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It’s amazing what a shower will do for one’s mood. After camping for two days in the Pololu Valley, the 13 of us — no longer 14 because one took off for Hilo — washed the black sand out of our hair only to douse it with some good ol’ fashioned white sand along the beaches of the Kohala Coast. If we were roughing it the first two days of our trips, we were doing…the exact opposite for the latter half.
For the remainder of our Big Island adventure, we were stationed at Craig’s parents’ beautiful home in Kohala (thank you, Musburgers, for letting a dozen of us stay at your home!), but we didn’t spend much of our time indoors. We ventured to the Mauna Lani Beach Club, where there was mostly glassy water for stand-up paddle-boarding and where the snorkeling was supreme. This beach had some of the most beautiful coral I’ve ever seen, and on a clear day like that, this snorkel-loving girl was very happy.
This past weekend, Eaman and I finally got a chance to check out another island, and for this trip we headed to the Big Island for an amazing four days of sun, sand and a camping trip with 12 friends to the Pololu Valley, located on the northern coast. The original plan, hatched back in March, was to hike the Waipio Valley, which would’ve involved the much more arduous uphill and downhill 9 miles in, 9 miles out. But after multiple injuries amongst our group, we shifted plans and decided to do the much more easily accessible Pololu, where we’d take a small hike down and camp in the valley for two nights. It’s a spectacular place and highly recommended if you’re ever on the namesake island.
View from the plane during sunset as we pass over the chain of Hawaiian Islands:
Last week I shared with you my favorite beaches and activities on the island, but today, I’ll fill your bellies with tips on the best places to eat, drink and be merry.
I didn’t expect much I didn’t expect anything out of Honolulu’s food scene when we arrived. Coming from New York, we’ve essentially become food snobs and feel that no place can really compare to what our old home offered. Well, after three months, I’ve realized that yes, it’s true that New York reigns food king, but I was very surprised by how much good stuff we found here.
RESTAURANTS
Peace Cafe. In New York City, I hated vegan food. It was dry, bland and always gave me a stomach ache. But I’ve been bowled over by the vegan options in Honolulu. Peace Cafe, a small and quiet restaurant in the Moilili area, has some of the best. (The grocery store Down to Earth, with its vegan buffet, comes in at a close second.) They offer salads, sandwiches that can also be served with rice instead of bread, bibimbop and the best iced matcha green tea latte on the island. I love so much about this place — from the miso-tahini spinach and tofu sandwich (“The Popeye”) wrapped in a crisp brown paper wrapping to the zen-like atmosphere and lovely playlists.
As we savor our last few weeks here, I’ve started to get all sad and mopey about leaving this paradise. Life is just.so.good here. But, though our time in Hawaii was short — just over three months — we did a heckuva lot on this tiny island called Oahu. It got me thinking about the best stuff I’ve done out here, and since Hawaii isn’t as nearly as far flung of a destination as some of the places on the rest of our itinerary, I thought I’d dedicate a post to some of my favorite things about life here for my friends and readers headed this way in the future. In this installment, we take a look at my favorite beaches and outdoor activities. (Note: I know there’s tons more to do on the island, but this is just a rundown of the best stuff that we got a chance to experience.)
THE BEACHES
Kailua. Famous for its powder white sand beaches, this stretch of pristine land located 15 minutes north of Waikiki is straight out of a postcard. If you want to do more than just lay on the beach — which is definitely not a bad choice — there’s stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and windsurfing, which can be particularly good here thanks to its location on the windier part of the island. This is a great beach for families (especially because it has bathroom facilities), but word to the wise, it can get crowded on weekends. If you want a little more peace and quiet (and you’re OK with no bathrooms), try Lanikai Beach, another gorgeous beach located next door.
A peek at what’s been going on in our lives, both big and small, here in Hawaii…
Remember how I groaned about having not trying stand-up paddle-boarding (SUP) here? Well, Eaman found us a place that both rents and drives people to nearby Ala Moana Beach Park, one of the best spots for SUP if you don’t have a car. (It’s not a far walk, but those paddle boards are heavy and wide to carry.) I seriously love the the wonderful owners of this store, a husband and wife team, who even cut us a deal since we’ll be coming weekly to SUP. Just as Eaman has fallen for surfing, I’ve fallen for SUP. Being on the water isn’t just a low-impact but rigorous workout for the core and arms, it’s also my happy place — a place with no phone, camera or anyone else to talk to. It’s just me and my head. As runners say about their own sport, it’s very meditative.
