tripatlas.com/new proudly features Cloudia Charters’ unique “Walking in Waikiki” column from a column from Waikiki News that takes you through the streets of Waikiki and paints a picture of what’s up-and-coming the neighbourhood of Honolulu in Oahu, Hawaii. Read past Walking in Waikiki Articles on tripatlas.com/new.
Walking in Waikiki: Makana
Summer means blooming shower trees all over town. Their branches of swaying, brightly colored, mini-Japanese lanterns turn even a walk to the corner into a sort of a mini-festival. The world’s best weather (Look, another rainbow!) certainly doesn’t hurt either, as clean, cool Trade Winds cruise briskly thanks to the customary North Pacific High. (No giggling!) Waikiki’s south shore surf has been jumping too, thanks to winter storm swells all the way from the southern hemisphere’s Tasman Sea.
Summer’s also a great time to make new friends, and I want to welcome new readers to this column who are joining us via www.tripatlas.com/new. Aloha! Glad you stopped by. Take off your shoes and feel the cool sand between your toes! Sure hope you see something you enjoy, as you stroll along with me through the streets of Waikiki.
Please look around my home base www.waikikinews.com for event calendars, and an indispensable list of “hole in the wall” restaurants that Waikiki News editor Papa Al and I enjoy discovering here in our Honolulu Town.
Of course even here in paradise everything’s not always sweet. Traffic was backed up last week in Kaneohe (on the windward side of O`ahu) when whale bones described as “bigger than people” slid their slimy way off of a flatbed truck blocking lanes on Kahekili Highway. Quick thinking locals wrestled them to the median but this was a gift that kept on giving.
Residents from as far as half a mile away came on foot to see what all the stench was about! Hawaii Pacific University has a federal permit to study the bones, which were recovered from the carcass of a beached sperm whale mercifully buried earlier in the day. Human nature was the real study as drivers slowed down to inspect the unusual sight only to accelerate as the full power of the whale’s, um, spirit invaded their nostrils. Many mahalos to NOAA spokesperson Wendy Goo (real name!) for details. . .
Q: What sound does a rock make?
A: It sounds like thunder when it and it’s buddies are ejected from Kilauea Volcano at Waikupanaha (on the Big Island). Lately, Pohaku (rocks) have been exploding in mid air like artillery shells! Go to: www.nps.gov/havo for more info. Thick, thick, infernally thick volcanic clouds burgeon, churn, writhe and rise, out of which these fragments of lava rock fly in graceful arches, Ka-Blamming in sparks and flame as they fall. All of this is accompanied by primal drumming, and pissed-off hissing from the up-staged ocean. So much heat and cold in proximity (lava meeting sea water) creates a unique microclimate which causes small tornados and waterspouts to form and dance. This pre-historic scene (dinosaurs not included as of yet) draws several thousand visitors a week. But hey, be careful where you step, eh? . .
Happy 80th Birthday to Hawaiian Host brand Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts. “Hauoli La Hanau!” The treat, which has come to be called “Hawaii’s Gift to the World,” was reportedly born at the old Honolulu Bakery in 1920. Today these iconic goodies are available in 24 countries, but it is still customary for visitors to these islands to carry them home as omiyage. We locals like to bring them on business trips to the mainland as bribes (along with Kona Coffee). . .
No visitor to Waikiki should miss a convenient side-trip to America’s oldest Chinatown. This vibrant and historic district of downtown Honolulu remains an authentic, striving-class neighborhood of immigrants and small, local businesses. Chinatown also boasts an “arts district” designation that acknowledges the art galleries, tech start-ups, and design shops springing up. A delightful bar/restaurant scene runs the gamut from upscale treasures like Duc’s Bistro on Maunakea Street, to a thousand and one little places serving authentic food (Malaysian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Cuban, Indian, and of course Chinese), to Hotel Street dives (Smith’s Bar) that still seem remarkably unchanged to WWII veterans who walk in for a nostalgic beer.
On Friday August 8th (8/8/08) Chinatown galleries will pass out 2,000 bottles of bubbles for a huge Good Luck Block Party featuring food and entertainment. Opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics will be shown on a large outdoor screen. At 8:08 pm eight Chinese lions will dance to crashing drums, cymbals, and firecrackers as the crowd launches bubbles and fond wishes. I’ll be there, AND I’ll be wishing for a pony!
If you are a surfer or other ocean sports devotee try to be here for Duke Fest August 17th through 24th. Competitions, displays, and parties will honor Duke Kahanamoku, Waikiki’s gold medal Olympian who taught the world to surf. That’s his larger than life statue, usually bedecked with fond lei, welcoming everyone to Kuhio Beach.
Say, have you seen stand up surfing with the long paddle? This almost forgotten form of surfing, sometimes called “old guy surfing” cause easy on da knees, was a favorite of Duke’s in his later years, and is lately booming back into popularity. Click on www.dukefoundation.org for more information about the good works of the foundation and details of the festival. . .
Makana means, “gift.” Wednesday afternoon I walked along busy Waikiki Beach heading to the Waikiki Sheraton’s Rum Fire room to catch Makana‘s mid-week Pau Hana (happy hour; literally “finished work”) Gig. I remember 10 years or so back when the child prodigy that everyone called “the slack key kid” first started appearing in public with the Hawaiian guitar masters that schooled him. He’s come a long way!
Pictures and CDs don’t convey his energy, personality, or cuteness (what? I can’t LOOK?!). Wearing a fragrant maile lei, appropriate for governors, graduates and kings, Makana led his trio of co-conspirators through a spirited set of mostly traditional Hawaiian songs that delighted the early crowd of “ohana,” (“family”) as he called them. Visitors who had just wandered in for a drink couldn’t believe their luck. Makana’s earnest Hawaiian lyrics, and his gifted playing, mastered the energy of his young band at the height of it’s powers. Even for this early spot, they held nothing back. Their exuberant precision matched that of the surfers just beyond the open windows.
You see, Rum Fire is at the very sea’s edge. Churning rascal surf pounds the floor beneath your chair, felt even through the bass guitars and drums. White spray crescendos almost too close in perfect time with the music. Even nature grooved along, Makana’s virtuosity a virtue indeed. He had us all eating out of his calabash, even before he spent his “break” talking with his guests.
His cherubic curls, and natural, easy nobility put even new comers at ease as he shook hands with all the men, hugged and cheek-kissed all the women. “This must be very bright & early for you musicians to be working.” I said. “The sun and I made an agreement a long time ago.” Makana smiled at me. After that I was happy just to linger in pleasure purgatory, half watching prostrate surfers paddle out, giving themselves to the sea – for a little while.
Those returning to the famous shore seemed different, changed. Stuff had been left out on the water, perhaps something without price had been acquired, and life’s books all perfectly balanced in this salty, golden moment. As the palms waved languid goodbyes to another long, perfect day, the sea clouds above turned to cream-by-candlelight. Ice crystal angels high in the deepening sky spread wings of benediction as I recall an old phrase still repeated here in Waikiki: “Lucky you come Hawaii.” Makana played late and STILL got “hana hou” (do it again!” “One more time!”). Happily the band complied. Beyond the terrace runners in malo (loincloth) lit the torches. . . A trio of sea birds flew by. . . Time to go. . . And so I slowly set off for home. . .www.makanamusic.com Just walking in Waikiki. . . ALOHA!
This article was originally published in Waikiki News on August 6, 2008 and was reproduced with permission.
Want to enjoy more Waikiki “street” life with Cloudia? Check out her Hawaii “Taxi Cab” Novel: “Aloha Where You Like Go?” at Amazon.com or local bookstores.