Luau and After

Luau
Luau is a Hawaiian tradition which is a festive celebration with feast and entertainment.

To learn more about luau visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luau

Chandan had booked for “Paradise cove Luau” in advance. This is supposed to be one of the best Luau’s in Oahu. We were all ready for the Luau and started decently early. However we were mislead by the GPS’s choices of luau attractions. The navigation system showed us two list of attractions both similar names. One was “Paradise Cove Luau” and the other “Paradise Cove”. The first was closer to us than the other. Since the first list name was so appropriate we chose it. But it turned out to be the wrong one. After cruising though the killing evening traffic and tail hugging sluggish pace we got to the correct luau a little later than actually scheduled.

Fortunately we didn’t miss the Luau celebrations but just missed a few fun games prior to the celebrations. We were welcomed with complementary Mai Tai drink and lei (flower garland). We caught the sunset, a javelin toss game which btw none of us hit the bulls eye. There was the hukilau ceremony, which is pulling of fish nets and fisherman dance after the catch.

Learn the hula and hukilau

http://www.geocities.com/fildancomtl/Instructions.html

We used our drink coupons on cocktails mostly maitai and margaritas. We then watched the hula dance and digging out of the kalua pig feast called Imu ceremony. There was an introduction to Luau feast and its significance. A unique dish is the “Poi” which is taro root extracts paste. Traditionally you are supposed to dip your index and middle finger into the sauce and suck on your fingers to relish it. It is meant to be a delicacy, but trust me it was pretty bland and tasteless. And as Shashi commented it felt a lot like gum paste/glue.

To learn more about poi visit

http://www.poico.com/artman/publish/article_4.php

We had purchased the Royal Ali package which was the middle one. We had decent seating and were served food at the table. The other dishes were salad greens, cold pasta salad, fried chicken, fish and for dessert coconut cake, freshly sliced piece of pineapple. As we relished our food we were entertained by hula dancers, songs and fire tricks. Overall it was a fun experience and a must see for the first time visitors.

The Luau evening came to an end and we were back on the drive. Being the very enthusiastic couples we wanted to add more fun by adding an Indian traditional touch to the evening. So the spouses exchanged garlands (leis) sentimentally reassuring our marriage.

Chandan decided to take us on a long drive to a vista point from were you can see the city below. The view from the top was spectacular; we could see the well lit city down below. The houses on the drive were so amazing. Shashi couldn’t resist himself from plucking mangoes from a tree laden with mangoes. The sour raw mangoes and the windy drive made us a little woozy so we headed back to our hotel and crashed in our beds. We were downbeat and done for the day.