Have I told you that I really love it, when the days of the month coincide with the date? Like, Wednesday = 3rd Jan. The fact that it's the first week of the year makes it even more special. Well it's also easier to remember the days and all. Too bad it's already February now. I'm starting to feel really lazy to write up stuff that have happened like one month ago, especially since hardly anyone is tagging and I don't know if anyone is even reading this.
Maybe an update on what I'm doing right now would make a bit more sense. It has been super cold, like, a bit freaky kinda cold. it has gone down to like, -20 deg celsius at the very worst. I've been wearing crappy stuff to work and I am starting to get pissed off that I don't have a pretty coat and pretty boots that are none high heeled to wear that will keep me warm. It is also so cold that I have to wear a beanie which is totally not flattering. It is hair-flattening, but not flattering. So winter sucks. It's pretty but it sucks. Unless you have the money to buy pretty stuff.
How a report of the weather turned into an account of my fashion dilemma, I don't know. I've been pretty busy at work, working til 7 everyday cos I've been trying to finish up my project. Which is finishing up, thankfully. Am really looking forward to a new project in which I can learn much more new stuff.
Maybe an update on what I'm doing right now would make a bit more sense. It has been super cold, like, a bit freaky kinda cold. it has gone down to like, -20 deg celsius at the very worst. I've been wearing crappy stuff to work and I am starting to get pissed off that I don't have a pretty coat and pretty boots that are none high heeled to wear that will keep me warm. It is also so cold that I have to wear a beanie which is totally not flattering. It is hair-flattening, but not flattering. So winter sucks. It's pretty but it sucks. Unless you have the money to buy pretty stuff.
How a report of the weather turned into an account of my fashion dilemma, I don't know. I've been pretty busy at work, working til 7 everyday cos I've been trying to finish up my project. Which is finishing up, thankfully. Am really looking forward to a new project in which I can learn much more new stuff.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Back to Oahu. We woke up to find this on our doorstep. Yummy cookies!
We had arranged for a 'Grand Circle Island' tour by Roberts Hawaii. Thankfully it was part of our Powerpass so we didn't have to fork out extra $$ for it. pb thinks his hair looks cute and Japanese. He kept asking me if it was nice. Hehe. Too bad I couldn't do anything about it cos I'm really failed at hair styling.
Our tour guide was called 'Cousin Gregg'. Don't know why all the tour guides call themselves cousins. We were told to look out for the people seated next to us so that we wouldn't miss anyone out along the way. Also, he said that he would let alternate sides of the bus go down first for each stop we made.
Anyway we first sat on the left side of the bus, but after a while we realised that since we were going up the east coast, all the beaches and pretty scenery were on the right of the bus. So we happily shifted to the back of the bus, on the right after our first stop. When cousin gregg wanted to leave, the american who were seated next to us shouted out and told him that we were still missing.. So nice of him! We had to shout from the back of the bus to assure him that we were there. Heh heh. Cause trouble only. I was also quite worried that people thought we were switching sides so that we could go down first. Haha.
Our tour guide was called 'Cousin Gregg'. Don't know why all the tour guides call themselves cousins. We were told to look out for the people seated next to us so that we wouldn't miss anyone out along the way. Also, he said that he would let alternate sides of the bus go down first for each stop we made.
Anyway we first sat on the left side of the bus, but after a while we realised that since we were going up the east coast, all the beaches and pretty scenery were on the right of the bus. So we happily shifted to the back of the bus, on the right after our first stop. When cousin gregg wanted to leave, the american who were seated next to us shouted out and told him that we were still missing.. So nice of him! We had to shout from the back of the bus to assure him that we were there. Heh heh. Cause trouble only. I was also quite worried that people thought we were switching sides so that we could go down first. Haha.
My Hawaiian hairdo. Hee.
We headed along Waikiki towards Diamond Head, and this was at Haunama Bay, a popular snorkeling site. We promptly got a coffee cos it was so cold and windy! So much for nice warm sunny weather. I had my jacket on all the time!
This pretty beach on the south of Sandy Beach and a blowhole, was shown in the movie From Here to Eternity. It was apparently a very famous steamy scene which I have no idea about cos I haven't watched the movie.
Sandy beach, and a blowhole on the right. The blowhole is something like, a hole that shoots water out now and then. It's cos there's a cave below it and when the water rushes in from below, the water shoots out.
Next we went past Sea Life Park which we had visited yday, and then to the 186-foot Pali Lookout, where King Kamehameha the Great fought his last battle. Cousin Gregg says, King Kamehameha the Great chased the warriors of Oahu up to this point and were told to either surrender, or jump down. Guess what they did? They all jumped down. I thought it was cos they were so loyal and all. But apparently they jumped down because if they didn't and went back to their village, they would be sacrificed anyway. =p
This is a point in the middle of the rainforest, and you could have a good view from the top. However, because it's the rainforest, it always rains there. I've never thought of rainforests that way, I mean singapore has rainforests right but it doesn't rain all the time what. You can see thick heavy clouds surrounding it.. and sure enough, it was drizzling when we got there. The winds are exaggeratedly strong! Could hardly get a good picture since it was so grey and cloudy and windy and drizzly.
