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Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: Rizzo on 11 Apr 2011, 02:46
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I'm off to Honolulu mid June and I'm not really sure what goes on in Hawaii beyond swimming and checkin' out Pearl Harbour? I assume there are most of the same chain stores as the mainland (gotta eat me some taco bell, burger king and KFC)?
Does anyone know anywhere cool to go for gigs/drink? Am I going to die of sweat? I imagine a tropical island in the middle of summer will be obscenely hot.
I'm only the for 5 days and I'm going to be with my parents but I can't imagine they'll expect me to hang out constantly.
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Maui is way better, and also cooler. The Big Island has a dry side. Uh... Waikiki, Diamond Head, and the North Shore are there, and the Valley of the Temples is cool (there is a replica of the Byodo-In!). Also, Waikiki Aquarium and the botanical gardens are pretty, but they might be expensive. I don't remember much specific because it's been a long time and I was with my family, sorry.
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What's that dancing with the girls with coconut bras and skirts made of bamboo? Do that?
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(http://www.hawaiiancruiseblog.com/images/volcano.jpg)?
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YOU GOTTA SHOOT THE CURL BROSEF
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Jetskiz brah.
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Snorkeling! Swimming with sea turtles has to be one of the single most magical things I've ever done.
I'll always love Kauai (the "rural" island) and its pristine wildernesses but there's probably stuff to see on the Big Island as well. Go on a hike!
You'd think it would be hot that near the equator but the fact that the islands are surrounded by the ocean keeps the temperature fairly temperate. It's not nearly as oppressive as, say, Nicaragua, but it's definitely warm. If you're on the wet side, be prepared for torrential downpours that literally appear in a manner of seconds. First time we went my dad rented a convertible and we couldn't get the top up in time before the inside of our car was fairly soaked.
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I was 7 years old when my family went to Hawaii so I don't even remember what we did on each island now. I know we stayed in Honolulu which was where my brother was stationed. Diamond Head was pretty but we didn't go up to it or anything. I remember we spent at least a day at Waikiki Beach, and a day at Hanauma Bay, but I read that the "Toilet Bowl" is now closed to the public - it was this cool inlet where water would rush up from underneath and flush back out, and people would sit in it like a whirlpool. Pretty dangerous but really cool.
I vaguely remember the Ala Moana Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ala_Moana_Center). The USS Arizona Memorial is definitely worth going to. Bishop Museum, if you like that sort of thing. Thurston Lava Tube is pretty awesome if you can make it to the Big Island, as is all of Crater Rim Drive (http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/craterrimtour.htm).
What kind of things do you enjoy doing? Cultural stuff? Chilling out? Hiking? Driving?
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Book 'em, Dano
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Dan, Kilauea is on the Big Island, silly.
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I dunno where the whole army thing is, but my friend Juice is stationed in Hawaii. Challenge him to a drinking contest, Riz. :psyduck:
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He would probably be stationed in Oahu, where Pearl Harbor is.
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You learn something every day.
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What kind of things do you enjoy doing? Cultural stuff? Chilling out? Hiking? Driving?
Won't be able to drive as I'm from a right hand drive country. I guess I'm into lots of stuff? Primarily I want to find out if there's any sort of alternative culture in Hawaii. I understand there's a pretty big goth scene.
I want to soak up some American culture via my stomach and liver!
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Yeah honestly making the switch isn't as hard as you think it might be. You'll probably be a better driver than most because you're actually paying attention.
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There are goths in hawaii? What?
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I don't know man, you'd never figure Florida to be a cradle of death metal but it's there
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I want to soak up some American culture via my stomach and liver!
One of my bosses (who is a bit of a foodie) told me one of the best Hawaiian dishes is the Loco Moco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loco_Moco).
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I am so confused. What does "right-hand drive country" mean? Hawaii drives on the right...
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Yeah, but Riz comes from a weird upside-down foreign land where they drive on the wrong side of the car/road.
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k but
wait
Wouldn't that be a left-hand drive country... or are you just being tongue-in-cheek and my humor gland isn't working today?
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tl;dr dude's from Australia!
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Find "OUR PRESIDENT"'s birth certificate.
THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.
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But seriously I hear the volcanoes are beautiful and a must-see even if they're really hot.
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tl;dr dude's from Australia!
Wouldn't that be a left-hand drive country...
