11 years later, i finally got the chance to book myself a ticket to Honolulu, Hawaii on Jetstar! Love budget air now :D A long awaited trip now realised. Liz, Yap (my housemates) and myself happen to match up our leave in March, partly thanks to the economic downturn which forced our company to encourage more leave during the lull season. So we set off on the evening of 28 Feb to the Pacific island of Hawaii from Sydney airport, 10 hours to our destination. Since it's a budget flight, we armed ourselves with packs of biscuits and water and prepare to sleep our way to Hawaii.
The entire flight there seemed pretty short cos we wld have reached Sydney time 3am ... felt like i din sleep much cos unfortunately, we were seated beside a rather noisy family and a random elderly couple who were talking loudly most of the way :o
Being used to driving around on our own in Aussie land, we went free and easy and researched much about the what's what in Hawaii before departing. We chose Oahu and Maui island as they are the more famous islands of Hawaii (and Honolulu is in Oahu) and rented our car from Alamo (most affordable). Armed with our GPS, we made our first stop at Waikele factory outlet! woohoo, the thing i love about the US is the joy of shopping at factory outlets :) though there's no Kate Spade store, Coach is good too! See our combined purchases below: 
the big bag is mine as you can guess...bought CK top, brooks bros shirt, polo tee...not a lot after all :P
We visited Pearl Harbour and took a boat ride out to the USS Arizona memorial for the victims of the WWII bombing. Seeing that the person who operated our boat looked so smart in his navy uniform, i decided to take a picture with him! so cool right...white as snow uniform...
I came across this little piece of artefact while touring the museum at Pearl Harbour. Thought that it was very interesting cos the time stopped at the exact moment when the bombing occurred (on the USS Arizona) on 7 Dec, 1941. There were lots of other items on display as well...some rather poignant as you read through the descriptions. i read a letter which a navy personnel wrote to his mother, describing his life on the ship and that all's well with him and his brother. Shortly after, both he and his bro were killed in the attack...so sad...can imagine the pain his mum felt when she received the letters in the end and knowing that her sons have left her...
This is the actual memorial for the USS Arizona where the most navy personnel lost their lives. This is built on top of the ship that sank during the jap attack and they never salvaged the ship from the waters. The USS Missouri (on which the japs signed the surrender treaty) overlooks the memorial today...a reminder that justice prevailed at the end.
After a tiring day (we started the day at 645am! + not much sleep on the plane), we retired to our nice hotel called Aqua Waikiki Tides, see how warm and cosy it is? cos it's newly renovated...the outside actually looks quite appalling, much like the old HDB estate corridor to our horror. Thankfully, the inside did not disappoint. The staff was very friendly too! :)That's all for Day 1...more to come for Day 2...stay tuned!
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