already here on the island of Kauai (reads Ka-ua-i, but usually they pronounce Kh-ua-i) for … more than 2 weeks, we visited most of the free place on the island but the best day was yesterday.

we went to Poipu (Po-i-pu) beach yesterday (Sunday here on Kauai), it wasn’t a sunny day, though, but the shades aren’t cause by rain clouds, it was caused by the Vog, Vocano Fogs = Vog! the volcano at big island is spouting volcano dust! so the dust covered the sun a little. how ever, it makes the weather even better because it is not so hot.

we rent a body board and some snorkeling gears and hit the beach. Poipu is at the south end of the island, and the wave was pretty okay yesterday, biggest that i had seen since i’m here.

so at first me and chin went snorkeling, you can see many coral fish like only 10 feets from the beach, quite a lot of them, it’s always fun to snorkel but the current was pretty strong, often time i’m like working on a treadmill, i swim hard with the fin but i’m still at the same place, but anyway, it is still a lot of fun. i bet snorkeling at the north shore at Ke’e beach is even more exciting because the sea bottom is so different, it’s neither sandy or rocky, i think it’s a huge area of lava floor, note that i said floor not rocks, it really is a floor. i hope i can go there again and take some pictures with my WP-1 but unfortunately one of the car broke down today when we visit Fern Grotto, i hope the car can be fixed by tomorrow, and so we can go to north shore again… because we still need to go to visit Queen’s Bath, it’s a kinda ‘’secret” spot , it’s not on the tourist map too often, but locals know that place. it’s located inside Princeville, it’s kinda residential area so maybe that is why they don’t make that beautiful place into a tourist spot. it’s actually at some dude’s backyard … told ya, can’t beleive these ppl lives in a place like this. the scenary is just super.

it is at Queen’s Bath that i first saw the sea turtles of Hawaii, many of them, like 6 - 7 sea turtles playing at the rocky shore with the strong surf, some people went closer to have a better look, then 1 of the sea turtle put up it’s head to stare at that watcher, it’s so close, like 8 feet, it sure is a very curious sea turtle.

my second encounter with the sea turtles was on Poipu, yesterday. i went to the little bay that is packed with local kids and untaned mainladers (which means that spot is for kids and newby, if the fler is a seasoned water sportsman he would’ve been heavily taned) with bodyboards, then i paddle out to the line up and wait for waves, that is where i saw big sea turtles playing like only 10 to 15 feets away from me, they flip around, stick their heads or fins out from the water, that’s why i can see them. i think the surfers will really meet sea turtles because the surfers need to paddle out more further, so i think it really is possible to surf with sea turtles, ofcause only if they dont bites. but i heard sea turtles gathers for jelly fish, and the gathering of sea turtles gets the sharks attention … that’s how a teenage Kauai surfer girl Bethany Hamilton lost her arm. and i heard 1 the surfers said dont and never pee in the sea, the smell of the pee is even more luring than blood to the sharks. cuz sharks traces their victim with the pees!

and the wave was big, i mean, big in cherating standard lah … it’s like 1.5 man tall beach break, it’s not really surfable because the tall wave collapse really fast, so before you can slides down the slope of the wave it already collapse from the top and swallow you to the bottom. though everybody on the beach was so excited. but it is also pretty dangerous because the bay is very packed, the strong waves can push you real fast and if you crash with another fler, it can cause injuries. the strong wave is like a giant washing machine that washes and spins everybody in it, dangerous, but that is the fun part of the sport and so every kids were stoked. another thing is there are rocks at both the corner of the little bay, if the waves pushes you towards the rocks with your head first, it’s guaranteed an ambulance case.

but then again, it was really fun. i only managed to catch a 2 or 3 waves, but to experience such a strong wave is fun enough. i cabot when the waves gets really strong, it’s like a huge wash that slam you towards the sand, and since waves comes in set, so when the first one hits you, before you can stand up and refocus yourself, the 2nd come, and you slam again, then the 3rd, then you slam again. it is so ambarassing because there are quite a few bikini chicks watching when i get slamed by the wave, so i think i better just quit.

