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Aloha! When you think of some words, there is no doubt as to the what the word is associated with. And “Aloha” conjures up beaches, surf and of course, Hawaii Five O… Hawaii is a tourist destination that sits between mainland USA, and Japan as well as the rest of Asia, with a population that is as varied as it is in Asia, and a significant Japanese population of almost 30%. You will find fifth generation Japs who no longer speak Japanese and plenty of restaurants, signboards in Japanese and there is certainly a vibe that feels Asian, and yet distinct. It is blended from Asian influx, with Pilipino, Korean and of course Japanese influence as well as the Polynesian background and of course American immersion. Let’s not forget the British aspect too, in fact the flag of Hawaii features the Union Jack in the canton (upper left corner) due to historical ties between the Hawaiian Kingdom and Great Britain. King Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian Islands, received a British flag from Captain George Vancouver in 1793 and initially adopted it. The eight horizontal stripes on the flag represent the eight major Hawaiian Islands. So last year, I realised that there was a conference in Hawaii, and if I booked my flights early, I could scrounge together enough money to go, and bring some of my students along too, so I got my hotel and flights sorted out last year, and got a decent price. I couldn’t get SQ, because it was twice the price of ANA and I had to take two red eye flights, but because I had done my maths, I could get lie flat seats. The other option was Zip Air but the incremental cost to ANA was not that much so I took the leap. I had heard good things about their service and good food, so I was keen to give it a shot. Now I enjoy the colours at dawn and dusk and this trip, I got to experience some of the best views in all my years of flying.. Now there are no direct flights to Hawaii, you can go via Japan, which is the most popular, or even Taiwan and Philippines. ANA offers route via Haneda and Narita, so take note of the layover timing, and whether you will want to plan a stopover in Japan, but you’ll need to get your bags if you get out for longer than a stopover. At the time of my trip, there were demos for transit passengers, eg on the way there, you can see a demo of wooden block painting, and you can try on a samurai suit on the way back. Also, the pharmacies in the Narita Airport sell a lot of stuff, and good meds for kids too Narita is a wonderful place to stopover with nice showers and made to order ramen / udon. You can customise by asking them to add more ingredients. Friendly efficient service. I booked Wyndham by Ramada, a tourist class hotel, centrally located in Waikiki and walking distance to the convention. Bear in mind, everything is in miles, but it was ok, about 10 minutes walk away. The weather is pretty much sunny all the time with sporadic showers. No one stops what they are doing because of these small rains, and they end as soon as they begin, but make the heat more bearable. In fact the weather is a lot like ours, so put away your coats and jeans, tees, Hawaiian shirts as well as bermudas are standard here, unless you’re here on business. Essentials for Hawaii include hats, sunblock and plenty of water. It’s the equator, so like us, their days get bright early but around 7 plus, it also gets dark. In between the heat is on, and it is usually blazing hot. The walk from the hotel to the convention is not too far but the heat is a killer. However the views are nice though, with a little vignette of Waikiki, the Hawaiian tourist town. The cost of living and holidays in Hawaii has gone up significantly over the years and that has pushed away some travellers, but it is still pretty crowded. You will need to budget USD 20 per meal unless you cook, eat sandwiches and Macs throughout. I went to this posh steak place called Prime Signature Steakhouse, twice actually because there were two different groups and they all used this place. It’s the go to place for nice meals with a view. Food is $$ in this restaurant, but very nice. as you expect from the name the steaks / beef is the thing, but seafood is awesome.

I am currently on a trip to hawaii. So far seen the beach and did some swimming. Now waiting for the highlight of the trip which is to visit pearl harbour. Hope I can soak in the Dec 7 observance ceremony though I am made you understand that it will be very restrictive for visitors on that day because there will be a lot of VVIPs coming for the Dec 7 observance ceremony. Currently staying in a backpacker hostel in waikiki.

RIP. Live by the sword, die by the sword! Swordfish kills fisherman who speared it during struggle in Hawaii After struggling to escape, the fish swam back around toward the 47-year-old man at a high speed and struck him in the chest with its 3ft bill Largely an open-ocean species, swordfish rarely swim in shallow waters. Photograph: Norbert Wu/Corbis Alan Yuhas @alanyuhas Saturday 30 May 2015 22.21 BST Last modified on Saturday 30 May 201523.33 BST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares279 Comments53 A swordfish impaled a Hawaiian fisherman after having been speared by the fisherman itself, state officials said on Saturday. Police named the victim as 47-year-old Randy Llanes, saying he had grabbed his speargun and jumped into Honokohau harbor on Friday morning when he spotted a broadbill swordfish near his boat. Llanes speared the fish, but as it struggled to escape the spear’s line got tangled in a mooring anchor. Caught on the anchor, the fish swam back around toward Llanes at a high speed and struck him in the chest with its 3ft bill. Although Llanes was quickly pulled from the water and emergency personnel arrived minutes later, CPR attempts proved unable to revive him, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Shortly afterward Llanes was pronounced dead at the hospital, where a large crowd of people gathered to pay their condolences. A Hawaii native, Llanes had worked for more than 18 years as captain for a charter fishing business, and had more than 25 years of experience fishing in the archipelago’s waters. “Hawaii is one of those rare places where sea monsters still exist and world records can still be broken,” he wrote on his company’s website. “My greatest pleasure is being able to share the excitement and natural wonder of the Hawaiian offshore fishing experience with others.” He was described by family members as an intimidating but generous man. “He was a tough guy, he was such a tough guy that everyone’s scared of him, the whole harbor’s scared of him,” Kalina Llanes, the man’s sister-in-law, told KITV news. She added that those who knew him well were “not scared of him because he has such a big heart”. Llanes’ friend Dale Leverone told Khon the fiserhman was “just a great local boy. A good attitude, good person, a help-anybody kind of guy. He had a heck of a lot of friends.” Leverone described him as an “accomplished fisherman”, saying “he actually caught a 500-pound marlin yesterday out of his skiff.” State officials also pulled the 6ft, 40lb fish from the water. Largely an open-ocean species, swordfish rarely swim in shallow waters. County police and conservation officials said they are investigating the incident, and said that while such accidents are rare, swordfish and other large billfish are aggressive and fast animals who have injured and killed humans before. In 2004, a Malaysian man out fishing was killed by a swordfish when the animal leapt from the water and delivered a fatal blow to the chest. A year earlier, a researcher studying whales in the water survived a marlin’s lancing off the coast of Maui after the fish veered into him to escape its predators.

Anyone here went there for holidays before? Which island did you go to? Appreciate any comments.

Would i be able to use Nokia 6300 and SE w810i phones in Hawaii? Understand that they have to be tri-band phones... so are these 2 phones tri-band? thanks

Anyone tried driving in Hawaii's Big Island before? It is a left-hand drive system over there. Do i need to convert my Singapore driving license to an International driving license? thanks