Hawaii was ruled by a Monarchy until 1893 when it was overthrown by American businessmen. It then became a Republic until 1898 when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, becoming the 50th state in 1959, hence the “Hawaii Five Oh” TV series.
The climate can best be described as balmy, between 18c min and 32c max all year round. Breezes blowing, sandy beaches, blue water and blue skies, exactly what you would expect of a tropical paradise plus 43 million Japanese tourists hahaha.
Tourism is very well organised and everything runs like clockwork. The Japanese contingent have their own dedicated reception desks at hotels and their own tours and the lines of JAL planes at the airport has to be seen to be believed.
Honolulu, located on the island of Oahu is the capital and it has a port called Pearl Harbour. Population of all the islands combined is 1.4 million and the average lifespan of a person born in Hawaii is 80 years, longer than any other state in the US.
I initially had a ticket booked from Perth to Dallas where my bike was having a rest before the ride down to South America. The Hawaii trip was spur of the moment so I got off the flight at Los Angeles and caught another one to Honolulu. A very long day Perth – Sydney – Los Angeles – Honolulu.
The flight from Perth to Honolulu – Sydney to Los Angeles was on an A380 a very big aeroplane, at rest the wings are so huge and sag so much you cannot see the tips.
Waikiki Beach
Ala Moana Walk
Oahu Island Tour
Pearl Harbour
Polynesian Cultural Center
http://www.polynesia.com/
This place is run by Brigham Young University which is next door and definitely worth a visit.
Big Island Volcano Day Tour
As the name suggests it is the biggest island in the group. Getting there from Oahu means a very early start, a short flight and return late at night.
Flight back to LA
This is the last of my fill in the blanks posts, my next ride starts on 7 Sept 14 from the UK.
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Chris's space 