and just when we were about to leave the beach, guess what! we saw a hot rods gathering! though not many of them, like only 10 - 12 cars but it’s all really cool rods!! this is the first time i see real hot rods, they are so finely crafted, putting every detail in to concern, chromed motors, huge tyres, glassy paint, kustom graphics and all~! i hope i can put the pictures up now for you guys to see these kustom rides but sorry no pictures yet .. because the connection speed here on this computer is only 49.8Kbps … it takes 2 hours to upload 20 pictures …

We went out from the hotel early in the morning, we didn’t join aunty aida and uncle shen for breakfast, so we went to a supermarket with a little japanese food counter and ordered an oyakodon, again. We didn’t really know where we should go, at first we wanna go to the Pearl Harbour and USS Arizona memorial, but we’re worrying that we might not have enough time to do so cuz we need to go back to the hotel by 1pm and rush to the airport from there for the flight to Kauai on 3:25pm.

and then we finally decide to go walk around the waikiki area again.

found this shop at some back lane, it’s a shop for surfboard rental. i think it should be cheaper here than renting it from those on the waikiki beach, cuz there’s a few japanese came here to rent the boards. these boards are also for sale. up there on the ceilling is a really beautiful Gun. Gun is the kind of board they ride in bigger waves, the tip and the tail are both pointy, it’s longer but narrow, so it cuts through the water surface and goes really fast. this one is a beauty, look at the wood grain, i wish i can have one of these! but this one right here probably cost a thousand US dollar.

more boards,

and even more.

further down the street we saw this really blooming tree, it is so so so beautiful!

this baby pipit came out from the bush asking for food, not afraid of human.

and the pillar for the street lamps and power lines are all 1 piece of raw timble.

as we lepak around the residential area of waikiki, we saw this car parking under an . it’s a Thunderbird but i kinda forgot Thunderbird is a ford or what … it should be a Ford? but what ever, i like classic rides, so we gotta pose with this old bird.

we took a lot of pictures of this ride …

untill the owner come out, it’s the old gentlement behind chin, he asked, you wanna buy this car? we say we’ld love too but we can’t. and then he say u wanna take a look inside? then he unlock the door, and tell us just close it back when you leave, then he left.

and so we gotto pose inside the car~!

i think the owner’s name is christ, he says he own this car since 1970’s, he is the first hand owner.

VW Surfer Van ~ i took too much pictures of the street cars, this is 1 of them.

and then we saw this old lady sitting in front of the waikiki zoo, she looks really different, her style is kinda tribal but elegant, so i took a picture of her.

and we get to the not so crowded end of waikiki beach, Kapiolani Park.

another surf statue.

life guard and their hut.

we really got nothing to do so we lay on the grass and take a nap, we sleep there for an hour. nobody gives a damn about you and you know you wouldn’t get stabbed by robbers. behind us is an old uncle with a pair of shocking yellow g-string, he is trying to tan his butt. we should had taken a picture of him.

we wake up after a really cozy nap, we walk back. some sign board on our way back.

we walk pass the place where bodyboarders surfs, these local kids are diving into the sea from the wave blocking stone structure.

more cars, a refurb, pimp out Pontiac Firebird, i think …

and then we settle our lunch here, burger and sandwiches are the only cheap thing here on waikiki beach i guess. burgers from fast food chain or sandwiches from convinient stores.

and afterward we fly to Kauai.

like i said, surfers everywhere, it’s like everybody are carrying surfboards, and many cars has surfboards tied down on the roof of their car, or big ass trucks carrying surfboards. a lot of Ford Mustang, Chrysler 300C, and all kinds of cars that i used to only saw them on Hotwheels racks. lol.

honey skined honey.

boards rental,

more boards rental, it’s the mecha of surfing. i should have come by winter, because winter is when the giant waves ripping the shoreline.

tourist bus on Oahu, USD2 for a ride, they call it trolley. this bus is filled by japanese.

