So, is Hawaii pretty?

Well, so far I have only seen Oahu. Most people will tell you that is the most uninspiring of the islands. Its only attraction is Waikiki, which is basically a pretty kind of "Vegas at the sea" with a nicer patronage. Today I decided to test that claim to boredom by renting a car and taking my camera equipment along. About time I started using that stuff anyway.

I rented a poor man's Hummer...



You might not say it from this picture, but it is actually not that much smaller than a Hummer. It is a Wrangler. It drives like a dream (for such a battleship) but getting the top off was rather difficult. Luckily, just after I managed it, it started raining. Getting the top back on is also hard.

So, will there be majestic landscapes? Impressive vistas? Quaint local visuals? No, not really. The island indeed is boring. I have done my best to make something out of nothing and the results you can find below. Suffice to say that I have cancelled my other two car rentals on this island. I will be more than happy here in Waikiki.



















View from hotel room at night



And this one I could not help but find amusing. In line for the McDrive... Read the advertisement on the back of the car.

What to do when you are jet-lagged?

You change your travel plans of course! I have decided to stay a little longer in Kenya (or at least arrive there a little later, depending on the weather) and will now fly back on the KL566 on Monday May 24th, arriving in NL the next day at 05:30.

Welcome to Hawaii!

Nice of them to welcome me like this, don't you think?



And here is a little first impression. The sunset in front of my hotel.

Some more Osaka

Before I am going to drive you all crazy with pictures from Hawaii here are some pictures of a morning walk through Osaka. As I said, it is not a beautiful city, but an interesting one. The people seem more relaxed than in Tokyo. I have actually seen people laugh here!

The view from my hotel room


It looked sunny and I had a couple of hours to kill so I decided to go for a walk after checking out of my hotel. It was bitter cold though!

The hotel



Osaka has all kinds of little streets and alleys without a sidewalk. You need to be careful!



On these streets you find a lot of small restaurants, bars and clubs. They all look kinda cute...



You even find the occasional sidewalk!



Here is a view of the river. I think it is completely ruined by all the roads crisscrossing it.



I had decided to take the train to the airport instead of the limousine bus. This is very unusual and I was the only Westerner on the train. Come to think of it: I believe I was the only Westerner in Osaka and on the plane to Hawaii!



It was a very tiring trip (hardly any sleep) and I am now completely jetlagged. It is 1:20PM here in Honolulu but I am still going to sleep... More about Hawaii tomorrow.

Aloha!

Hawaii here we come!

I have slept too long again. It is now 2:37PM in Osaka and when I finally opened the curtains it turned out to be a reasonably sunny day. If I had gotten up in the morning I could have visited Kyoto. Maybe next time. Although my flight does not leave until 9:25PM I need to leave the hotel at 4:30PM. It is still cold here (10C now) so without a coat I think I will head straight to the airport. That is a 2 hour trip anyway.

More importantly, the weather in Hawaii for the next 10 days is 27C and sunny. This new destination for me is one I am really curious about. The pacific is mostly unexplored by me, except for Easter Island. Hawaii is supposedly very beautiful.



With the euro/dollar at a measly 1.33 the part of the holiday that starts now will be considerably more expensive than when I calculated it (euro/dollar at 1.49) but I don't care. The US is a destination I look forward to more than I anticipated.

What to get me for x-mass

Heated seat. Built in airco. Music. You name it... I am starting to like these advanced toilets.

cOldSAKA

Today I am spending in Osaka, a town in the south of Japan's main island. It was a tiring trip. I know I am spoiled to the bone, but the business class of JAL is not that good (no good sleeping position) so last night's and tomorrow's flight are tiring. Poor me, right? ;)



I had the biggest shock when I exited the aircraft at the airport though: COLD! Only 7C and for me that feels like only mildly above absolute freezing. It is also raining. That is a pity since my hope was to get up to Kyoto to watch the blossom. Since I did not bring any clothing for these conditions whatsoever I will however be stuck in my hotel for the most part.

Although Kyoto is - allegedly - much prettier, Osaka is a fascinating city. It is clearly an industrial town that grew fast in the last century and yet it is also part of the richest region of Japan's cultural history. Kyoto was the capital for eons before they moved it to Tokyo. I did a 2 hour walk in the cold and rain without a coat and still it was nice. Not beautiful, mind you, but interesting. Forgot to bring my camera unfortunately. You will have to make do with a shot from my hotel room.



There are lots of little alleys with a lot of bars, restaurants and most of all 'clubs', which I believe are a mixture of Karaoke and the Japanese equivalent of Girly Bars. Since (unlike Tokyo) hardly anybody speaks any English it is hard to figure out how this town works. Even at the hotel the mastery of the English language is limited. If I would ever consider a longer trip to Japan I would most certainly do a language course first. Or find a hot Japanese woman to come with me. Maybe if the weather is a little better I will do some more exploring tomorrow. My flight does not leave until 8:30PM.

In a way I am glad I left Bali. The InterContinental was a mistake. Bad F&B ruined that experience. Luckily they let me cancel my reservation (prepaid) for September without cost. Even a $30 upgrade to the Club level could not tempt me. I do not like these huge resort hotels. I really was going crazy there!