During the glorious three consecutive days off around my birthday, Eaman and I spent one full day on the road, checking out life on the island beyond Honolulu, which also gave us an opportunity to use Eaman’s cool new camera lens. Craig, master of road trips, put together a nice itinerary for us, and our friend, Doug, generously lent us his car for some Friday fun. We had actually considered jetting to Kauai for those three days, but in an effort to save money, we decided that it’ll be more fun to leave Oahu, able to say we really knew the island. (Besides, we’re headed to the Big Island over Memorial Day Weekend for a big camping trip, so at least we’ll have gone to one other island.)
Here, a little map of our eight-hour trip with stars marking the stops:
First stop: the Pali lookout off the Pali Highway.
I mentioned in my last post that we had some good news. I’m not sure what you guys thought it was — actually, I know what a couple of you thought it was — but it’s travel-related, natch. Friends, we’ve booked our next ticket!
On June 4, we bid farewell and a big mahalo to Hawaii and say hello to…
I think one detrimental side effect of our online personas — whether they be on Facebook, Twitter or blogs like this one here — is that they set you up for failure — failure to achieve a life that can seem completely unattainable. (Understatement of the century, I know.) Everyone seems happy, rich, social, fashionable and accomplished online. You may think that my life is grand because I’m traveling all over the world, have a happy and healthy relationship and am pursuing my dream. Well, you’re right and life is pretty grand. But, not all the time. I’m human and am subject to mood swings, negative thoughts and the same worry-filled self-reflections that anyone, anywhere faces. And so here, my most recent “real” moment. (Apologies if it’s a bit all over the place, but if you created an infographic of Thoughts in Archana’s Head at the Moment, it’d look pretty all over the place, too.)
If you’ve been reading this blog, you also know that I have a problem with dwelling on the negative when life stands still. It’s usually only when I’m on the go that I feel like I’m truly living. (It’s a good and bad thing sprung from my NYC years.) Well, now that we’re living in Honolulu and life is somewhat routine, the nagging Type A-derived demon — who last visited when we were living in Buenos Aires — is back. Yet again, I find myself looking forward — not living in the moment — and focusing on what I don’t have instead of what I do.
I know I mentioned in this post about our six-month travel-versary that I still don’t know what I want to do in life but, as advised by my friends, I should take this time to dabble. Dabble in writing. Dabble in cooking. Dabble in the outdoors. Dabble in dabbling? I think the reason I’ve been fretting as of late is that I’ve come to a realization: I don’t dabble. I usually know what I want and I go for it.
I have more varied goals here while traveling and specifically in Hawaii. I’m supposed to be practicing my Farsi, but I’m lazy. I’m supposed to be doing yoga every day, but I complain that I’m tired from work. I was supposed to already have tried paddle boarding, yet somehow, I haven’t even tried it in the two months we’ve been here. I feel lukewarm about all these things and what I now realize is that I miss being passionate about that One Thing.
Hidden within these mini goals was an effort to unlock some hidden passion, the thing that makes me tick. It used to be the dog-eat-dog magazine world, but now the road is a lot less clear. I hear the way my cousin, Pratt, talks about yoga and I, too, want to find something so monumental and influential in my life. The problem isn’t that I’ve lost that drive to find it; it’s that I haven’t found that “something” that turns the wheels and I’m, in turn, blaming myself for not finding it soon enough.
But I’m fooling myself into thinking that I’m supposed to be seeing some tangible return — in this case a life and career path — after six months of traveling.
And I’m not alone in this emotional roadblock. I was explaining my internal conflict to Eaman a few days ago and as soon as I articulated that it was the goal that was lost, not the drive, he realized that we’re going through the exact same thing. Like I so fervently pursued my magazine job, he, too, went after an investment banking job with equal gusto. Since then, he hasn’t chased anything with such excitement. In the last few weeks, we had both been going through some sort of mental struggle that neither of us could put a finger on, but in that moment, we realized just how similar (more so) we really are.
Either way, it’s put a damper on the last couple of weeks — minus those wonderful birthday-celebrating days — and when I finally vented about it to one of my best friends, Suchit, he explained, so well that we — as well-educated children of immigrants — are hard-wired to achieve, achieve, achieve. It’s hard to step back and let your life unfold organically and, in the process, reveal that light-bulb moment. And even before I left to travel in September, I rattled off a list of goals to accomplish while traveling to my other best friend, Avni, and her response was: “Yeah, or you could also just have a great time.”
I know what you’re probably thinking: Geez, just let loose! Enjoy the moment, and you’ll figure it out later. True, but try telling that to yourself when you’re bummed out. It’s a lot easier to give advice than it is to take it. So for my part, I’m trying to remember all these wise words, but of course, letting it all out on the blog is its own kind of therapy. Thanks for indulging and pardon this reflective interruption.