RooMXMatez TM: ALOHA AS THE WAY OF LIVING

ALOHA AS THE WAY OF LIVING

By Unknown Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Travel

Hawaii, the islands full of sun, palms, beaches and endless fun. Hawaii are paradise for tourists. When you need to check out of the real world, full of stress and work, Hawaii are a perfect destination to relax in a tropical setting.

By renting a car, you can see whole Oahu in just a few days. If you want you can pay extra money to rent one of the two most common seen cars around the island. One, of course, is a Ford Mustang and the second, to many known from the hit TV show, filmed right on the streets and beaches of Oahu - Hawaii Five-0, an iconic Camaro.

On the North Shore you can visit many of the surfing spots, known for surfing competitions, which are held there in the winter. In the summer, those beaches attract tourists because of their beautiful scenery. You can't surf the pipelines, but you certainly can relax and take some refreshing swims. The beaches that must be on your to go list are Waimea Bay, Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach. On the north of Oahu is the town of Haleiwa, most known for the shaved ice, flavoured by so many different, tropical flavours. Of course, you can get shaved ice all around Hawaii, but there's none like the one in Haleiwa. Also, when on the North Shore, you must try out the famous food from the Shrimp trucks.

On the way towards the eastern side of the Oahu, the Windward coast, you can stop at Turtle Bay Resort. If you're lucky, you can snorkel with the turtles. Also on the way down to the Windward coast beaches, you must make a stop at the Polynesian Cultural Center. You will get to experience a true Polynesian feast with a show that shows you Polynesian culture.

The best beaches on the Windward coast are Kailua, which is full of families that are enjoying their free hours and weekends on the beach and Lanikai, which is a bit more of a romantic beach because of it's scenery and also a perfect spot to take off a few hours from your drive around the island. On the way back towards Waikiki, there is also Waimanalo, a beach park and Sandy Beach, known for bringing out big crowds of students from Oahu.

Before ending the trip on this side of the island, I have to mention three more spots. First is Makapuu lookout, which fascinated me entirely with its view. Second is Hanauma Bay, a nature preserve, where you can rent snorkelling gear and swim with the exotic sea life. The third spot is Sea Life Park, a park where you can swim with dolphins. This is a once in a lifetime experience which you cannot miss. In Sea Life Park they also have a wholphin, which is a very rare hybrid between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. I got to swim with her and let me tell you, the feeling of swimming with such a big animal is indescribable and I would love to do it again.

So then we're back at Waikiki, but let's skip this part for now. In the middle of Oahu there is Dole Plantation. This is a plantation where they grow fresh, greatly known around Hawaii, pineapples. You can ride a train through the plantation or just enjoy in getting lost in a huge maze, shaped as a pineapple.

Close to the Honolulu International airport, a must see on Oahu, is the iconic Pearl Harbor, written in the history for the attack of Japanese on American soil back in December 1941, which started the World War 2 for the America. In the bay there are still sunken ships, that still hold many of the bodies that were never recovered. The most famous of those ships is USS Arizona, where the little boats take you to observe the memorial and walk directly over the ship. Ironically, Pearl Harbour is always full with Japanese tourists.

On the way back to Waikiki, we stop at Downtown Honolulu. The sights that you have to see are the Aloha Tower, where you can also visit a market and do some shopping, Iolani Palace and across the street from it the statue of King Kamehameha. For all of you who know the TV show Hawaii Five-0, this is the building, where they have their fictional headquarters.

Between downtown and Waikiki there is the biggest shopping center on the Island, Ala Moana shopping mall. You can buy anything and everything there. But of course you have to take the whole day off for exploring the mall since it's that big. While there, take a break and have a cocktail at Mai Tai Bar.

Waikiki is full of hotels and shops. You can choose to stay at an expensive hotel, such as Hilton Hawaiian Village or Sheraton Waikiki, or you can choose a cheaper hotel, which are all very good. Waikiki Beach is a very large and long beach, always full of tourists and locals, people surfing or taking lessons in surfing. When you have to cool off, because the weather is absolutely hot, you can experience some big animals swimming with you. Don't get too scared, it's not sharks, but big turtles. At the beach there is a statue of Duke Kahanamoku, where everyone is taking photos. When hungry, you have a wide variety of restaurants. From local, tropical cuisine to fast food. Hawaii is largely known for its pineapple and coffee, which you must try. There are also many shops on the streets of Waikiki, from high fashion to souvenir shops.

You have to book yourself a dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki, they have colourful guitars all over their ceiling and it's ambient is really cool. In the evenings, after watching one of the most beautiful sunsets you'll ever see on Waikiki Beach, you can sit down and enjoy the best Hawaiian cocktails at Rumfire, a bar at Sheraton Waikiki, right down on the beach with a view at Diamond Head. My personal favourite was and still is, Lava Flow. Sweet, more for women than for men, and you can only get it while in Hawaii. But of course, it wouldn't be fair not to mention a must cocktail while in Hawaii, a local Mai Tai.

When you don't want to spend your whole day relaxing on the beach, you can walk to the Honolulu Zoo, near the end of Waikiki Beach. It's a really nice zoo, full of different, exotic animals. But I must not forget to mention a trip to Diamond Head trail. You have to wear your sport sneakers, because it's a hike up hundreds of steps and steep hills, but when you reach the top it's all worth it. To one side you get a scenic view of Windward coast and to the other side, you get an amazing view at Waikiki. This view is the one you'll never forget.

The trip to Hawaii is a long one, with several changes between flights, especially if you're flying there from Europe. But once you're there, you will never want to leave. For me it is a destination that must and will be visited again.

Jana Letonja

Contributing journalist

©RooMXMatez TM 2015

«Growing up in Hawaii was something so different. I grew up surfing and being part of the ocean and the mountain. I didn't know about wearing nice clothes, or even being starstruck by celebrities. Well I guess I was a bit starstruck by famous surfers... I started my modeling career by getting scouted in Ala Moana Shopping Center. After that I went to Paris, then NYC and started to get the hang of all of it. It took me a while to adjust. But four years later, which brings me to this present moment, I'm very comfortable living abroad.».

Travis Smith
Hawaiian born and raised Male Supermodel, founder and owner of the amazing Modelfolio App, available on the App Store | Instagram; models.com

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