All things bright and beautiful: (2019) Hawaiian travel --- overview

It appears that Hawaii does not usually come high in the list of holiday destinations of choice for people in Hong Kong. At least, very few (in fact only one couple on their honeymoon) among my local acquaintance have been there. A possible reason is the lack of direct flight between the two places. In our case, on our first ever trip to Hawaii last year, we had to put up with a six-hour wait at Tokyo Narita Airport for a transfer flight to Kona International Airport on Hawaii Island. All I can say after the trip is that the long wait was absolutely worth it!

Everything we experienced in Hawaii was far beyond our expectation. On the very first evening we spent there, we were thrilled by the beautiful sunset by the tranquil Kona Coast lined with palm trees. The trip to the 4200m Mauna Kea summit, with the view of the sun setting above a sea of cloud below our feet, followed by a feast of stars in the unobstructed night sky, was totally awe-inspiring. The natural scenery was magnificent and superb hiking trails abounded. The memorials at Pearl Harbor served as a sombre reminder of the cost of war. The beautiful Iolani Palace in Honolulu provided a taste of local history.

Map of the Hawaii islands

For our first visit to Hawaii, we split our 9 whole days there between Hawaii Island (The Big Island) and Oahu, where the capital Honolulu is located. Here is an overview of our itinerary of the 9 days:

Day 1. Haiwaii Island (The Big Island): Coffee farm on Kona Coast