Seven breathtaking days to explore Honolulu

Honolulu is the first choice of every visitor who comes to Hawaii. Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and lies on the island of Oahu. Tourists get impressed from the first sight of the islands. North America has so much to offer to its visitors and Hawaii itself offers more than a tourist wants. People when come to this wonderland they surely plan to visit Chinatown, Waikiki Beach and the Manoa Valley without any hesitation. The meaning of Honolulu is protected Bay that describes peace. It is the deepwater harbour that is surrounded Honolulu. People after visiting Honolulu appreciate the British Captain James Cook as he found Hawaii for the Western World in the year 1778.

Honolulu has a list of tourist attractions and they are Ala Moana, Aloha Tower, Bishop Museum, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Iolani Palace, Lyon Arboretum, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, USS Arizona Aquarium and Waikiki Beach and other Honolulu beaches. When I went to Honolulu to spend my vacation with my friends, I firstly visited Pearl Harbor to see how exactly it looks in a real sight which was attacked by Japanese on 7 December 1941 leading to the United States involving in World War II. Today, Pearl Harbor is a functioning naval shipyard supply centre and submarine base. It is a wonderful site that a tourist should visit. One more attraction of this site that can be toured has been added on the list of Pearl Harbor and that is the USS Missouri, battleship on which the Japanese capitulate was signed to finish the World War II.

With this we also visited the Contemporary Museum where a large oriented garden is located close to it and Honolulu Academy of the Arts where a permanent collection of Oriental and Western art could be found. Spending a pleasant time at Waikiki Beach fascinated us a lot. So if you visit this place just lay down under the influential palm trees and enjoy the special hours in your life. Try some activities as well if you want. The islands offer amazing things to do and to see. So we enjoyed snorkeling through Haunaumi Bay, browsed the open air markets, paid respect to the honorable Pearl Harbor Memorial and also enjoyed the tour sites of Honolulu.

Spending seven wonderful days at Honolulu made our life great. This warm, sunny, tropical island is a paradise for every tourist who throngs here to be a part of Honolulu and make some changes in their life. Most of culture of this state has been exploited by the tourist shops, souvenirs and fake luaus but still Hawaii is rich in its culture and true aloha spirit. People are very friendly and when we entered this magnificent place we were welcomed by the locals eagerly to share their unique culture. The Hawaiian songs and dances are very impressive. So we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center to take glimpses of various Polynesian cultures through its songs, dances, cultural demonstrations and different foods. Experiencing night life of Hawaii is amazing; we spent our night by exploring the night show of song and dance from diverse islands of Polynesia.

Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Portuguese all together make Hawaii a unique landscape. Somehow, the Hawaiian culture is seems to be threatened by the onslaught of tourism and commercialization but I hope that this magnificent state could cope up its rich and stunning culture. As this city lies in a wet and dry Tropical zone, the city offers dry summers and cool winters. So carry some light clothes and light jacket or sweater for evenings. Suits and ties are very rarely used by the people in Hawaii. Basically, nationals in other countries obtain nonimmigrant visa so that they can stay in Hawaii for temporary bases, so it depends on visitor as on his purpose of travel. US citizens do not require any visa to travel in Hawaii but people coming from abroad may require a visa issued by the embassy.

The Honolulu International Airport lies at a distance of 25 minutes drive from the west of Waikiki. For transportation there are taxis, buses, shuttles and rails. So you can reach to your destination easily. Oahu is a small island so most of the attractions could be found at an hour’s drive from the city of Honolulu. After visiting most of the breathtaking sites in Honolulu we packed our bags to return to our nation and truly we felt like we are actually leaving a good friend. We enjoyed so much at Honolulu through shopping, trying the food and visiting sights. You must not miss to try the popular breakfast plate called as Loco Moco in Honolulu. The week ended so soon here. We friends always think of this brilliant place and decide to plan a trip again in Honolulu and explore the rest of the breathtaking sights.