Looking beyond the luggage carousel at the airport, the world is a cacophony of infrastructures. There are no skyscrapers to be seen, only a short row of buildings with petite open car parks. Yet expressways and freeways spread themselves zealously over these buildings, blocking out sunshine and light, as if this were any other heavily industrialized corner of the world. In the car park, families from all over pick up their cars, and the chatters of excitement are all about the beautiful rainbow peeking out from behind the clouds. Putting aside the multiple-lane freeways that would take each family to their respective resorts, the lei's around everyone's neck offer glimmers of hope that this is the utopia presented in the high-gloss brochures.
The North Shore proved to be the countryside - chickens strut alongside the main highway, and luscious fruit trees dot the yards of the houses. The resort itself was older. I've never seen Hawaii Five-O, but I assume that's what the buildings looked like back then, too. The interior may have been renovated more recently, but nobody's here for the view of the buildings, so why bother updating them? Being in the middle of "Winter/Spring", it was always windy and stormy first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Yet during the day, the weather never failed to encourage the bon-vivre island feel - tropical, lush (from the earlier rainfall), and full of colour. There were shots I couldn't capture because I was too busy driving the Jeep(!), but it's such a constant, gorgeous treat for the eyes because the colours are vibrant, and they always seem to bring out the best of each other. For example, driving downhill towards the North Shore, the sky was pure blue, with a single flaming orange flower tree (not sure what flowers those were because they were so far away) against the backdrop and the ocean in the background - that was beautiful. Also of note - Kailua/Lanikai Beach, the local secret, and possibly the prettiest, smoothest (sand), aquamarine & pristine beach I've ever seen.
The North Shore proved to be the countryside - chickens strut alongside the main highway, and luscious fruit trees dot the yards of the houses. The resort itself was older. I've never seen Hawaii Five-O, but I assume that's what the buildings looked like back then, too. The interior may have been renovated more recently, but nobody's here for the view of the buildings, so why bother updating them? Being in the middle of "Winter/Spring", it was always windy and stormy first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Yet during the day, the weather never failed to encourage the bon-vivre island feel - tropical, lush (from the earlier rainfall), and full of colour. There were shots I couldn't capture because I was too busy driving the Jeep(!), but it's such a constant, gorgeous treat for the eyes because the colours are vibrant, and they always seem to bring out the best of each other. For example, driving downhill towards the North Shore, the sky was pure blue, with a single flaming orange flower tree (not sure what flowers those were because they were so far away) against the backdrop and the ocean in the background - that was beautiful. Also of note - Kailua/Lanikai Beach, the local secret, and possibly the prettiest, smoothest (sand), aquamarine & pristine beach I've ever seen.Final thoughts - kitsch? Cheese? Yes, in its glory with the lei's, the aloha shirts, the tourist traps and the busloads of Japanese tourists (MIA at Pearl Harbor, no pun intended). Beautiful scenery, relaxed island life, surfer hotties, and the chance to discover a completely natural ecosystem and all kinds of flora and fauna that reminded my mother of her childhood (read: Taiwan pre-everything is made in Taiwan era) made it worth the visit.