The sun is hot when you’re exposing under it, but whenever u’re under a shade, the weather is actually a little bit cold, with the strong wind sometimes it could be even more colder. and the birds here aren’t afraid of the crowds. i’m not sure about other places, but hawaii is paradise, no doubt. the weather, the scenary, the facilities, the relation between human and animal and nature…

the human and animal and nature. seal and surfer sharing their surf, that’s the spirit.

1 big giant super clean swim/surfable jaccuzi. look at the waves and how everybody enjoys it.

no surfboards allowed on this spot, but the bodyboarders are having great fun here.

and ofcuz a god is needed for the mecha. worship the god - Duke Paoa Kamanamoku. an olympic swiming champion, and the father of modern surfing. surfing was the sport of the kings of hawaii. swimming too is another royal sport. and nope please dont mix your 100m swimming pool swimming with their swimming, they swim in the pacific ocean, dealing with under towing current, waves, reefs and sharks.

the T&C (Town & Country) surf shop in waikiki area, international market place. there are a lot of chinese running their souvineir business in international market place, taiwanese and hongkees.

night at the waikiki area, this bicycle shaped sculpture is where they park and lock their bicycles to. saw a lot of those “fixed gear” bike that the milk mag keep on promoting, i think these ppl here ride it for daily life not for the hype. they do ride 1 kind of bike that is so elegant, it’s shapes curves really retro-ish, the wheels are biger and thicker than usual, should had taken a better pix of those bike.

Quiksilver flagship shop waikiki, they put 2 really huge standup paddling board on the front door, not sure if i can take a picture of it. there are 2 or 3 billabong or quiksilver shops here in waikiki, i get a little bit confuse which one is which one. but generally, surfshorts for USD50 and epoxy swallowtailed fishboards for USD750, that’s freaking expensives.

first one on the left is a swallowtail fish, damn expensive! the one in the middle is a funboard, and the one on the right is a long board, maybe a standup paddling board.

Harley Davidson shop waikiki, a custom chopper, really cool.

afterward we go back to our hotel room, took a few night scene. the moon is very bright but u can’t see it here, it’s on the other side, and the sky has no cloud, it’s a very very very good night, so we decided to go out with the tripod to take some long exposures shot. but they are all in RAW format and i dont have the proper software of it, so i think i’ll upload them someother time.

ya i know today is already the 4th day here in Hawaii and i’m still nagging about the first 2 days. today i FINALLY got a wire with the US plug for all my 3 devices, the DV, the DSLR, and the laptop. couldnt find a cheap traveller adapter, ebay has them at USD6 inclusive of shipping from hk to US, but i’m not sure how long its gonna take for it to get here since the seller is in HK.

then we went to SEARS to look for it and the only one they have is a USD49.99 dunno what Lewis Clerk the traveller accesories makers, and that is still without the hawaii tax of 0.4116 something %, so i end up getting a power cable at Radioshack, it’s the same cable for our appliances only its with the US plug. it’s US9.99 , not cheap for a stupid piece of wire, but atleast cheaper than those fancy adapters. thanks mo zang for helping me to googled, yap i did tried to googled and i had tried amazon, but none of them beat the price of the US$6 ebay deal and they all gonna take some time to be post, so i went radioshack~

so here are the pix.

some eatery at shuvarnabhumi air port bkk.

transiting at Taipei Tao Yuan Air port.

The jet at Tao Yuan.

Sua Goo goes to Narita Tokyo!

“5th Avenue Narita Tokyo” …

it means ho-no-lu-lu, 7:15pm local time

the middle class crowd

the same airliner in Narita

the in flight meal, yeah .. again.

30000ft night, the moonlight brightened the sky and the sky was so blue…

just another shot, actually i took many pictures here, but all in RAW format, i cant convert now.

everybody are sleeping but not me, and it’s only half way…

i’m not sure if i had flied the entire day, or it is only the morning of another timezone, this is where i messed up my dates.

the clouds on the pacific ocean.

getting there, finally.

first land i saw in the pacific ocean

landing honolulu!

Reefs!

Welcome to Hawaii! passage way to the arrival hall.

and then we check in to Hotel Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and saw Waikiki beach from 24th Floor.

