Hawaii!

Aloha! Got back from Hawaii a little while ago and I'm in the mood to post some photos...except that after processing my photos I realized I had too much to put up on this little blog, so decided to enter my flickr account, only to realize that for some reason I have royally screwed things up and can't access my anti-factory flickr page! Either i'm extremely dumb or the merge they did with yahoo a while back has somehow affected my log-in capabilities. I spent a good HOUR AND A HALF (maddening!) trying to figure it out, to no avail. I inadvertently set up a second flickr account, using what I thought was my previous information. aaaaaaa!

OK, but whatever. in the meantime, here are the trip details...it's totally image-heavy, so I figured I'd put it in a separate page...





We spent the first 2 nights in Waikiki and it was a total tourist festival. It was my first time in Hawaii and it felt so strange still being in the US but feeling like it was Asia. Not only due to the high Japanese presence (lots of things were in Japanese and in supermarkets there was so much Japanese packaging that it was making me feel like a kid again in Tokyo!). Also, it was really weird being in a tropical country that wasn't part of the "developing world"--so clean! The feeling was like being in an extremely clean Philippines or something weird like that. No street children! No stray dogs and open gutters! It's amazing what money can do...


Speaking of money--it's a bamboo ATM!




Main beach at Waikiki, somehow shown without the throngs of tourists (they're just lurking at the edges, but they're there!)


kitchy tourist market stalls run mostly by Koreans and Vietnamese merchants. i loves the kitch, yes i do!




souvenir


the most amazing, baroque-looking kitchy candles


No way! pocari sweat! straight from japan! i HAD to go into all the little supermarkets and stare at all the goodies :)


Me and Giselle, together at last, in front of the Louis Vuitton Waikiki store. My impersonation of a Japanese tourist.


I am strangely fascinated with the Waikiki hotels, which all look like they were built in the 70s...


These buildings remind me of the days of the TV show Hawaii Five-O...which they actually still show on primetime Hawaii TV!


Celebrity Resorts, Waikiki! Don't be fooled by the lame name, it was actually a quaint 70s-era friendly little hotel that we'd happily stay in again :)


Newspaper proof we were really there


kurt was getting all post-modern and taking lots of photos of people taking photos of things


this photo is a bit lame (as we are speeding down the road) but it shows a configuration of plastic cups made into a "welcome home" pattern for US soldiers on the naval base. the military presence in Oahu is HUGE. Check out that American flag in red, white, and blue cups! Oh, the ingenuity of it all!


The view of the backyard (!) of one of my aunt's house in the East side of Oahu. Yes, it is like this. Scary good.


another speeding photo: heading towards the North Shore where my cousin's wedding was being held, we passed a dozen or so shrimp trucks where one could get the freshest shrimp grilled in garlic--ahhhh!


The wedding was held in a gorgeous vacation rental house right at the edge of Sunset Beach, the beach mostly known for having amazing surfing waves. It was sooo great to be right at the edge of such gorgeousness!


My super-cute cousin Ella lounging in the hammock. We arrived at the house the day before the wedding, so alot of it was spent hanging out on the beach and taking it easy...


My little brother Jake striking a surfer pose


Jake, me, Kurt, and Ella. Yes, hammocks were a big part of the trip.


Ayumi helping set up for the wedding. We all pitched in to make flower arrangements, set up the lanterns, etc.


A whole refrigerator full of orchid leis was stowed in the garage, ready for guests...


Eating shrimp. I feel like I ate my way through Hawaii--so much "plate lunch", fresh mahi mahi, portuguese sausage, and tons of PORK PORK PORK! A vegetarian's nightmare, fer sure.




The benches at the shrimptrucks were adorned with little loveletters locals were leaving spelled out in pebbles...


...so of course we had to join in. awwww....






The day of the wedding, Ella was the lei girl, greeting guests at the entrance


Setting up the table arrangements for the wedding. YES, that is the beach right there. The lawn part is right outside the back porch of the house, and just a few steps down the beach starts. Lord, it was gorgeous!


Mai-tais were the order of the day (and night)...


The bride, my cousin Miel, came out on her father's arm


The joining...not a dry eye in the house.


I'm not sad. Just touched.


Ayumi and I, happy all over again.


Dancer during the festivities


Another postmodern shot of people taking pictures...my family here.


Little bro and I. I just noticed how much I "mug" for the camera with pursed lips and make squinty eyes. Why do I do that?


My brother, dad, and cousin Ella. The 2 young 'uns had so much fun together since they were the only teens there. It was sweet to see them bond and relate to one another...


Perfect setting, no?


Like from a vegetarian's slasher flick. The pig head that was part of the pig body that we were all chowing down on. How I love the pig! So crispy, so crunchy is the skin. It's a big Filipino (and Hawaiian) tradition to have a pig roast. But I do admit it can look like a horror show sometimes...Coke and pork--yum!


Last shots from a nature reserve we stumbled across during our last day...