This is a point in the middle of the rainforest, and you could have a good view from the top. However, because it's the rainforest, it always rains there. I've never thought of rainforests that way, I mean singapore has rainforests right but it doesn't rain all the time what. You can see thick heavy clouds surrounding it.. and sure enough, it was drizzling when we got there. The winds are exaggeratedly strong! Could hardly get a good picture since it was so grey and cloudy and windy and drizzly.
We were told that the next stop was a toilet break, cos there wasn't gonna be any toilets for the next hours. Cousin gregg continued with some story about some tourist who didn't listen and had to relieve herself in the bushes, and use a leaf as toilet paper. It's crappy stories like these which makes me wonder if the serious things he says are true as well.
Anyway, he said that there was even free pineapple juice and coffee served at the place we were stopping for our break. Sounds fishy eh? Tada.. welcome to the 黑店 of oahu. Even before we parked, there were staff in orchid prints ushering us in.. Haha.. It was some jewellery shop. Luckily I'm over the phase of beads and pearls, so I wasn't bowled over by all the overpriced jewellery. Such things must go thailand and buy.. definitely not in Hawaii. We did enjoy the refreshing pineapple juice though. =)
I'm quite proud to say that the toe nail painting, though not immaculate, was done in a rush right before I stepped out of the hotel. In fact I only did one coat, let it dry while I was walking to the bus, and continued with one more coat on the bus. Haha.. that's what happens when you sleep in late and still feel hiao2.
Next we travelled along the Likelike highway towards Pearl Harbor, and up to the middle of the island to the Helemano Dole Plantation. Guess how do you pronounce Likelike? The hawaiian vowels, aeiou are pronounced 'ah', 'ay', 'ee', 'oh', 'ooh'. so it's 'lee kay lee kay' highway, and 'hay lay mah noh' Dole Plantation. Pretty easy I guess. Time for lunch, at a little canteen of a school for mentally retarded students. It was a nice gesture that the tour company supported the special school. The buffet lunch was cool cos it was chinese food.. yay. They even had a cone of ice cream at the end.. it was good and cheap.
Next we travelled along the Likelike highway towards Pearl Harbor, and up to the middle of the island to the Helemano Dole Plantation. Guess how do you pronounce Likelike? The hawaiian vowels, aeiou are pronounced 'ah', 'ay', 'ee', 'oh', 'ooh'. so it's 'lee kay lee kay' highway, and 'hay lay mah noh' Dole Plantation. Pretty easy I guess. Time for lunch, at a little canteen of a school for mentally retarded students. It was a nice gesture that the tour company supported the special school. The buffet lunch was cool cos it was chinese food.. yay. They even had a cone of ice cream at the end.. it was good and cheap.
The Dole plantation that is right next to the Helemano plantation has the largest maze in the world, in the shape of a pineapple. Haha.. We didn't have the time to try it out though. Anyways, they aren't growing pineapples in hawaii anymore cos it isn't raking in $$ anymore. Yeah, I can't imagine why pineapples could rake in money cos they cost like, SGD1 each in spore? They do cost a lot more here cos they package it nicely in boxes in the airport like it is some exotic fruit. Haha, yea it's exotic to the americans I suppose. So you people in spore.. appreciate your pineapples ok! Tropical fruits are damn exotic!
the boy is permanently stuck to his new toy
After lunch, we headed up through the middle of the island towards the north shore.
coffee plantation, i think. They call hawaiian coffee 'Kona coffee', but I never fell in love with it. I still <3 singaporean kopi!
Next stop: Waimea Bay followed by Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach, with their super huge killer waves!! Notice the orange flags, which mean you aren't supposed to go beyond them. But people surf there anyway. Madness. Ok, the waves don't look that huge from the shore, but they are actually about 3 metres high that day. They can actually go up to 10 metres!! You can tell how high they really are when you compare them to the surfers out there. The surfers actually surf through the tunnel created by the wave.. Don't know what's the term for that.
awesome.
We then drove down the Kamehameha Highway which follows the northern and eastern coast of the island of oahu.
Romy's shrimp and prawn, next to a shrimp farm in Kahuku. Made a mental note to stop here for fresh shrimp. [they call prawns shrimp in the US]
Mountains.. This looks like the Kualoa Ranch in Kailua [but it isn't] which is further down in the island. And Kualoa Ranch was where Jurassic Park was filmed. Didn't have time for a tour of that place though. There are film studios on the island, and Lost is filmed here as well.
Chinaman's Hat. haha, so racist!
This fruit tree was taken at a macadamia nut shop. yesh, another 黑店 but this time I was more appreciative cos I really wanted to buy the nuts cos mummy loves them. pb also bought lots!
hurhur.
