Wednesday - January 26, 2005

The Hawaiian Islands: Oahu and The Big Island

After leaving Los Angeles, our first port of call is Honolulu. Having been there before, we decided to do something different and booked tickets to visit the Doris Duke estate, called Shangri-la, before we left home.

Five people joined us in Los Angeles, so we now have my mother and four friends along for company on this segment of the trip. The ship was offering a number of interesting shore excursions around the island, but we had decided before we left home that we would concentrate our time on the arts in Honolulu. So we headed off to the Honolulu Academy of Arts in a taxi, which turned out to be a stretch limo with leather seats and and fresh orchids. Talk about arriving in style. The museum was a little gem, with an excellent collection of Asian art, some interesting paintings in their European collection, and some wonderful works by contemporary Hawaiian artists. The museum galleries are arranged around a number of small courtyards filled with fountains and flowers, so it is a very pleasant place to spend some time. We had lunch at their patio restaurant, and then it was time to get their shuttle bus over to the other side of Diamond Head for our visit to Shangri-la, the Hawaiian estate of Doris Duke.

Doris Duke was an incredibly wealthy American heiress who visited Hawaii in her early 20s while she was on a honeymoon tour of the world. She liked the place so much, that she purchased land and immediately began a building project that she would remain involved with for the rest of her life. On her world tour, she had seen, and fallen in love with, many examples of Islamic art, and she was determined to build a home that would be entirely decorated with original works of art from the Middle East, in the Islamic style. I wouldn't say that the result is a comfortable home, but it is stunning to see because you feel as though you have walked into a story from Arabian Nights. We were guided through the house and surrounding Mughal gardens by a docent who did an excellent job, especially in coping with questions from one couple who were more interested in asking all about Doris Duke's private life and her will than in seeing the house. This completely baffled me because the rooms were quite exotic and very beautiful. I had never seen anything like it outside of the Alhambra Palace in southern Spain. I had a bad moment on the tour though when one lady asked why Miss Duke had installed so many fountains in the house, and the Docent replied "Maybe she used them to wash her melons in the morning." Those of you who know me can imagine what a hard time I had keeping a straight face and my mouth shut. This estate has only been opened up to the public within the past two years, so if you are in Honolulu and have a chance to see it, book your tickets in advance and go - it is well worth it.

After we were returned to the Academy of Art, the men took off walking back to the ship and the ladies decided to have a look at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, otherwise known as the Pink Palace. This gorgeous hotel is one of the first built in Honolulu and is situated right on the beach in Waikiki. We found ourselves a table in the bar by the beach with a beautiful view of Diamond Head in the distance. We sat sipping our fancy drinks as the late afternoon sun lit up Diamond Head and bounced off the water. Some Hawaiian performers began to sing and dance as the sunset cruise catamarans pushed off from shore It was a delightful way to end our time in the city.

After returning to the ship, I convinced Mike that it would be fun to dine on shore, seeing as the ship didn't leave until 11 pm, so we found a good restaurant close by, with views over the harbor. We decided that we would order something that we would never be served in our dining room, so I had Baby Back Ribs and Mike ordered Teriyaki Pork Chops. As much as we enjoy our dining room, it was nice to have a change of scenery and to see different people. However, the joke was on us, because the very next day we walked into lunch and what should be on the menu but Baby Back Ribs! And two nights later we were offered pork chops! !

The next morning we woke up anchored off the coast of The Big Island, where we were to be tendered to port in Kailua Kona. However, the swells were too high to launch the tenders safely and we could see the waves crashing into the sea wall. We waited for an hour or so to get a report as to whether things were expected to improve by the afternoon, but the report was negative, so we had to raise the anchor and set off for the Tahitian Islands a day early. This was a major disappointment for all, but you can't fight Mother Nature. And now we are looking at four days at sea because it is a long haul across the Pacific.