29 Nov – 4 Dec 2014. Driving the Pali Highway out of Honolulu through the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve we are surrounded by spectacular volcanic mountains covered in lush tropical growth, vines as tall as trees, trees rooted by sweeping buttresses, coconut palms and banana palms, green grasses, bright flowers, a luxuriant and insistent covering of every last craggy peak.
Taking the Kahekili Highway further north we arrive at the Byodo-In Temple, a non-practicing Buddhist temple established in 1968 to commemorate the one hundred year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.
We are completely charmed by this place, by the traditional Japanese building, by the giant gold Buddha inside the pavilion, by the beautiful koi pond, by the swarming hungry koi, by the swans and zebra doves and other birds, by the beautiful gardens, and by the garden artist carefully raking the gravel into perfect submission in traditional Japanese style.
One of a pair of black swans donated by Australia
A row of zebra doves
The ubiquitous hibiscus
Travelling on we find another shrimp truck. Not as good as Giovanni’s, but good enough for a plate of ahi tuna with rice and salad. And cattle egrets in the grass.
Heading southeast from Byodo-In Temple we come to the coast at Kailua Bay and Kailua Beach Park where we see red-crested cardinals in the grass, and Japanese girls in chiffon skirts, kiteboarders, and surfers on the beach.
After just five days in Hawaii we continued our trans-Pacific journey, not having done the best things to do on Oahu. The days seemed to drift by in a kind of hazy laziness and suddenly it was time to go. So we’re saving the best ‘til last. On our return to Oahu in May we will hike to the highest part of the rim of Diamond Head, go to Hanauma Bay which is apparently one of the best places in Hawaii for snorkelling, also go snorkelling at a largely unknown lagoon at Ko Olina where there are likely to be turtles, and seek out some Hawaiian music and dancing.
In the meantime we’ve been to Samoa. That woke us up!
Next post: The magical islands of Samoa, definitely one of the less travelled Polynesian islands and thoroughly delightful.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
Even though you didn’t “do” the big things, this post still makes me feel as if I were there with you. And boy, do those koi look hungry!
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Thanks Felicity. Glad to have you along 🙂
There’s a little gift store selling food for the koi and some kids had been feeding them when I took those pice. Wild eh?!
Alison
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Swans are such graceful creatures. I now know that black swans originate from Australia, like so many other beautiful creations. Thank you.
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Aren’t they beautiful. I’ve seen many black swans in Australia. We’re currently in Canberra, my Aussie hometown, and there are many of them living on the lake here.
Alison
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Yes, they are so beautiful and graceful. I see white swans almost every day here on lake Bled, but I never had a chance to see a black swan. Australia is too far away for me right now, I’ll probably do a little research and try to find a place in Europe where you can see black swans.
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Yes same feeling here, really nice pictorial post it is.
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Thank you so much.
Alison
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So glad to be reading your posts from Hawaii. We’ll be there for a few days in Feb – kinda accidentally, on the way home after a 25 day repositioning cruise to Tahiti because the flights are cheaper. Haven’t booked a thing. Don’t even have a clue what island to stay on or what to do. Been too busy to look! Advice?
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Bet that cruise will be *fabulous*! We tried to find a repositioning cruise to cross the Pacific but there wasn’t one that fit with our dates.
Advice re Hawaii – not Oahu. It’s the most populated, commercial and touristy – from what we’ve heard from others. We’ve only been to Oahu because our flights required it and because we only had a few days we stayed there. I’ve heard wonderful things about both Maui and the Big Island, so even if you have to fly into Honolulu (Oahu) give yourself enough time to get to one of the other islands.
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Kauai is our favorite island — a place we keep returning to. Small-town feel, friendly, no big cities — definitely not anything like Alison said about Oahu — lots to see and do including the beautiful west coast (take a catamaran cruise to see it), the SW Waimea canyon, the amazing north shore (the beaches where the movie Blue Pacific was shot), the lava-covered beaches on the south shore (including a place with big water-spouts, a good snorkelling beach, a turtle hangout, etc. Centrally, the lovely Waimea river, amazing beaches, lovely drives/hikes into the hills. Stay east-coast-central (Kapaa area); you can easily drive both north and south. Don’t recommend saying in Poipu area as many tourists do… concrete jungle of condos and hotels.
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…sorry, not Waimea river; I meant the Wailua River and its State Park.
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Wow, Kate, your description makes me wanna go spend a month there. It sounds fabulous.