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The cars go on the left side of the road, the driver goes on the right side of the car (the driver should be on the side towards the median). Cars are referred to as left-hand or right-hand drive based on the side the steering column and other controls are on.
Dan, Kilauea is on the Big Island, silly.
Yeah, I never remember that Hawaii is a chain, rather than just one island. Maybe I'll remember now! Maybe I'll forget, because I'm stubborn!
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Ah! Sorry, I'm used to calling them by which side of the road you drive on. Maybe I'm the one in the weird upside-down foreign land...
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Nah, most of Europe and places like Russia and the Middle East and pretty much anywhere that wasn't colonised by the UK at some point drive on the right-hand side of the road.
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I am so confused. What does "right-hand drive country" mean? Hawaii drives on the right...
That is what he is saying. Riz is saying he is from a left hand drive country, so the car is on the left hand side of the road, but the driver is on the right side of the car, so you use your left hand to change gears and whatnot. You guys drive on the right side, so the driver sits on the left and he would use his right hand to do the gear changing etc. Everything would be backwards so it would be confusing hence why he figures he won't be driving anywhere.
Oh whoops, skipped the one post where this was explained. Carry on!
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Obviously our way is correct because it makes more sense to me to use your dominant (right for most of the population) hand for driving and your lesser hand for gear-changing.
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And socialised healthcare.
(But thank you everyone for your suggestions. Does anyone know of any good record stores by chance?)
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I don't drive so I don't know how difficult it is to adapt to driving on the other side of the road, however as a pedestrian visiting exotic drive-on-the-right countries I basically have to retrain 30 years of instinctively looking right for oncoming traffic before crossing a road. In my experience it usually take two or three weeks to start looking the appropriate way automatically - by which time usually I'm due to go back home and have to retrain myself all over again.
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Nope, nothing at all to do there. The place is a shithole.
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surf!
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I don't drive so I don't know how difficult it is to adapt to driving on the other side of the road
Honestly the only part that's particularly difficult is driving in parking lots or other places where there aren't pretty obvious cues as to what side of the road you should be on. That's when you'll find yourself drifting across to the wrong side.
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Obviously our way is correct because it makes more sense to me to use your dominant (right for most of the population) hand for driving and your lesser hand for gear-changing.
Nah, with left hand drive you can rest your left arm on the windowsill and drive with the right. Mad comfy.
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B..but.. I can rest my right elbow on the windowsill and drive with my right hand? (I also have a small car.)
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Honestly, I'm just trying real hard to imagine right hand drive and it makes me feel claustrophobic for some reason.
Where's the clutch pedal on right hand drive?
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It's on the left, closest to the gearstick. It goes clutch, brake, accelerator from left to right.
Also the windscreen wipers are generally on the left side of the wheel, and the indicators on the right, thought I have driven a car where they were opposite and would constantly turn the wipers on instead of indicating.
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Yeah I think generally European cars have the inicator on the left while Asian cars have it on the right. I can't for the life of me remember where a car actually built in Australia puts 'em.
Also yeah, even though the driver is on the opposite side from 'murka/Canada/Continental Europe to England or Australia, the pedals stay in the same place. I think Australia's way makes more sense on this one, you clutch and shift gears with the same side of yr body!
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if you drive on the left, then the right side of the road becomes the wrong side.
how does that make sense?
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Because homonyms?
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After more than three months, I am still incapable of crossing a one-way street without looking both ways - one to check the way I actually know the traffic is coming from, and an involuntary flick to the other side because I can't quite believe that the cars won't come from there.
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Yeah I think generally European cars have the inicator on the left while Asian cars have it on the right. I can't for the life of me remember where a car actually built in Australia puts 'em.
Opposite of that, actually. The Hondas, Acuras, Nissans, and Subarus I have driven all have indicators and headlights on the left and wipers on the right.
It always seemed strange to me that you would do all the active complicated things (shift gears, etc) with the side of your body that is not dominant. Unless you are a leftie, obviously.
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In terms of wanting the control of a dominant hand, I would say steering trumps gear-shifting any time. :-P
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If your non-dominant hand is too uncoordinated to be trusted to change gears or steer on it's own then maybe you should buy an automatic instead.
