Oahu - Pearl Harbor

In my opinion, the highlight of our stay on Oahu was visit to Pearl Harbor. During Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 other were severely damaged. 2350 people died on those ships, and half of them were from the USS Arizona.

To visit the USS Arizona Memorial one needs to get a free ticket. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis directly at the site. Even though we arrived at the memorial site extremely early in the morning, still, we only managed to get tickets for 12:45pm. The people who arrived half an hour after us were sent back empty-handed.

As we had several hours from the moment we received our tickets to the time on which we could visit the USS Arizona Memorial, we decided also to visit the battleship USS Missouri and the submarine USS Bowfin. Tickets to visit those two ships were pretty expensive, so initially we were not thrilled about not having a better option to kill time than to have to visit them. But at the end of a day we were actually happy that we got a chance to visit them. In many ways they were much more interesting than the USS Arizona Memorial. For example, I was amused to learn that the USS Bowfin is the only know submarine to ever manage to destroy a bus!

All in all, I would say that it is definitely worth your time to go and visit Pearl Harbor. Just remember to be there as early as possible (preferably at 7am, and not later than 7:30am), if you want to get tickets to the USS Arizona Memorial.


On this photo you can see a model of Oahu island, the names of all people who died on USS Arizona carved on the blue plates, and in the background several battleships and USS Arizona Memorial:


USS Arizona Memorial is located on the waters above sunken Arizona battleship:


Inside USS Arizona Memorial:


Remnants of USS Arizona that can be seen from the memorial:


The names of all people who died on USS Arizona during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are listed on one of the walls inside the monument. To my surprise, in front of the wall there were flowers from the mayor of Hiroshima:


USS Bowfin submarine:


My parents sneaking through the door on the submarine:


My father pretending that he knows what is what:


On the deck of the submarine:


USS Missouri battleship:








The rooms on the battleship are several times bigger than the ones on the submarine:


Also, you can easily walk throught the door, instead of crunching down to cross through them:






USS Oklahoma Memorial:

Oahu - Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head Crater

As our plane was approaching Oahu, we were presented with the spectacular views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head Crater:


By the time that we got to our hotel, unpacked and were ready to hit the down, it was already dark outside. That was probably only for the better, as many cities look much more attractive during the night. Waikiki Beach with its all fancy hotels and exclusive shops definitely is not an exception from this rule.


My parents seemed to enjoy Waikiki Beach at night, but they said that during the day it was way too crowded, and therefore, not enjoyable. Luckily, there were many other attractions on Oahu and we decided to spend time on them, rather than on lying on the beach. We thought that we would still have plenty of time for that on other islands.

My parents in front of the statue of King Kamehameha:


The next day we went hiking to the top of Diamond Head Crater from where there are absolutely stunning views to Waikiki Beach:


Also there we had a chance to try typical Hawaiian shave-ice. Mniami!

Oahu - Manoa Falls

Our first encounter with beautiful Hawaiian tropical forest was in Paradise Park located in Manoa Valley near Honolulu. As you can see from the photos below the park is truly spectacular and fully deserves its name. All plants there have the deepest green color you can imagine, there are plenty of colorful flowers and birds that sing only for you :)

In the park we went for a hike to Manoa Falls. To be honest, the falls were disappointing, but the hike leading to them was really nice. On the way there I overheard a guide telling to a group of people that many of the TV series "Lost" scenes were shot there. Right now I am watching "Lost" and it brings back all the good memories...

Lush tropical forest of Paradise Park:




My parents and bamboo forest:


(Part of) Manoa Falls:

Oahu - downtown Honolulu & Chinatown

On one sunny afternoon while my parents were sunbathing on Waikiki Beach, I decided to go to downtown Honolulu and its Chinatown. Even though Oahu has an excellent bus system, it is not easy for the tourists to use! Not on a single bus stop you could find a map of bus routes or their schedules. Because of that I ended up walking way more than I initially intended and my feet were hurting me a lot at the end of the day.

But I should not complain as on my way I saw many interesting things that I would not have seen had I taken the bus, like this "First Chinese Catholic Church":

Park with beautiful red trees:

Iolani Palace:

Interesting fountains and other sculptures among high-rise buildings in downtown Honolulu:

Chinatown and the gate leading to it:


Chinese clock:


Buddhist temple: