First item in the agenda: Sunday mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, just across the street from their place. One thing remarkable about Violy & Rory’s condo building is the fact that it is at the centre of the city and, therefore, mere walking distance to everything – church, supermarket, Waikiki, Ala Moana mall (Hawaii’s largest mall and the largest open-air shopping center in the world) and, best of all, their office is just down on the 2nd floor of their building! Unbelievable! I still can’t get over it until now.
Anyhow, before the mass started, the priest asked if there were any visitors to the church. And when we stood up, we were each asked where we came from and then given a sea-shelled lei as a welcome gift. I thought it was a very nice and hospitable gesture.
Being active members in the church, Rory plays the bass guitar while Violy is a lay Eucharistic minister at masses. So, after mass and after praying my "not to be forgotten" three wishes, it was time for a photo op outside the church:
Honolulu is an ultra-modern city full of enormous diversity. And as expected, Chinatown is one of Honolulu's most colourful and exciting neighbourhoods. The area has been a major gateway for immigrants to Hawaii. Chinese medicine and Eastern religion have a huge presence, with Taoist, Buddhist and Shinto temples sandwiched between herbalists, shops and restaurants. It features some of the best Chinese restaurants in the Pacific Basin and where one can enjoy buffet, dim sum, or inexpensive a la carte meals from all regions of China.
And that's exactly where we headed to after church, where Violy and Rory treated me to a very yummy dim sum at Legend Seafood Restaurant, a dim sum joint by day and seafood restaurant by night that's very popular with the locals. It was so yummy that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
We then walked through Chinatown’s neighbourhood, after which we caught the bus that took us to Oahu’s North Shore.
As a backgrounder, Oahu’s North Shore is the island's premier destination for surfing with colossal waves creating unsurpassed conditions throughout the winter months; and snorkeling and diving in the summer months.
There are apparently more than 20 beaches along Oahu’s North Shore, each encompassing unique qualities that cater to a variety of interests. And that’s exactly what I saw as I enjoyed the one hour and a half bus ride thereto. However, since it had been raining intermittently the entire afternoon, I wasn’t able to take lots of pictures.
But one of the interesting places that I saw was the "Chinaman's Hat", so called for its likeness to the straw hats that the Chinese immigrants wore. I saw the island in its splendour and I was just mesmerized by its sheer beauty. It can be accessed by kayak, boat, surfboard, or by swimming, but can be dangerous as the tides can turn quickly and unexpectedly. Apparently, some tourists had drowned on their way back when the tides turned.
We practically spent the entire afternoon on the bus driving around the North Shore. Lots to see but didn't make a ton of stops due to unpredictable weather pattern of clouds, rain and sun. However, since we were starving, we stopped at Turtle Bay Resort for some fuel for our tummy (where I had the most amazing chocolate and banana smoothie) and for some photo ops.
Despite the grey skies, can you read happiness written all over me?
Thereafter, we headed home, enjoyed a sumptuous dinner prepared by Violy, and retired early for the night.
To be continued.........
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