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That Japanese temple and its garden look very soothing and relaxing, Alison. That’s what such setting always does to me anyway. And look! The quintessential V-shaped hand pose by Japanese girls. 🙂 I particularly love the photo of that red cardinal — it reminds me of Angry Birds somehow.
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We loved the Japanese garden and temple, very soothing. And those Japanese girls were so cute. The V shape seems to have spread around the world – we found it in most places we’ve been to, most recently Samoa. All the kids do it. Just about impossible to get a photo of a child without it.
Angry birds. Chuckle. 🙂
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For being with the flow of all that’s available, there’s never enough time. What you saw, photographed, experienced, I can only imagine the wonder of it all. Beautiful photos; love that you got the coy in a feeding frenzy. Love what you wrote, “and suddenly it was time to let go.” I aspire to do better with that. ❤
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So much world to see, so little time. Sigh. We know we’ll never get to see everything so try to be as present as we can with what we do get to see/experience. So much beauty. So much wonder.
The koi were being fed by some children who’d bought food for them from the nearby concession stand. It was wild! There were so many of them.
We also aspire to do better at the letting go 🙂
❤
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beautiful impressions
of what’s alive there 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Hello Alison and Don, Once again your blog delighted us and further strengthened our already strong resolve to return home and continue on our path to “possession freedom”. I keep on thinking of how fortunate we are to have come to know you! And from all the comments you receive from others we can also see how many other remarkable people there are out there. So to the two of you and to all of those connected to you through this blog, we wish the best of the holiday season!
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Thank you so much Barbara. It was a pleasure to meet you in Vancouver. Keep divesting!
Wishing you both a wonderful holiday season and all the best for the new year.
Alison
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Sometimes doing the “best things” aren’t really what you need or want to do. Sounds like you had a delightful time just “drifting” by. Not a bad way at all to pass your time in paradise. Here’s to more drifting and savoring life in 2015! Anita
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Yes, you’re right of course. The “best” things are, in the end, the things that feel right in the moment even if it looks like spending the day in bed reading.
We did have a lovely time in Hawaii, and look forward to returning.
Wishing you all the best and much wonderful wandering in 2015.
Alison
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What a feeling this post gave me….to see a place I’ve actually been to. Most travel blogs I follow (ehem…yours) are of exotic places I’ve never been to. I agree with Kate; Kauai is lovely, and I think the most peaceful and relaxing island (though I haven’t been to Molokai or Lanai). Looking forward to Samoa.
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P.S. Happy Holidays to you both!
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Thanks Angeline, so glad to hear the post resonated for you. All the comments on this post and the previous one on Hawaii just make me want to spend much more time there. On any Island but Oahu 🙂
Happy holidays to you too!
Alison
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How glorious! Happy Holidays to you both! Enjoy your travels. We will be in Huahine and Raiatea soon. Your post got me jazzed for it. Any chance you two are gonna swing by those islands?????
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Thanks Cindy. Unfortunately no we won’t be going to Tahiti. We’re in Australia now, and will visit NZ for a few weeks in a couple of months.
Tahiti looks amazing! Have a great time.
Alison
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Hanauma Bay is awesome, but keep in mind- They are closed on Tuesday, and GET THERE EARLY- or later. If you want to go in the morning, get there by 8, or the lot will be full and you will have to go back later. You can also snorkel off the Makai Pier (right past Makapu’u point), and at Shark’s Cove. If you go to Shark’s Cove, be sure to leave your valuables in a rent-a-locker across the street. I have already been robbed there, it’s notorious. But it is a fabulous place to snorkel- turtles will come right up to you, and I saw an octopus.
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Thanks so much for all this information Adrienne, especially re Hanauma being closed on a Tuesday. And for the tip re the lockers at Shark’s Cove. Love swimming with turtles 🙂
Alison
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What a beautiful place to be! I am an amateur bird-watcher so I love your bird photos especially the red-crested cardinal! Hope you both have a lovely Christmas!
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Thanks so much Teresa. I too love to watch birds, especially the more exotic ones.
Hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas!
Alison
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I think the “best thing” to do is exactly what you did–drive around the island and see what you find. When you return to do the “best things,” you’ll find that half the universe is there doing them, too, which for me, makes them not the best things. I like finding things others believe are not the best. They are always the best for me. Like that egret. And those simply adorable girls. And to discover an alley, wonder where it leads, and turn and walk down it. You two keep on keepin’ on (as Bob Dylan says). Can’t wait to read Samoa. Get it?