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I mean, I have driven both kinds of cars on the respective wrong and right sides of the road*, and the worst thing for me is the mirror being in the wrong place, because looking there is a habitual automatic motion. Everything else is fine, but my brain has a history of mirroring things to the point that I don't always know whether my memories are flipped or not. For instance, I broke my right foot when I was 14, but I can't necessarily tell you which one it was if you just suddenly ask me; I got hit by a drunk driver in 2007, who clipped me on the front right and made me spin out, but I swore up and down to the cops that he had been on my left, because that's what I remembered; Tommy and I went on a road trip once from Glasgow to London, and whenever I remember the driving parts I automatically see the american faster-on-the-left traffic patterns in my head, even though they were obviously reversed. Also, I am more or less ambidextrous, so it wouldn't really matter to me? I just thought it was the most logical way to do it. I always thought you would play guitar with your dominant hand on the neck, too, but whatever.
*sometimes people import fancy cars to places where their driver seat is on the "wrong" side compared to the rest, and I have driven a few
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When I was twelve years old I spent a couple of months in France (convalescing from TB). My memories of journeys, and even of the map which I used to read in the car, all became reversed almost immediately.
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I am new to the boards, but I have lived in Honolulu for the last three years.
There are no active volcanoes on Oahu. Diamond head crater is a dormant volcano, and a decent hike/view. Maka'pu is a nice hike with a view.
If you want to go snorkeling Hanama Bay is beautiful and fairly close to Waikiki.
At night there are quite a few bars downtown Honolulu, so you can probably find something you like.
The Dole Pineapple plantation has a maze and some killer Pineapple Ice Cream.
If you are looking for American food, there are plenty of fast food joints around, but if you go to Dixie Grill past the Arizona memorial, it is more southern style food. The food is good, I usually get the ribs and sweet tea, and the prices are not bad for Hawaii.
If you are still reading this thread and have any questions I can try and answer them. I am married so I don't hit the clubs, but I work with some single guys that may be able to help out.
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I know you can't, as it's totally forbidden to tourists, but…
…Go to Ni'ihau! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau
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Hi Rizzo,
I lived on O'ahu for four years. I would highly recommend getting a car, it is not that hard to drive on the other side, lots of the streets are one way anyways. The bus will take forever, and taxis are pretty damn expensive. ($40-50 to get from the airport to Waikiki)
Hanama bay is for snorkeling, the east side of the island has awesome jungles and good beaches with campgrounds, the north side has beaches and waves, it is possible people will be mean to you on the west side, the middle is for pineapples and the marines. West and east are called windard and leward and I don't remember which is which. Hawaiian culture is different than "American" It's Hawaiian, Phillipino, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, American and etc. They have American fast food and junk but it is all lots more expensive and slightly more shitty. The "alternative" culture is not obvious or easy to find, I'm not sure they even get together in public places ever. Here's a record store: http://www.hungryear.com/ (http://www.hungryear.com/), but if you don't get a car and try to go a bunch of places, then you will spend a large chunk of your time on a bus and walking. It is hot when you walk, you can get a sunburn.The music is shit. There are a lot of stupid ukaleles in Hawaii, people play top40, smooth hip-hop whatever, the radio plays that remake of somewhere over the rainbow/wonderful world from the end of Meet Joe Black every 45 minutes and kids are excited when Jimmy Buffet comes to town. Jim, pina coladas are shit. ...Although sometimes they play that "In the Jungle" Lion King song on the radio and you can go "woah, I AM in the jungle" and get your aweembowat on.
It is really fun to hang out at the beach, go hiking in the jungly parts and go to local restaurants. If you don't get a car, and you are staying in Honolulu, you can go on guided hikes/surfing/kayaking through the college, (http://www.hawaii.edu/cclp/) they will drive you there. Usually the guide or someone with you on the tour can give you good suggestions about what else you might like to do, or maybe you will meet someone who will drive you around if you flirt with them or buy them beer and/or weed. Just rent a car. Let me know if you want to know anything I know about Hawaii. Wear sunscreen. Pineapples are awesome. Being called haole is usually an insult. ABC stores in Waikiki sell bus passes.There are geckos at night. Lemon juice is good on papaya. Don't eat shrimp from a food truck on the North Shore. The International Marketplace (http://www.internationalmarketplacewaikiki.com/) and the Aloha stadium swap meet (http://alohastadium.hawaii.gov/features/swap-meet) sell souvenirs.
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Thanks for the info all! It should hopefully be really helpful. I'm staying right in Honolulu on Kuhio ave and I believe my parents are getting a rental car at some point so who knows what may happen!
Given the amount of Japanese culture in Hawaii, can anyone recommend a really good ramen place? Always on the hunt for good ramen.