No.. we're not in japan! This is the Byodo In Temple. It's a buddhist temple near some cemetery. There was a lady playing the harp in the temple. Very pretty! Complete with a koi pond in front of it.
Sound the bell for fortune and good luck.
gift shop
We headed back to Waikiki after the peaceful little temple. I think pb and me have very short attention spans cos we kept falling asleep during the tour. Hehe. Because our hotel was too low class for the bus to stop at, we stopped at Hyatt instead I think. We headed straight for the beach.
Crazily crowded Waikiki beach, with the Diamond Head crater in the background
We lazed on the beach until we were hungry, and then we headed for Planet Hollywood to redeem our $20 for the day.. Had a Lava-something cocktail in which we could keep the glass. Hehe. Buffalo wings, and ribs + chicken. I spilled my water and the poor waiter had to help clean up. Urgh.
After our dinner, we walked over to the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel to collect tickets for our show that night, the Magic of Polynesia. We walked around after collecting the tickets, and I was greeted by some bird on the indian banyan tree in the Aloha international shopping place. GRR!! So I had to rush back to the hotel to wash it off, before rushing back to the Waikiki beachcomber hotel for our show.
It's a polynesian themed magic show. We caught it cos it was part of the power pass anyway, and we did want to experience some polynesian culture. It turned out to be well, ok I guess? Many of the tricks were very similar, people disappearing and all. We were seated right next to the edge of the stage, so I actually had a very close view of what was happening, and yet I was still fooled. I was most impressed by a trick where they put some cloth as a screen there and suddenly a huge helicopter appeared behind it! Crazy lah!
I really enjoyed the polynesian dances.. the girls are so pretty [fake lashes and all] and they can really shake their hips.I loved the graceful slow dances and music, really makes you feel very relaxed.
One thing that kept us perplexed was that the magic tricks were very similar to that of Magic of Love by pastor khong. I didn't watch that, but apparently he did the snow thing, and the deathtrap thing as well. The similarity in the name is way too coincidental as well, so we concluded that it's probably a franchise or something.
We weren't allowed to take photos and all so boo, no photos at all. Go to the website if you wanna see what it was like.
After the show we walked around in waikiki again. We stumbled upon an art gallery where I fell in love with a piece which featured the Pacific Coast Highway from san francisco, all the way to san diego! It's like a cartoony map of the whole area, and it was so colourful and it even had glittery bits. What made it really stand out was, it was 3d. You know the 3d thing that was so popular in primary school, where you make copies of a picture and cut out segments and layer them on top of each other with silicon so that there are different depths in your whole photo?
It was so beautiful and it really summed up our trip for us. However the price of $3500 wasn't that beautiful. Boo. I can't remember the artist's name as well, only that he was based in New York. Too bad, maybe when we are richer we'll be able to afford one of his pieces for our new home! Heehee.
After our dinner, we walked over to the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel to collect tickets for our show that night, the Magic of Polynesia. We walked around after collecting the tickets, and I was greeted by some bird on the indian banyan tree in the Aloha international shopping place. GRR!! So I had to rush back to the hotel to wash it off, before rushing back to the Waikiki beachcomber hotel for our show.
It's a polynesian themed magic show. We caught it cos it was part of the power pass anyway, and we did want to experience some polynesian culture. It turned out to be well, ok I guess? Many of the tricks were very similar, people disappearing and all. We were seated right next to the edge of the stage, so I actually had a very close view of what was happening, and yet I was still fooled. I was most impressed by a trick where they put some cloth as a screen there and suddenly a huge helicopter appeared behind it! Crazy lah!
I really enjoyed the polynesian dances.. the girls are so pretty [fake lashes and all] and they can really shake their hips.I loved the graceful slow dances and music, really makes you feel very relaxed.
One thing that kept us perplexed was that the magic tricks were very similar to that of Magic of Love by pastor khong. I didn't watch that, but apparently he did the snow thing, and the deathtrap thing as well. The similarity in the name is way too coincidental as well, so we concluded that it's probably a franchise or something.
We weren't allowed to take photos and all so boo, no photos at all. Go to the website if you wanna see what it was like.
After the show we walked around in waikiki again. We stumbled upon an art gallery where I fell in love with a piece which featured the Pacific Coast Highway from san francisco, all the way to san diego! It's like a cartoony map of the whole area, and it was so colourful and it even had glittery bits. What made it really stand out was, it was 3d. You know the 3d thing that was so popular in primary school, where you make copies of a picture and cut out segments and layer them on top of each other with silicon so that there are different depths in your whole photo?
It was so beautiful and it really summed up our trip for us. However the price of $3500 wasn't that beautiful. Boo. I can't remember the artist's name as well, only that he was based in New York. Too bad, maybe when we are richer we'll be able to afford one of his pieces for our new home! Heehee.
No comments:
Post a Comment