Passing Through Oahu
Trip Start
Nov 12, 2007
1
39
40
Trip End
Aug 01, 2008
Oahu,
Hawaii,
United States
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Although there is some surfing there as it is on the south of the island it does not get the famous waves we were hoping to see. There are actually several breakwaters providing plenty of family swimming areas though Emma is always nervous when I am in the waves. She was not too impressed when someone 20 yards from me had to be rescued but it turned out he had a medical problem and eventually the allure of the blue waters tempted Emma in too.
The Waikiki area is heaving with traffic and people and there are designer shops and tourist shops everywhere. However despite this the beach with its palm trees does have a certain magic especially when viewed from a beachside restaurant as the sun goes down.
We took a trip to Pearl Harbour which is quite a lengthy process. Although it is not far you have to wait your turn for a trip out in a boat to the memorial and when we arrived it was 3 hours. Fortunately we were able to do a bus siteseeing tour round town in the waiting period.
The harbour looks ordinary but the accompanying film and memorial are quite moving. Over 2000 died most of them on one ship the Arizona which is still in the water in the harbour. The top can be seen from the memorial. Oil leaking to the surface is still visible after over 66 years. Some believe it is topped up but we were assured this was not the case.
There are a lot of Japanese tourists here and it was quite amusing that the film was very balanced praising the Japanese bravery and saying it was a matter of honour that they had to attack. Although the American's ultimate victory was mentioned there was not a word about the nuclear attacks which I thought left a gap in the story.
We escaped the crowds again for a scenic tour of part of the island including a visit to a beach where one of my cousins got married not too long ago ( I can see why you chose it Cath)
