Chinatown

[JAvendan]

aloha and hello - lol personal joke there ,

our trip to oahu and maui is VERY close and we're starting to brainstorm about places we want to visit this time out.

my wife wants to go to china town on oahu and i've visited the china town webpage... http://www.chinatownhi.com/index.asp.

friends of ours, here on mainland, say not stay past dark.

so, a day trip okay? there will be 9 of us which includes 5 kids.

i downloaded and printed map (http://www.chinatownhi.com/map.asp) and think we'll give that a try.

any thoughts?

joel

[pzarquon]

Re: china town

A day trip would be fine. Chinatown crawls with locals and visitors alike. Even twilight, especially when "First Friday" (first Friday of the month) is being held, would be good, too. Still, with five kids, you might have more "color" in parts of Chinatown than you'd like to be exposed to after the sun sets.

Our own 1stwahine is an authority on Chinatown, and would make about the most knowledgable tour guide for the neighborhood that I can imagine. I'm sure she'll chime in here.

I love Chinatown, both the places with history and "character" and the places that are finding a new home there, part of an arts and culture renaissance taking hold. A lot of people credit the restoration of the Hawaii Theatre in 1996. It's an area you'll want to experience, if only because it will no doubt be a completely different place within a generation.

Here's a write up of a recent "Chinatown Summit" that covered both the good and bad of the neighborhood, and here's an article that preceded it. Don't let the negatives overwhelm you... as both note, there's a lot to love and appreciate about the area.

[damontucker]

Re: china town

This was in todays paper about an incident Saturday night in China Town!

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...0339/1001/NEWS

But I would say kids are safe there until the sun goes down... just keep them close by as the side walks are very crowded and people don't tend to look at the ground as their walking and I've seen kids literally walked on by people that are too busy looking at the shops and not looking where they are going.

[JAvendan]

Re: china town

thank you both for replying.

yeah... i guess there are good and bad in every town. just have to be smart about where you go and when.

i believe we will visit china town - during the day!

thanks again.

joel

[1stwahine]

Re: china town

Aloha JAvendan!

Chinatown. Lets, begin with…Chinatown, Honolulu. Situated in the heart of downtown Honolulu, Hawai'i ~ Chinatown is a place where locals and tourists come to shop, eat, and experience the various ethnic delicasies in which Chinatown has come to be known for.

It's exciting both day and night. Her rich cultural history is seen and heard daily. The smell of the various ethnic delicasies, produce, products, etc., is to be experienced and enjoyed in person.

It would be an honor for me to take you and your party of nine on a personal tour of Chinatown! FREE of Charge to members of HawaiiThreads.com and Wala'au.org.

Actually, Free to anybody.

My schedule is tight. However, please PM me if you are interested in Auntie Pupule's Chinatown Exclusive Tour (day/night).

Auntie Lynn

btw: Absolutely to TIPS!

[kimo55]

Re: china town

The smell of the various ethnic delicasies, produce, products, etc., is to be experienced and enjoyed in person.

as opposed to logging onto that scratch-n-sniff Chinatown web site we heard about...

[1stwahine]

Re: china town

as opposed to logging onto that scratch-n-sniff Chinatown web site we heard about...

Wat you talking about?

Wea stay? URL please?

I like go scratch and smell too!!!!

Auntie Lynn

[JAvendan]

Re: china town

auntie,

thank you - PM sent.

i agree to tips, too.

joel

[Palolo Joe]

Re: china town

If you want to have a meal with the family, try Indigo.

If you can get rid of the kids for a night, the trifecta of NextDoor, Bar 35 and thirtyninehotel are good picks... Google them with the word "Honolulu" for more details.

Then there's The Dragon Upstairs. It's a new jazz club above Hank's Place. Good buzz on that spot, and it should be open next week, IIRC.

[damontucker]

Re: china town

If you cruise w/ aunty in the daytime... you should be ok anywhere she takes you and I know you will see parts of china town that you will see that you would never have seen with out her and you'll personally be introduced to some of the many people that have lived in China Town all there life

But don't let her take you out at night unless you feel like sleeping off your hangover for the remainder of your vacation

Unless you can handle your booze like a Canadian!

[1stwahine]

Re: china town

auntie,

thank you - PM sent.

i agree to tips, too.

joel

I sent you the information.

As for Tips...I am joking!

Absolutely no TIPS allowed.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Auntie Lynn

[1stwahine]

Re: china town

If you want to have a meal with the family, try Indigo.

If you can get rid of the kids for a night, the trifecta of NextDoor, Bar 35 and thirtyninehotel are good picks... Google them with the word "Honolulu" for more details.

Then there's The Dragon Upstairs. It's a new jazz club above Hank's Place. Good buzz on that spot, and it should be open next week, IIRC.

Palolo Joe, man the places are hopping! Next Door was packed this past weekend. As was Bar35 & thirtyninehotel. Thanks for telling about the new jazz club above Hanks Place ~ I'll go check it out the next time I'm in town.

All the bouncers are my friends. They see me bouncing plenty people too.

Love & Aloha

Auntie Lynn

btw: Great to see you back!

[JAvendan]

Re: china town

thank you, everyone.

this is great stuff.

HT is a great place because of the people who frequent it.

auntie... see you soon!

joel

[Palolo Joe]

Re: china town

Next Door was packed this past weekend. Thanks for telling about the new jazz club above Hanks Place ~ I'll go check it out the next time I'm in town. btw: Great to see you back!

Yup... went to NextDoor and Bar 35 on Saturday. It's a certified Weekend Destination already.

Can't wait to see what Uncle Hank has done with the new place. If you get there before the rest of us Auntie, please let us know what it's like.

And at least one person is happy I'm back... good enough for me.

[tutusue]

Re: china town

[...]Next Door was packed this past weekend.[...]

I recently attended a private event that rented Next Door as it's venue. I love that space 'cept there was no a/c. Don't know if it wasn't working or it doesn't exist. Large fans were placed around the perimeter of the interior. Regardless, I can see it's appeal to the young, trendy, downtown workers. At the end of the event I walked down Hotel St. and over to the FHB building with one of my clients...a guy!...and while the area was certainly littered with, shall we say, colorful people, Dave and I were never approached by anyone or made to feel fearful.

I took a cab to Next Door to avoid any parking problems. The cab driver cautioned me about the area and told me if I was planning to take a cab back to my office that he'd give me his cell # and told me to call from inside the club and to stay there 'til he was almost to the corner of Smith and Hotel. He'd time his call to me so that he and I would arrive at the corner at the same time!!! Must admit, I appreciated his concern.

Like Kakaako, there's a renaissance going on in Chinatown.