Hawaii: Waikiki beach and the North Shore, Oahu

Running scared of the waves at Pipeline

Once again I am plagued by Karaoke as I blog but this time it's Spice Girls in a Korean Karaoke Bar in Hawaii.  Actually it sounds pretty close to the original but this is not necessarily a good thing.

Waikiki in technicolour a Polynesia theme park.

Waikiki beach, Honolulu, is pretty much as we expected it to be, which is not the most amazing place we've stayed on our trip. However, we are steps from the beach and the weather is good and the sea is relatively clean.

The beaches here have a multitude of rules forbidding you to enjoy yourselves: no booze, no ball games, no horse shoes, no dogs, no smiles. It's enough to leave you feeling smothered, especially after the Asian ethos of take responsibility for yourself but essentially you're free to do anything. ​

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After feeling a little bit too smothered trying to find a spot for the beach towels we left Waikiki to drive around the island's infamous North Shore. I went alone to hire the car and was asked if I wanted to rent a moped instead. I did think about it for a minute before remembering we weren't in Asia anymore. Imagine the US being OK with a family of four riding around on a moped. I got myself a battered old Chevy instead.

I didn't take it to the levy but instead up to Waimea and The Banzai Pipeline. Jess and Otto successfully reverse body boarded up a few breakers on Waimea but even in the relative calm of a June day, Banzai Pipeline was way to scary for the kids and me to venture in. 

​Three days was more than enough of the most touristy of all the Hawaiian islands and after a belly aching family meal at McDonald's - consisting of 4 cheeseburgers, 4 McChicken sandwiches and 20 chicken nuggets - we left with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths for the welcoming shores of Canadia.