Reiseblogg: Tomorrow we are flying

Today the ship has been to Tonga. We heard that the others had a nice day at the beach, but that it was very warm. Now they will be at sea until February 11, and then we will finally meet in New Zealand. We are flying from Hawaii tomorrow night. Will be so good to see them all again!!

Due to Helene`s health we are still having slow and easy days, we walk a lot, but yesterday we took a taxi to a more local mall.

Here it was less Gucci and Prada, and more people doing their shopping with their children. From what we hear this island is very family orientated. The mall also had a

Cinema, so we went to see:

Last time I cried this much from watching a movie was when I saw Life is Beautiful in 99, some stories touch your heart more than others, and this is one of them.

On the way to the mall we passed more of the residential areas. Not exactly ocean view, placed on the highway. Everybody in Hawaii complains about the high cost of living. To buy a 2 bedroom apartment cost from half a million dollar and up, and to rent the same will be 1500-2000 USD. (According to several locals we spoke with). To cope with the living expenses many have 2-4 jobs, and some we talked with try to save on not buying medical insurance, hoping for a strong health.

As soon as you leave Waikiki beach you can see some of the many homeless here, and it is illegal to be out after midnight in certain areas and parks. Still, like everywhere else in the world, life is different with or without money. “According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Hawaii had the fourth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 7.18 percent.” (Wikipedia). Life is not fair, but that`s true for anywhere in the world.

I like travelling. To see new places and to talk with people. Every place I go, I imagine how it would be to live here. Being a tourist, in most places is easy and convenient, but to have your daily life is of course different. Travelling on a cruise, with only one day in most ports, give you less chance to talk with the local people. You meet a few, but to spend a longer time in one place will of course give you more chances to go a little bit deeper into their society. In Hawaii, we met some who are born and raised here, some that moved from the mainland, but mostly tourists like us. So why are they here?

We met a taxi driver who has been living here for 28 years, “to get away from a vicious ex-wife” and he will never go back to the mainland. We met a young woman who can`t get soon enough back to the mainland after living here for four years with her husband (he has been here in the army, and they are leaving the island together).” U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii supports a population of 94,531 Soldiers, retirees, civilians and families across 22 military installations and training areas.” (Source; their web page).

We met a retired couple from Washington DC who spends weeks here every year. As a former military he gets good prices on accommodation, and it is cheaper to go golfing here than at the mainland. We met Canadians who “escape” from kids and grandchildren to be here every year doing “nothing” except enjoying the good weather. We mostly see Japanese tourists, buying designer clothes (that apparently is cheaper here than in Japan). We met a young woman who grew up here, and moved to New York for 2 years, but it was to stressful and she is so happy to be back that she will most likely never leave again. We met a third generation Japanese, whose great grandparents came to work on the sugar plantation that at the time were active, and he is cursing at the “immigrants who does not speak the language”. In the street we hear a mix of all kind of languages….

Hawaii is definitely a melting pot between lots of cultures, and some busses have their signs in Japanese, Korean or Chinese.

According to www.50states.com ”Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. “ So where do people in Hawaii go for their vacation? Everywhere of course, but the best deals are to Las Vegas (!). It is illegal to gamble in Hawaii, and the time difference between Las Vegas and Hawaii make it possible to leave Vegas Sunday night, and still go to work on Monday. Hard but doable and popular from what we hear.

When we ask the locals why they like it so much here, the first they all point at is the friendliness and the atmosphere. And we agree. Second they talk about the weather, almost perfect all the time, and of course the obvious, that it is beautiful here, and must be a surfer`s paradise.

The downtown is modern.

We have seen so many beautiful beaches, felt the warm ocean, met friendly welcoming people,

The excellent health care for Helene, she is recovering fine, what got more pain is the bank account, but then we came to this woman’s shop, and she had a great sign at her counter