My Latest Travel to Hawaii. COVID-19 has been, by many measures, a…
By: Nathalie King
Tags: Travel Writing, Food, Hawaii, Grateful, Airlines

COVID-19 has been, by many measures, a big disruption to many of us. Social events are now Zoom/Messenger/Discord/Meet/Teams meetings, hugs are no longer allowed, groceries may come in the mail, and work is now from home. For many of us, these changes are largely life changing, but as for me, I’ve been working from home for more than a year now so the current mandate of shelter in place isn’t something new to me.

Prior to quarantine, my usual routine was to go out at least once a week and that became my much needed break from my makeshift office at home. But under these new conditions that we are living in, there are less opportunities for many, if not all of us, to just do whatever we wish to do.

Situations definitely differ per person but I believe that we can work ourselves into saying that this soon shall pass. COVID-19 is a terrible virus but for now, we can do our part by staying home and consistently be grateful for what has happened in our lives so far and for what good things will come.

One of the activities I miss doing the most is travelling. The adventure of going to a different place brings a kind of special excitement as the departure date draws nearer and nearer. Although stressful to some, I find it quite exhilarating to fit everything there is to see in the place in just a few days. Travelling is also one of my ways to rest. Whenever I travel, my expectation is to end the trip with a renewed heart, and in the process to discover more of myself, ready to go back to my responsibilities.

Right now, flight schedules are constantly changing and we don’t know for sure when the travel business will be back to normal but we are still hopeful that things will be under control soon. In the meantime, looking back at some trip photos still brings that excitement out so let me share with you my latest travel trip which easily became one of my favorites! :)

Last February 2020, I, together with my workmates, flew to Honolulu, Hawaii for 2 great weeks for business. Although it was a 10-hour flight from MNL to HNL, the excellent in-flight service made the journey more relaxing.

When I think of Hawaii, I think of the following: beaches, hiking, poke (raw fish), shaved ice, more beaches and more hiking. I was particularly excited for this trip because it was my first time to go to Hawaii and it came at such good timing too since I’ve recently just been more accustomed to liking beaches. I like hiking especially if it comes with a good view (plus I needed some exercise to compensate with the non-stop food trip I was going to be enjoying). Besides my excitement, I had travel jitters because I was going to meet my client for the first time. There were a lot of firsts for me on this trip. Since this was actually more of a work-travel rather than just a pure leisure one, we only had time on weeknights and weekends to explore the place. But nevertheless, I was happy with our itinerary.

Day 1: North Shore

We arrived on a sunny Sunday morning as long immigration lines awaited us. There was already news in some countries in the world about COVID-19 cases at that time which led to numerous people, including myself, wearing masks.

We got our bags and went to the rent-a-car place across the airport to drive to our hotel. Our hotel, Ala Moana, was situated in a touristy location — only a convenient 20-minute walk away from the famous Waikiki beach and just above the world’s largest open-air mall. When we got to the hotel, we rested for a while and then decided to drive to North Shore which is about 45 minutes away. We made a few stops to have our late lunch at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck and Haleiwa Bowls. We arrived at 2 pm at the truck. Despite the long queue, it was worth the wait. We took our takeout and ate at a nearby beach, driving a little more to Haleiwa Bowls for our dessert. I loved the garlic and butter combo of the shrimp and it tasted even better with a touch of lemon juice. And yes, the acai bowl is as good as it looks.

Giovanni’s garlic & butter shrimp with lemon

Haleiwa Bowl’s acai bowl topped with banana and granola

Our last stop was in Bonsai Pipeline which is one of the beaches that professional surfers frequent. The waves were huge and it was the most picturesque scene I have ever witnessed in my life.

Bonsai Pipeline at North Shore

We stayed for 2 hours and drove back to the city proper. Along the way home, we spotted a rainbow in the sky. Fun fact, Hawaii is actually called the “rainbow state”.

Days 2–6: Waikele Outlet, Food Trip

Since our trip to Hawaii was primarily for work, we did not have the full day to tour the city. However, we made sure to have plans in the evenings dining in different restaurants everyday with one night allocated for outlet shopping. Our lunch meals were either from the client’s office canteen or any restaurants around the radar.

