Day 1: Pearl Harbor

The day began quite well. We were fresh and energized after a good breakfast. Chandan was ready with the schedule. We drove to Pearl Harbor which is significant for the severe blasts of American Naval fleets bombed by Japanese in 1941. After these blasts the Unites States had made its entry into WW II. Several Huge Submarines and Fleets were badly damaged and several men lost. There are memorial created for lost men especially from USS Arizona fleet which was incorrigibly damaged and thousands of men dead. It is called the Arizona Memorial. For more details about Pearl Harbor and Arizona memorial visit

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm

http://www.nps.gov/usar/

http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/

We visited the Bowfin Submarine looked through the periscopes. We clicked a bunch of pictures in front of Torpedoes and the submarine. However to access the submarine there is an admission ticket. We preferred staying out and taking pictures. Later we saw the documentary on Attack on Pearl Harbor and took a ferry to the Arizona Memorial that is constructed over the sunken ship in tribute to the warriors who lost their life during the attack. Admission to the documentary and ferry are free of cost and the shows run every half hour during the operational hours of the museum. You can also take a paid tour to the Missouri memorial which is a 1-1/2 hour tour. We skipped the latter.

Although we did nothing major we were exhausted from the heat and humidity (just taking time to get used to the amazing bright weather). We decided to go for lunch to a Chinese restaurant near Waikiki beach. To our surprise the food was cheap also tasty. We decided to take day 1 light and crash back at the hotel until dawn. After an hour nap we freshened up and took a walk to the beach. Our hotel was located at a walking distance from the beach. We were engrossed in all the colorful displays of Leis, and shell ornaments in the so many stores lining the street. We walked in and out of a bunch of stores and we shopped for some ornaments (also for the men [wink]). In all the fun and excitement we missed the sunset, but the beach was nice and breezy (not at all chilly). The Hawaii state tourism organizes Hula program in the evening by the Waikiki beach shore. We were in time to watch two pretty hula dancers teach hula to the tourists. We didn’t step forward to volunteer although it was fun to watch people try to learn the art of hula. On the walk back to the hotel we found a few more stores, Chandan instantly named it Burma bazaar of Waikiki. (Burma bazaar is term used for market of tiny road side shops selling trinkets and some non-authentic goods) BTW if you wish to shop in such stores do carry some cash with you, as bargain shopping is mostly cash transactions. Also the most popular stores you will come across very often are some chains called “ABC stores” “E-Z Stores” and “123 Stores” these are tiny groceries and beverage stores like 7-Eleven. We had a fruitful evening and were back in our hotel room. Payal and I stayed back while the guys went out to get dinner. They brought Thai food from “Phuket Thai” nose/eye watering spicy but awesome Thai food. We had enough food left for lunch next day. That was end of day one in Hawa Hawaii.