First Day in the Islands

My SUMMER vacation finally begun. I am a such a bargain hunter when it comes to travel deals (I would be a huge enemy if I were our customer from what I make my living from!)

The flight was 6 am - left an airport hotel at 4. No matter how much I am a morning person, it would be a torture to drive down from Ft. Collins at 3 in morning. Arrived at the United Counter - I think this was the first time that I was at an airline counter before they opened. I had to wait for half hour. The flight was on schedule - United have been charging $15 for a first piece of luggage for a while but now, they give you 20% off (so $12) if you check in and pay for it online prior. It is really sad....

The plane was 777. I can't remember when was the last time I took a larger plane with 2-5-2 seatings. Since Denver is a hub for United, we can take non stop flights pretty much no matter where you go and schedules are frequent so most airplanes they use are smaller 737, 757 or A320. Just got used to it and whenever I see larger ones (like all 747's in Tokyo or Heathrow), I easily get amused). The passengers are mostly honeymooners or college sport teams. Not many seniors as I always see in flights to Hawaii.

After a 5 hour flight, the United flight arrived in Honolulu Int'l airport. Instead of taking a cab, of course, I hopped in a $15 round trip shuttle. My hotel is almost at the end of Waikiki's main street, Kalakaua Avenue. I expected to make 50 stops before getting there (but only 3 stops this time).

The tourism industry in the island has gotten hurt because of the bad economy. It heavily depends on Japanese tourists. A TV news was saying 20% down from the same time of the last year. It is a HUGE decrease. There is no flood of Japanese honeymooners nor families. There is no party loving Americans escaping from cold weather back home either. I don't even know how Chanel, Prada, and all "French" brand shops could survive here (yes Japanese come to Hawaii to buy French brand cloths Crazy eh?). Instead, Old Navy looks busy.


The hotel I am staying is certainly not a 4 star but decent good one along the beach - I paid less than $100 + tax AND breakfast included. As you see the photo, the view from my room is magnificent - didn't expect this from what I paid. Yes, the economy here is THAT bad.... all hotels are upgrading many guests even they book rooms as their specials and try to spread word-of-mouth and expect repeaters until the condition is back again.

After walking the downtown area, I had dinner at a restaurant for "Okonomiyaki" (Japanese savory pancakes). Sitting at counter and chatting with chefs in Japanese was really a treat. They found me a low maintenance guy or what. My meal was fixed by an American guy who just moved from St. Louis who is still learning all tricks for this Japanese specialty. All the other Japanese chefs kept their eyes on him and chuckled once in a while. Voila. David did an excellent job.