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: New Year's Day Visit

        Originally posted by Leo Lakio
        The most "authentic" lu`au I've been to are never public events - rather, they are thrown by families/friends/etc.
        Or churches, or community groups. And yes, none of the commercial lu`au come close.

        Tourists always ask where to find "authentic" things in Hawai`i, not just lu`au; but can tourists ever really get to a truly authentic level?
        Yes. Rarely.

        Would they understand it if they did?
        Not usually. Sadly.

        Good post, Leo. But don't let the stupid ones get to you. Gotta learn to just sigh and shrug it off. Can't teach 'em all; just gotta take it one tourist at a time and try to help them however we can. Takes a lot of patience.
        .
        .

        That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: New Year's Day Visit

          Originally posted by LikaNui
          just gotta take it one tourist at a time and try to help them however we can.
          Yeah *sigh* - they say no one has more zeal than the convert. But I was once one of the ignorant tourists (now, I just consider myself among the "less ignorant," but I am by no stretch a "local" and likely never will be, even after I live there), and I get into this "I can learn and so can you" mode sometimes. I gotta remember that not everyone WANTS to learn the same things I do --- especially if it ruins their personal concepts of Hawai`i.
          For some folks, their daily lives might be a living hell - and Hawai`i has always been marketed as a place to "get away from it all," where you don't need a passport, or have to learn a monetary conversion rate, or get shots first. Who am I to ruin it for them?

          (Now, where did I put my chill-out meds?)
          Last edited by Leo Lakio; January 26, 2006, 01:15 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: New Year's Day Visit

            So the Alpha Female, after hearing about my rants, wondered if there was a variation on "coconut," "banana," "oreo," etc., that would have applied to me yesterday: white on the outside, bitter on the inside?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: New Year's Day Visit

              Originally posted by Leo Lakio

              white on the outside, bitter on the inside?
              Umm...I think what you're describing would be more like a "pill".

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: New Year's Day Visit

                Originally posted by lurkah
                Umm...I think what you're describing would be more like a "pill".
                I'll go with that...

                Comment

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