Take care!

Laundry

I can only be amazed at how unnecessary it is to do laundry on this trip. Given that when you travel a lot doing the laundry can become an expensive business you tend to become more sensitive to when something really needs washing. My criteria are:

1. It no longer smells nice
2. It has a stain
3. It is underwear

The underwear you can easily do yourself in the sink but after 3 months I can honestly say I have used hotel laundry only 4 times. Maybe we put stuff in the laundry way to easily at home. Bad for the environment and bad for your electricity and water bill...

An Evening at the Beach

There is not much to do in Jimbaran. If you ever go to Bali, avoid Nusa Dua and Jimbaran. It is mostly large hotel complexes. Jimbaran is InterContinental and Four Seasons. That used to mean mostly Americans but I have been told that nowadays the Russians prefer to stay in these former bastions of Western Capitalism. A lot of Japanese do to. Former enemies make excellent customers.

Here is where we all go for dinner in Jimbaran if we do not feel like paying the ridiculously inflated hotel prices...





This is what you come here to see. Personally I have so far seen enough beautiful sunsets...



So instead of looking there I looked down. I noticed that the beach looked really interesting. Marbled almost. Here is me being artistic-ish.







I'll have to do it again tomorrow with a real tripod and stuff but so far they look nice. I do fear my zoom lens is not working properly anymore. Will have to get it checked in Hawaii.

The Tramp Stamp

After 4 days in this excellent 5 star resort I am getting slightly bored. As a consequence the mind starts to wander and I have made some observations. The first is that I seem to appreciate small, intimate lower scale accommodation more than these huge resorts. That is new and surprising. Everything you could possibly want is here but still it doesn't come close to Tegal Sari or Sunset Cove. Lesson learnt.

The other thing is that the higher end the hotel is, the more beautiful the women become. The women mind you, not the men! The age difference between couples also seems to increase exponentially in relation to the room rate. Another increase (or more often decrease) is the difference in obesity between the partners. All women here seem to be on a anorexia diet. Probably to recover from their plastic surgery. :)

Another common feature amongst the women hanging around these more affluent men is what is commonly referred to as 'the tramp stamp'. That is the tattoo on the back just above the ass. I happen to like it, but then I always had an odd taste in women...



So, all in all I conclude with the statement that whilst I see affluent old (and/or) ugly men with the most gorgeous women, I do not see affluent old (and/or) ugly women with the most gorgeous men. That at least proves that men have more integrity. More likely is that this is caused by our inability to fake orgasms.

Nyepi

The day after tomorrow is Nyepi (pronounce: njappy, nappy with a j sound between the n and appy)



Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that falls on Bali's Lunar New Year (in 2010, it will be on March 16). It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation. The night before they march through the cities and villages carrying large statues to scare away the evil spirits (Ogoh-Ogoh). The complete quiet the next day is so that the spirits - upon their return - will think the island is deserted and leave for another year.

Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. The main restrictions are: no lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no traveling; and for some, no talking or eating at all. The effect of these prohibitions is that Bali’s usually bustling streets and roads are empty, there is little or no noise from TVs and radios, and few signs of activity are seen even inside homes. The only people to be seen outdoors are the Pecalang, traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed.

Although Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents of Bali observe the day of silence as well, out of respect for their fellow citizens. Even tourists are not exempt; although free to do as they wish inside their hotels, no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the only airport in Bali remains closed for the entire day.

I wish you a happy Nyepi!

Keep on Moving....

Yet another move on Bali. Quite sad to leave the Holiday Inn actually since I rather liked the place. Not too pricey and less of a money pit than where I am currently caught in for the next 11 days. Not that the InterContinental isn't beautiful, but I just hate it when a coke is $5,- when you buy the same can across the street for $0,80. At least at the HI they only doubled the price.

The grounds and rooms are wonderful though.





My view




Eleven more days on this wonderful island. The weather is great for the time of year by the way. 31C and sunny. Most importantly: not too humid!

Nice new place!

One of the advantages of going on such a long holiday is that I had to book alternate hotels to my normal (somewhat over the top) selection. As it turns out this is not a bad thing at all. I liked the extremely cheap Mercure Resort in Sanur, I loved the Tegal Sari and my next choice - the Holiday Inn Baruna - in Tuban is not half bad either.

The room


The view


It is a more youthful hotel than I expected and clearly tries to be to Tuban what KuDeTa is to Seminyak. They play very good lounge music at the beach bar and have live music every night.

The view from the beach lounger


The actual beach lounger


Making use of said lounger


The food here is quite good too and not too expensive.

My wonderful lunch: a Ceasar salad


I regret only staying here for 3 nights. I am going to the InterContinental but somehow I think I like this more 'every day' hotel better.

Greetings from the professor...

The food!

Eating is such a pleasure here. Certainly this hotel has got one of the best cooks on Bali. I have already booked for September. I love this place!

Some visual impressions of my current habitat

I must say, I could get used to this. Will be making a booking for September!



The view at night








The room and terrace







Evening


First thing I see in the morning