Lei'd in Hawaii

Tuesday, 1st May


Another warm, well hot actually, day – actually felt I needed my hat at 8.00 am this morning.

Today was more relaxing, with the morning spent being pampered at a day spa – it was probably only a half day spa for us. Massages for both of us and then a facial for one, although he was offered one as well! Strangely, a wahine (lady) was assigned to him while I was lucky enough to have the attention of a lovely young man. It was a gorgeous place, very tranquil, serene and peaceful. We felt quite rejuvenated by lunch time, or the feet did, anyway.

This afternoon we walked to the park where the Lei Festival was being held. We purchased a frangipani lei each and Cat received a custom made lei, just the right length for his neck. We decided to give the lei competition viewing a miss, considering the size of the line and instead spent our time looking at the many stalls in the park. Apart from the usual food stalls, there were the usual craft stalls and jewellery stalls, although the jewellery tended to be more Hawaiian influenced that what we are used to seeing in markets. Just to help everyone spend even more money, there were two ATMs set up in the middle of the park!

We walked back along the beach front towards the main drag of Waikiki and made a last minute decision to take the free trolley to Hilo Hattie – I’m sure everyone is just dying to receive an aloha shirt!!! This place is worth visiting just for the experience – rather expensive but still an experience to see so many aloha clothes in one place. We could have matching dresses, shirts, shorts, etc – quite mind boggling. Maui Divers also have an outlet here and a simply gorgeous young man named Mikey followed me around and did his best to convince me I should buy some jewellery. I ended up taking his card and promising to get in touch with him if I changed my mind.

Emergency services are rather interesting here. If one has a medical emergency and dials the equivalent of 000, a FIRE ENGINE is dispatched – not a normal fire engine but one with the long ladder on the back and a tail-end driver. The ambulance comes later!