Uncle shen trying to look for dim sum place, but we end up coming here, the Cheesecake factory, where we settled our lunch, the cheesecake is very different, it’s like ice cream but it’s not ice cream.

the flower and the big tree at the pool area of a luxury hotel opposite the road, by the waikiki beach.

this is what you see everywhere, surfers, surfboards, bikini babes, japanese, mainlanders and locals. local girls are very pretty, they have those pacific polynesian face, some looks like asian but that is probably they are the descendent of the japanese imigrants, or japan mix. many of them has perfect figure, but i heard when they get older they all gets really big like submarine.

a good day.

we didn’t really went anywhere yesterday, only went Hanamaulu bay to surf. okay now i atleast soaked myself in the pacific ocean for once. My aunty insist I should just go with the boogy board but i end up renting a 9ft board, it’s really thick and long and super heavy, cuz i thought now i guaranteed can take off with this flooty giant.

but damn i was wrong. at first i followed what the beach boy told me, to follow a channel where it is the easiest path to get to the breaks. okay i followed what he said, and there ya go, there’s the bloody current, or was it the wave, i paddle and paddle and paddle and i always found myself traped at the same spot, i cant move forward, that was exhausting. surfers keeps taking off, surf in, then paddled out, take off surf in then paddle out again, and i’m still traped. i wonder why they can paddle against the current so easily, why is it so difficult to me? im already using a bigger and widder and thicker board and i still cant advance. but at last i found the right path, i should paddle all the way left to get away from the pulling force, and turn back in to the right spot.

and that took me an hour ………………. how ever i did manage to take off once, but the board is so heavy i couldn’t turn it with my food, and then i’m heading straight to the big rock so i slam myself into the water. 3 feets down there are reefs, reefs are no good they cuts you like razor. beach boy told me i should never fall into the water head first, always sideward instead. so don’t playplay.

i was out there and forgot about the time, i’m suppose to come back after an hour but paddling out already took me an hour, and another 40 mins to catch a wave to surf for like 5 secs ….. so i was late to return the board, luckily the beach boys didn’t give me black face.

then we got home, and uncle shen teach us a dish, it was delicious. and this day is friday.

the next day, which is today, saturday, in the morning we had our porridge for breakfast. then we starts making Flen as dessert for the dinner. Uncle shen teaches us step by step how to make this super delicious flen thing, now i can make it at home for my mother.

and then we make Italian salad for lunch, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme and fennel seeds, these are the new herbs that i had learned. and this italian salad is delecious!

later by 12pm we starts our journey to princeville, uncle shen went there for his Bridge game with his buddies, and then i took over the driver seat and for my first time, drives around sitting on the left. I thought it was simple but it’s pretty confusing, everything is tricky especially when dealing with junctions, and turning signal trigger, i keep switching on the bloody wiper, because wiper IS SUPPOSED to beo on my right hand, but here, it’s on the left of yer steering wheels. but after all, i love driving and i think as long as i quart checking before i go, i can totally pick it up within 2 days.

Princeville is where my aunty used to stay, it is an INCREDIBLELY BEAUTIFUL PLACE, if there is paradise, THIS IS PARADISE, i can’t imagine people actually stays in a place like this. it is just an super incredible place to open your eyes every morning. not like the place u must come before you die, but if you lives here, that is first class. it’s a bay surrounded by mountains, great mountains with beautiful facet and shapes.

this is the map of Ka-u-a-i island, princeville is at Hanalei, North Shore.
http://www.hanaleinorthshoreproperties.com/images/KauaiMap_extralarge.jpg

can’t resize my pictures yet so i borrowed from google search. this is the entrance of princeville.

from here u can get to princeville hotel and access to the Bali-hai bay.

here’s the website of this hotel with the incredible volcano landscape. http://www.princeville.com/home.html

pix from google.

pix from flickr ….
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bali+hai+kauai&page=2

this is so lame, this is so totally not the way it is suppose to be, i should be posting my pictures every day! i am so frust by the dry batteries, i need a cable that can plug to the american power points, or an adapter of somesort … i need my pictures and batteris!