Alicia’s Market’s poke bowl — ½ char siu pork, ½ wasabi masago ahi

One of our lunches was from Alicia’s Market. I was a bit hesitant to try this dish because I don’t really eat raw food. It was a good thing they had a half and half option of poke and meat. I chose the char siu and wasabi ahi combo since the ahi was their best seller. I loved it at first bite. The char siu was juicy and the ahi was not what I expected. It was really good and it did not feel like eating something raw. I would recommend this restaurant and if you’re a poke eater, I’m sure you would love this too.

As a Korean cuisine lover, I was happy to try Hawaii’s version of Korean food. Our client invited us for dinner at Choi’s Garden. They call it “Pau Hana” which can be loosely translated as “after work”. We had samgyupsal and although it was not unlimited (which is common in the Philippines), my tummy was still satisfied.

Choi Garden

Another Korean meal I had was just below our client’s building. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the name but I do remember the meal being tasty. I ordered pork wrapped with egg (called “pork-jun” in the menu) which is essentially another version of a katsu. One thing nice about Hawaii take-outs is that their serving sizes are huge. One meal could easily feed 2 people in the Philippines but because it was too delicious, I finished my meal in one sitting. :D

Korean restaurant below our client’s office: pork-jun and japchae

Our Asian cuisine adventure continued with a restaurant located in Ward called Piggy Smalls, which offers Vietnamese food. Just like any other Vietnamese restaurant, they’re famous for their pho. I am not really a big fan of cilantro though and I forgot to inform them if it was possible to remove it from the dish, so I didn’t fully enjoy the meal. Nevertheless, the taste was just okay and it was a good first try. I heard their sandwiches are good too so if you’re visiting, be sure to get both.

Piggy Small’s Chicken Pho

Our officemates suggested trying Tonkatsu Tamafuji which is known for their katsu. Because it was popular, we had to wait for about an hour before we got our seats. Their side dishes were unique. They offered plum, eggplant, cabbage and carrot. I got a cheesy and appetizing katsu. I won’t be taken by surprise if several people have become regular visitors of this place.

Of course, what is a meal without some desserts? Here are some of Hawaii’s favorites that we tried:

Leonard’s bakery’s malasadas

Leonard’s bakery is a go-to place for tourists. We visited their branch located in the Waikele outlet and ordered 3 of each flavour — original, cinnamon sugar and li hing (guava). Malasada is bread that is covered with a topping of your choice and can be filled with custard. It can be compared to the Philippine version of small bread (called pandesal) but it tastes slightly different.

We also tried Liliha bakery which is just inside the Ala Moana mall. We got their famous cream puff and poi (or ube) donut. I personally like green tea so I chose that as the topping for the puff. Both tasted very good.

Liliha bakery’s poi donut, green tea puff and shortcake

Besides food-tripping, we also did some shopping in the Ala Moana mall. Inside, they have Target (a popular general merchandise retailer), Longs (their local convenience store) and Foodland (an American supermarket chain). Popular pasalubongs from Hawaii are Hawaiian grounded coffee and macadamias.

We also went to the Waikele outlet which is located just a few minutes away from the airport. It feels similar to the Woodbury outlet in New York but a smaller version. You can find many stores here that have great deals of 50% off and more.

Days 7- 8: Diamond Head, Waikiki, Ala Moana Beach Park

The weekend was finally here and I had time to explore the city by myself. My two main agenda were to hike and see the beach. I chose to do the Diamond Head trail since it was one of the safer options. People advised me to go early to avoid the crowd. After the hike, I planned to go walk around Waikiki then head back to my hotel.

I took a bus that was going to Diamond Head. The bus driver was so nice since he gave me a free one-day pass to the city. The one-day pass normally costs around $5 while a one-way ticket to Diamond Head costs $2.

You can take the bus from the waiting shed across the entrance of the Ala Moana mall. The driver told me to take route 2 instead of the usual routes of 22 or 23 since that route has lesser people. I got on the bus at around 9 am and I arrived at the trail by 10. The place was indeed crowded with people since there was also a weekend market happening at that time.

The start of the trail was a bit steep and that immediately became my exercise for the trip. Don’t worry though because it is safe and much of the portions were fenced. I did see a number of people from different age groups who climbed with me.

There was a part of the trail nearing the end where it may get dark and claustrophobic since the path went through a tunnel to get to the top. I only got to see the 2nd level view of the trail because it unfortunately started to rain.

Hopefully when I get the chance to revisit, I can get the opportunity to reach the very top since it has the best scenic view. The whole trail took me about 1 hr and 30 minutes to complete. If you’re here or on other trails, don’t forget to bring an extra shirt and a water bottle!