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Yes I get it 🙂 about Samoa, and about the “best things”. We did the best things for us at the time, but I still wanna hike the Diamond Head crater, and snorkel at Hanauma even if I’m doing it with lots of other people.
Samoa comin’
Alison
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Oh…my favorite place in the whole wide world. Hawaii. I lived on Oahu for 11 years. I have pictures of the black swans and the temple too—what an incredibly peaceful place it is! I miss it. And I miss the awesome power up on Pali Ridge. Did you see all of the wild chickens wandering around up there?! http://storieswithnobooks.com/2013/01/24/peep-of-pali-ridge/
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We did see the chickens on Pali ridge! I was so surprised to see them but didn’t know anything about them. I have some photos of them. The drive along the Pali highway was fabulous. And yes, the temple and gardens very peaceful and beautiful.
Alison
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You have a wicked eye. The photos are simply stunning, esp that of the dove and the hibiscus. Happy holidays.
Diana
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Thanks so much Diana. I think I’ve slowly improved. I loved photographing the doves – they were so obliging. I could get close, and take several shots until I got it just right.
Happy Holidays to you too.
Alison
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Love the
until I got it
just right.
That’s how I blog.
Be well.
Xx
Diana
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“…how I blog.”
At least try to. ^ ^
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Yeah, me too 🙂
Can’t count the number of times I’ve published a post and thought of more I could have said afterwards. Even this post. Wish I’d written a bit about the kiteboarders. It was amazing to watch them manipulating their boards and sails in the wind and ripping along at about 50mph. I could have written a whole paragraph about it.
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Save it for a separate post. =)
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Hello Alison and Don, glad your travels are going well so far…..your pictures are always so bright and clear…..beautiful! may I ask what camera you using? Very Merry Christmas and only “smooth” sailing in the New Year!
Dana
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Thanks so much Dana. My camera is a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000. It has a great zoom and is good in daylight, but gets grainy in low light so indoor and nighttime shots are not so good. It’s a good compromise for me as I refuse to carry a huge pile of camera gear.
Merry Christmas to you from both of us.
Alison
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gorgeous photographs, as always…love your visit to the Byodo-In Temple, especially the giant fishes…carp, i’m guessing? a blessed Christmas to you and Don ♥
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Thanks so much Sun. We loved the temple, and yes the fish are carp (or koi in Japanese). Happy Holidays
Alison ❤
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You guys seriously look amazing and your travel tale and passion is an inspiration. May god bless you guys always! Happy new year!
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Thank you so much Himanshu!
Blessings and Happy New Year
Alison
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I have wanted to go to Hawaii ever since, as a young girl, I watched a film with Elvis Presley. Your post has brought back my desire to visit sooner rather than later. Thanks for the lovely photos. I wish you both great travels and great health for 2015.
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Thanks Gilda, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I hope you get to live your dream of visiting Hawaii. It really is lovely.
Blessings for the new year.
Alison
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What a lovely place you’ve found, Alison and Don. Hawaii charms me every time we visit. And I can’t wait to hear all about Samoa – haven’t been yet, but would love to go. I have so enjoyed your adventures and personal insights this year. Wishing you all the best for 2015. Happy New Year! 🙂 ~Terri
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Thanks so much Terri. We enjoyed Hawaii even though the weather wasn’t always our friend. Samoa coming up soon. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading about all your travels this past year too. Happy New Year! Happy 2015!
Alison
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I love every photo you posted here. I am wondering if one day I can also travel like you do..=)
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Thank you so much John. I hope all your travel dreams come true!
Alison
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I love how you take a locale like Hawaii, which many associate with resort getaways, and touch on cultural roots, graceful architecture, and flora/fauna. Great read!
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Thanks so much Darcy. I guess we’re not much for resort getaway style travelling though we do it now and then and revel in the luxury for a week or two.
Alison
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The coy remind me of the crazy huge fish in a frenzy at the Art House in Bangkok, Thailand… Which we visited and loved, for the puppet performance which zi read about first on your blog. Many thanks. Hugs to u both!
http://www.greenglobaltrek.com/2014/09/stuck-in-bangkok-oh-the-hardship.html
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So glad you enjoyed The Art House. Isn’t the puppet show wonderful?! But you saw more we did. I don’t remember the koi there at all. (Must have a look back through my photos!)
Alison
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That is so cool! I just love everything you do ! It makes me want to travel more and more, there’s so much to see!!
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Thank you so much! And you’re right, there’s so much to see. The bucket list never empties. The more we travel it just keeps filling up again.
Alison
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Yep, that’s a vicious circle. We’ll never get tired of it!
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