Karu and I went to Hawaii in Jan, 2010 for a vacation. It is the best vacation of my life. We visited Maui, Kauai and Oahu. Hawaii reminds us of our earth before we, humans, started destroying it. It is as close to nature as I have ever been.
After a long transit from Maui to Kauai - which was originally supposed to be just an hour, thanks to Go! (read my post on Hawaii Transport for a good laugh) - we reached Kauai. Kauai felt like Kerala (India's little tropical heaven). Little town with small roads and coconut trees. It is not as developed and commercialized as Maui. In fact, most of the island is not even accessible by road. So this is the place to be for hikers coz you be more rewarded as none of your driving counterparts can see what you see. The island has only like a few hundred water falls. And as you might have guessed, beautiful. But the problem is the island is small and they are fewer places you can drive too. So if you are not a hiker and if there is bad weather, they you cannot do stuff. For this reason, I liked Maui better than Kauai. Whichever direction the wind or the storm is, there is always a bay where you can get into the water. But if I go to Hawaii again and If I can hike, I will definitely go to Kauai again.
In Kauai, we saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Everytime, it felt like the sun was waiting for us to get there to rise or set. I know I know - it sounds cliched but Hawaii makes you feel so special. I have always thought French kiss was over rated. You just need the right place and time for it to be special ;-)
We stayed in the most beautiful B&B ever. The view is to die for. Read my blog on Hawaii Accommodation to know more. I wish I would never forget the view all my life and I can cherish it every time I close my eyes. We ate a lot of fruits - my favorite was a Lychee like fruit called Rambutan. All the fruits is Hawaii are so juicy. You don't have to drink water at all and you will wonder why you have to pee so often.
We did a Helicopter tour of the canyon. Before I say anymore, Helicopter tours are over rated. We did the best helicopter tour in Kauai, and Kauai is the best place to do helicopter tours - so I have all the right to conclude this. They are not worth the money. We did the doors-off tour - yes, no helicopter doors - you are hanging off it :P We went to the Water falls from the opening scene of Jurassic park, we saw Napali coast, we saw the canyons and valleys, we saw the plantations. We saw it all. hmmm... still not very impressed. Just save your money and do the cheapest if you want to. It doesn't get much better. Our pilot seemed very unhappy about what is happening to the island. All the big name plantation companies taking over the land and using them for pasture lands and GM crops. Again, it only made us think more about our existence. I will not rant more on this topic (Read the post on Maui if you want to know WHY I HATE HUMANS).
The next day, we kayaked down the Wailua river. It was a calm peaceful kayak trip. Nothing to write home about but pretty. There was a trail to The Secret Falls but we couldn't make it as it was quite a walk and for once, I wanted to come back from a vacation without injuries. We also kayaked to a swim hole - it was as perfect as in pictures. I always thought the photos are photoshoped - no such perfect places do exist.
We had some really awesome food in Kauai. After all, the plan was to eat, drink and relax in Kauai. And it was well executed - Thanks to iphone, google and trip advisor. The general consensus is Food in Kauai is very expensive. Sorry people - you are all wrong. You just need to find places where the locals eat - to get some awesome food at affordable prices. We had such variety that I had to write a post on just food - read my post on Hawaii Food. Hawaiian food is definitely something I will crave for years to come - the affordable sea food, the kaulau pork and all your wonderful fruits and ice creams flavored from real fruits. I never knew what fresh ingredients till I ate the food in the island. We also tried a lot of Hawaiian cocktails - they were all so wonderful and refreshing.
We met an interesting guy called Dan. He runs this most amazing ice cream shop - I am not exaggerating - his ice cream is to die for - and I am not a big fan of ice cream. If you put real mangos and lychees to make your sorbet, then it makes it all worth it. The only thing I regret is, I am never going to have such good ice cream in mainland. Wait, people in Austin - this is guy is moving to Austin and his shop is called Tropical dreams - do not miss it. I would consider moving to Austin for his ice cream. The ice cream is only a part of the interesting story. Going back to this guy, Dan. He is this really friendly, loud spoken guy with a lot of Aloha (Well, I had to use the word somewhere. Since I used this, I will also use this opportunity to use Mahalo :D ) He made many millions in the 90s and was one was the lead guys in the invention of internet and current communication protocols. And he went to Kauai to live for 16 years. And what a place to live! I admire him and envy him. Well, now that his kids are all grown up, he is moving back to Austin for their college education. He said he is moving to Round Rock and Micheal Dell wanted him to work for Dell. But he said Dell cannot afford him. He seemed to indicate he has a new idea and offered Karu a job ;-)
I read an article which stated people of Kauai are the second happiest people in US or something. Well, I don't know if they meant people who live in Kauai or people who are visiting Kauai. The latter are obviously very happy - because they are vacationing. The former - happiness is questionable. From personal experience, I felt people in Kauai were sad about what is happening to their island. They do not have sustainable means of living. Cost of living is high. They do enjoy the natural beauty of the island and water sports. But, most of them are giving up them farming and local business to work for big name resorts and GM farming companies as mere employees. Except for people in the tourism industry, others didn't seem to want us as we have the track record of destroying wherever we go - however they were kind to us (expect a few - but I won't blame them).
After two wonderful days in Kauai, we headed back to Oahu. Our good times didn't just end. We saw a beautiful sunrise over Oahu mountains from our gate. I cannot ask for a better ending. The funny part was, there was an old couple with us. The women went to the restroom when we witnessed this perfect sunrise. The guy was so mad with her that she missed it. When she got back, he said "Once a decade, we come to such a wonderful place. And you had to go to the bathroom at the perfect time and missed the sunrise". It was funny.
Mahalo Kauai. I will be back.
No comments:
Post a Comment