Hi readers! I just enjoyed a fun four days in Oahu, Hawaii. I know there’s a lot more to see outside of Honolulu, not to mention on the several other main islands, but it was really nice to get back to what felt like high civilisation after the rather painful and frustrating end to my time in the central Pacific. My visit to Hawaii began well, with a random flight upgrade just before we left Majuro which put my battered (pun intended!) body in a more comfortable seat. I arrived in the early hours and took a taxi to a cheap hotel to sleep for a few hours before going to my main hotel, The Twin Fin. I was very pleased with the hotel overall as my room had a great view of the ocean and there was quite a lot included in my “resort fee” (though I sadly wasn’t able to make use of any of the watersports inclusions).

I prioritised seeing a doctor on my first day in Hawaii, and I’m glad I did. He reassured me that my burns were healing well but warned me to continue keeping them clean to avoid infection – hence the lack of watersports while I was in Hawaii. I’ve seen a visible improvement every single day and was able to stop taking strong painkillers after around a week. Though I accept responsibility for my own role in ending up so burnt, I wanted to make the point here that there’s still a woeful lack of awareness of how bad sunburn can be and how easily it can happen, especially for photo-sensitive or fair-skinned individuals. The situation is exacerbated if the locals have darker skin and are therefore less likely to burn. I feel there’s still a lot to do in terms of providing facilities, vehicles, tours etc with as much shade as possible. Sometimes, the sun in tropical regions is just too strong for even the highest SPF-rated sunscreens. Alright, that’s the end of my rant!

I began my second day in Hawaii with a trip to a nearby cat cafe which I’d noticed on the way to the airport. The cafe was very clean, and the cats, all of which are up for adoption, were friendly and sweet. It did make me miss my own cats a bit but was a nice use of an hour. I continued the animal theme by going to Honolulu Zoo, which is a small zoo focusing on native species such as the endangered nene goose. They have some large animals too though, including a Komodo dragon, elephants, giraffes and various big cats. I enjoyed an interactive talk by one of the giraffe keepers while I was there.

I finished off the day with a sunset cruise and unlimited cocktails on a catamaran, where I enjoyed some great views of the Hawaiian coast from a different perspective. It was lovely to be out on the water again when it was far too late in the day to get sunburnt! The boat departed from the beach behind one of the most historic hotels on Oahu, which was also nice to see. I got back to my own hotel, within walking distance along the coast, just in time for a stargazing session on the top floor. Though it was too cloudy to see much, the astronomer did manage to show us some bright stars and the moon through the telescope. He took the photo below directly on to my phone using the magnification of the telescope, which was really cool!

The following day was taken up by a full day trip to Pearl Harbor. I was picked up from my hotel by a coach with a particularly informative guide, who told us a lot about the history of Pearl Harbor and some of the people who were involved on that fateful day. We had some free time when we reached Pearl Harbor itself, where there’s a nice visitor centre and several museums and memorials (some of which are only accessible by shuttle bus or boat). I decided to go to the submarine museum, which contained a lot of interesting artefacts and explanations, and also included entry to a real-life WW2 submarine, the USS Bowfin. It was amazing to see how much of the inside of the cramped submarine was taken up with navigational equipment, gauges and mechanisms of all sorts. It must have been quite the challenge to get to know it well, which was required to fully qualify as a submariner!

After my submarine visit, I took the pre-booked boat over to the USS Arizona memorial. The remnants of the ship have been left in place where she exploded and sank after being bombed by the Japanese. A memorial, containing the names of the 1,177 men who died and a small number of their shipmates who survived and later chose to have their ashes interred with the ship, has been constructed over the top. I thought it was a very appropriate and poignant memorial, well worth visiting. I had just enough time to view the other memorials at the main Pearl Harbor site before heading back to the tour bus. I really enjoyed the day and found it particularly interesting after my earlier travels in the central Pacific, where many WW2 battles also took place.

On my final day in Hawaii, I went to a traditional “luau” or cultural celebration. I didn’t think it was worth the $250 for a good seat (and I was right!) so I agreed to attend a timeshare presentation at the Hilton in exchange for a ticket. When I arrived at the Hilton, however, they were too busy to fit me in so they let me return to my hotel without having to endure the presentation, but with the luau ticket! It was a fun evening and I’m glad I went, though also glad that I didn’t pay the high ticket price for it. We began with a tasty dinner and then moved on to a show. I liked that the show incorporated music, dancing and costumes not just from Hawaii but also from other Polynesian and related nations, including New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa and French Polynesia. Some more countries to add to my wish list! I also learnt that Tonga is the only Pacific island nation that has never been colonised. It was a fun end to my time in Hawaii. I enjoyed my stay there more than I thought I would and would love to go back one day and explore some other islands.

After Hawaii, I flew to LA where I’m currently enjoying a retreat organised by my friend, Lizzy. More soon!

Cross-stitch progress update (main stitching all finished!)