Rain???

Friday, 4th May


No smart comments, please, but it actually rained this morning after breakfast! We had decided to catch the bus to Hanamea Bay and were most surprised to discover it was raining – we didn’t feel any need to change from shorts and t-shirts, though! After standing under a tree for about 20 minutes waiting for the bus to arrive, we changed our minds and decided to finish our souvenir shopping – we still needed to buy a couple of Aloha shirts for family back home. At this stage, Leslie felt a little unwell with a possible migraine, so he was returned to the hotel for a little rest in the dark. Fortunately for those back home, one of us plodded on and braved the dealers in the market place to make the necessary purchases.

This afternoon we had a gentle stroll along the beach front towards Diamond Head – very beautiful along this way, with lawn and palm trees between the road and beach. After the rain cleared this morning, it came out very hot and sticky and the sea was flat as a tack – not appreciated by all the would-be surfers who had hired surf boards for the day. Our afternoon ice cream treat had to be eaten very quickly today.

There is an Ugg Australia shop here (yes, Ugg boots in this climate) and we decided to check out their prices last night. Unfortunately, we didn’t get in the shop as the queue (yes, queue) was too long – the security guards were only letting people in as others came out because the shop was jammed packed!

I think I must have the softest hands in Waikiki – it seems nearly every time we go out someone is wanting to give me a hand massage, try the new magical salts, or give my hand (only one) an exfoliation and facial mask. There are also numerous people trying to sell time share, tours, etc, but the people selling live gun firing seem to leave us alone. From late afternoon, there are also numerous buskers – everything from living statues, artists, musicians and rap dancers. A couple of the living statues have left a little to be desired – and nothing much to the imagination! One male obviously didn’t want to risk losing his patch, so used the nearby rubbish bin as a loo. Another one, female and wearing a very short skirt, lost her hat in the wind as I was walking towards her and so she just bent over to pick it up with her back towards me. She obviously had got dressed in a hurry and forgot to put her undies on!

There are lots of trolleys in Waikiki, which make it easy to get about. They are fairly cheap (our hotel give us free transport on a trolley) but the majority seem to be reserved for Japanese tourists.