Week 3: The North America Trip: Part 1 - Hawaii

This week I would like to talk about something that many people have already done, or plan to do in the future. I mean travelling to the United States of America. I would like to mention that from my own perspective presenting my own experiences, which for many people will be different than theirs.

I think that for most people taking a trip to The United States of America in most cases means going to see one of the major cities in the Mainland - whether it’s New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Miami (or Chicago or Boston for many Polish people), I believe a truly unique and nice way to first experience that country is by going to Hawaii. When initially planning my trip I wasn’t sure why more people don’t do that, and as it sounded like a perfect idea to me. I am very glad I had an opportunity to stay there for a longer while and would like to share some of my experiences.

For many people Hawaii is a natural paradise, with palm trees, empty beaches with white sand,  beautiful sunsets, surfing and nature. At the same time it’s a territory of the United States of America with all benefits that come with it - such as easy access to all kinds of products, cheap electronics and plenty of good and unhealthy foods. Speaking of food, however, fortunately it’s also possible to enjoy traditional Hawaiian food which makes Hawaiians some of the healthiest people in America. The diet consists of fried meat, but also lots of fresh fruits in all forms - especially pineapples, coconuts, papayas and guava.

Everything they say about the landscapes of Hawaii is true - the place looks good in every detail at least as good as they show in the pictures. Going there you’ll find out there’s much more than just sunny beaches. Honolulu is a major American city, even though it houses the world famous Waikiki beach and many parks filled with tropical flora. Each island contains mountains made up from volcanoes, one of the most popular is Mauna Kea, which is also the tallest mountain in the world counting from the bottom of the ocean. There are jungles all over the centers of the islands - if you’ve watched Jurassic Park you’ll understand what I mean - it was filmed in Hawaii. There are jungles, but there are no dangerous animals living in Hawaii - it is one of the most remote areas on earth if it comes to the distance from any major continent - it’s between North America, Asia and Australia.

Hiking volcanoes, walking through a jungle or suntanning or sleeping on a beach all sound very nice, so is perfect weather all year along and living in a fully civilized but remote location.. but Hawaii is not only about nice views. The people of Hawaii are extremely nice and relaxed.. and ALWAYS late. Hawaii will teach you to be late, everyone will tell you that there’s no schedule, there’s famous “Hawaii time”. Which means the buses are usually late by more than an hour and they drive extremely slow. Nothing opens up on time and nobody starts work on time. It’s part of the culture. The most important trait for Hawaiians is being relaxed and not getting concerned by unimportant issues.

If you’re bored, you can always go to another island, there are many of them and each is different. Oahu, which in Hawaiian means “the gathering point” is the “capital” island, with the State Capital - Honolulu. The North Shore of that island is also the most popular surfing spot with some of the most outstanding waves in the world. 

The Big Island is the biggest island of the archipelago with the aforementioned Mauna Kea mountain which also houses a major space observatory way above the clouds.

Maui is popular amongst American tourists, while Kauai is an extremely beautiful and natural island with not many people around at all - a perfect tropical getaway.

Hawaii is not only about happiness and joy though - living anywhere, even a tropical paradise can get boring. Staying on a small island, having seen everything, with a perspective that the nearest major land is thousands of kilometers from you and you are pretty much in the middle of the Pacific Ocean can get boring, trust me. Even waking up to perfect weather every day,  all year round, with the ocean breeze and a fresh fruit juice on a balcony in such circumstances still can get boring.
There’s nowhere to go, the weather is exactly the same and there’s not much happening except of new tourists coming and going, while “the locals” are complaining that it affects the “Aloha spirit” and things are not like they used to be.

However, it’s a very beautiful and interesting place to visit for holidays, an amazing place in the US which is beautiful and from my experience home to some of the nicest and definitely the most positive people in North America, but also for some people a great idea to take some rest from the rest of the world in a remote paradise island with all benefits of being part of The USA.

What do you think about Hawaii? What’s the source of the information you have about that place, mostly movies and stereotypes?
Finally, would you like to go? Does it sound like a good way to experience America? If yes, why haven’t you? Just buy the tickets and enjoy the adventure, it might be the best one you’ll ever have, which is the case with many people going to “The Islands”.

Sources: Own photos and experiences