The beaches at Hawaii are really too gorgeous to be real.. I love the waves, the beautiful people that are strutting around with their surfboards, children laughing gleefully as the mini waves sweep them to shore... Hawaii is the place I wanna go back the most.. There's still so many islands of beautiful beaches to be explored...
A rainbow! But unfortunately, the light drizzle resulted in my face being blurred. =(
We were at the beach for 3 of the 4 days that we were in Honolulu and these 4 days were the happiest I have ever seen Lin be. =)
*** Pearl Harbor
Me and my battalion of 2 kids who were ignoring me...
Pearl Harbor was incredibly quiet and peaceful. So serene that it was hard to imagine that half a century ago, drones and drones of kamikaze planes dove down into the ships that were dorked here.
The USS Arizona, which was sunk in just 9 minutes. The bodies were never recovered and they constructed a memorial diagonally across the sunken ship, which became the eternal tomb for some 1000+ sailors and marines that died on 7 December, 1941.
That's one of the turrets of the USS Arizona.
( I like that "goofy" guy. haha)
It was a pretty moving experience onboard the USS Arizona Memorial. You don't have to be an American to feel their grief over what happened.
The battleship had just topped up its fuel on that fateful day and even till this day, petrol still leaks out from this fallen ship.
The USS Missouri, where World War II came to an end. The Japanese signed their surrender on the deck of this battleship on September 2, 1945.
*** There's Never a Good Time to Say Goodbye
The last American sunset finally set on us on the 15th of July. It was a sad feeling knowing that it was time for us to head back home to Singapore. It's not that we didn't miss our families and friends, but these 2 months were really really awesome.
We saw something new every day. It certainly wasn't easy travelling to so many states with our heavy luggages. Altogether, we boarded 12 planes in that 2 months alone, but the adrenaline of discovering new things with each other drove us on every single day.
There's never a good time to say goodbye, but I'm sure I will be back one day. =)
( I love the Hawaiin car plate!)
Kennyster @
7:41 PM
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Honolulu
Paradise really does exist somewhere in this world.
Lovely beaches, huge waves, united nation of bikini babes, dormant volcanos, waterfalls, jungle trails, Pearl Harbour, Oahu has it all. 4 days was simply too short a time to fully explore Hawaii... It aint Sentosa! But nonetheless, we really had a memorable experience on Oahu, no doubt won over by its strong aloha spirit of love and friendship.
The most distinctive thing about Oahu is probably the demographics- majority of its population are Asians and Japanese are EVERYWHERE on Oahu. So large is their tourist base that most shops have assistants that speak Japanese, restaurants have separate Japanese menus, Honolulu Airport has a terminal fully devoted to Japan Airlines while the rest of the int airlines crammed into another one.
Pretty ironic considering this is where Pearl Harbour is and it seems like the States didn't quite get back Hawaii did it? Or is this some peace treaty where Japan pledges gazillion of yen to Honolulu's tourist market? haha.
Anyway, practically throughout our stay in Oahu, we were mistook as Japanese, were greeted in Japanese in shops, were given Japanese menus which I could not apprehend, and there were times when I actually felt apologetic that I couldn't speak Japanese for nuts.
Diamond Head Crater
On the second day, we hiked and conquered the 750 foot tall volcano.
(Trying to cheer Lin up after I made her cry.. haha.. Can't remember why but I think it was because I was impatient and walked too fast for her to catch up.. )
All smiles before we started our hour plus hike...
Pretty interesting hike, quite different from those in the Rockies, Yosemite and Grand Canyon in the sense that there were many man made elements such as dungeon walkways, 99 steps and the spiral staircase from hell.
The 360 degree view from atop Diamond Head Crater was definitely well worth the hike. It was very beautiful. Really.
The world famous Waikiki Beach
Lin and Hanauma Bay, the place to go snorkelling in Oahu.
That's Waimea Valley where Kualoa Ranch is. A pretty famous spot where many Hollywood blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, Godzilla (the footprint is still there), Windtalkers and more recently, Lost were filmed.
(Rewarding myself after the hike)
Kennyster @
1:25 AM
Saturday, September 02, 2006
It's been 576 days. =)
Kennyster @
2:45 PM
The Unpretty
Kenny Loh
23
Formerly from Dunman High, VJC and formerly a proud member of the 2SIR 11th mono Alpha Company Apache warriors.
Currenly a 3rd year student at the Singapore Management University.
I'm into books, pool, soccer & conversation (by day), justice, honour & vengeance (by night).
Constantly on the lookout for crimelords, deformed megalomaniacs and women.
