My First Taste of Hawaii... Oahu

After a long 11hr flight I finally landed in Oahu. This tiny island which house the state's capital Honolulu is home to a little more than 377,000 inhabitants. Expecting to see pristine white sand and crystal blue water as soon as I arrived, I was a little disappointing with the reality that greeted me as I drove to Waikiki from the airport. Aside from a large Asian population, this city was no different than Florida. In fact the outskirts of the famous Waikiki was pretty run down and left an unimpressive start to this much fantasized destination.
The next day started before day break as my photo tour zipped us towards the south side of the island to Sandy beach. It was there that we were greeted by a blank canvas on the sand as waves broke and spilled over upon the rocks. Drowning in the continuous sounds of camera shutters all around, I tried my best to capture the beauty before me. 
Before we knew it the sun jump effortlessly above the horizon rewarding us with a spectacular new set of photo opportunities. The next few stops took us to Waimanalo Beach and Paili Lookout both of which showed the more peaceful side of the island. The day was concluded with a tour of Pearl Harbor and Iolani Palace. Pearl Harbor was as expected, educational but casted a gloomy shadow on the rest of the day. Seeing the oil patches on the water still surrounding the USS Arizona was a true reminder of what remains underneath.
It's wasn't until the 3rd day that I managed to finally sit on the beach. At Lanikai I watch the clouds roll over the islands ahead. Even the lack of sun barely took away from its beauty. The stark contrast to Waikiki is noticed in an instant as towering hotels and resorts are replaced by cozy beach front houses that presents a peaceful air.  With a total of a dozen people around, it was easy to imagine this as my private beach. To conclude the first leg of the trip the final day on the island was spent first at North Shore, where we stared upon never ending waves relentlessly smashing agains the rocks. As I sunbathe at Waimea Bay watching surfers and parasailers, I couldn't imagine a better way to wrap up Oahu.

In the afternoon I took a quick hike up Diamond Head Trail. The hour trip lead me up a steep staircase which eventually provided an eagle's eye view of all Waikiki beach. I'm at awe at the beauty of Hawaii, never have I seen so many shades of green and blue making up one body of water.

Atmosphere: The area of Waikiki is obviously tailored towards tourists. With high end stores and teeky lights on every block one could easily think it was too commercialized. However taking a stroll along the strip with the beach on one side provided a great contrast of transquilty and liveliness.

Beauty: It would be hard to categorize anything relating to Hawaii as anything short of breathtaking. However being the city that Honolulu is, it does suffer slightly from the residential neighborhoods on the outskirts. Yet the beaches were some of the most amazing I've yet to see.

Cleaniness: I'm starting to realize just how dirty my city really is. Ever time I set foot in another city I seem to be reminded of that. The whole island was kept surprisingly well kept even some of the more off the beat paths and beaches.

Food: This has been the most inconsistent of all the categories. The best poke I had was by far from Ahi Assassin, which had a perfect combination of texture and flavor.
Some of the other local favorites like Loco Moco and Musubi was less impressive, making me ponder how it can be a favorite at all.

People: Everyone is really friendly, even the cops which says a lot. In fact patience is a must here especially on the road as everyone is really chilled and no one honks!

Comment: This had been a great start to Hawaii. With the exception of a few restaurants that didn't pan out everything else was spot on. The island offered a great blend of activities for everyone from beach bums to historic buffs to shopaholic.

Scale 1-10: 9