Day 3 took us back to Waikiki. Armed with our list of touristy things to do, we set off for our first attraction – the Diamond Head Crater. It was smart we decided to do the climb the first thing in the morning, or else we would have roasted trying to make our way to the top in the scorching sun. The sky was clear and the temperature was moderate, so the weather was perfect for the hike.

The Bus dropped us off at the back of the park, then we took the path towards the front and paid our admission fee. The whole way there and back would take a little less than two hours, covering 2.2 km in total. While I don”t mind hiking, the path was very bumpy and uneven. I was already sweating about 20 minutes into the climb. Towards the last stretch we had to cut through a tunnel to get the other side. I’m not very fond of tunnels since I tend to get a little claustrophobic, but what was worse was the 99-step staircase waiting at the end of it! However, we persevered and finally made it to the top. Since words would be inadequate to describe the scene, I’ll let the photos do the talking.

The way down wasn’t as bad as going up. I saw quite a few moms toting their babies in front of them. I don”t know how they did it, since I already had blisters on my feet from the climb!

+++

Next attraction to cover – the zoo!

Honolulu Zoo was pretty small in comparison to the ones I’ve been to, but it had some nice features. I really enjoyed the children”s area in the back cause they had a petting zoo, a dress up area, and even a koi pond. The koi pond had a tunnel through the center so kids and grown ups can crawl through. We made a stop for lunch at a picnic table and we were joined by a flock of pigeons. I’ve come to learn that pigeons in Honolulu are fearless and quite persistent in sharing your food. Pesky little thing almost gave me a heart attack when it landed right on my table!

Next stop after lunch was the Waikiki Aquarium. As we were leaving the zoo, the signs outside pointed in the general direction of the aquarium. However, due to our lack of navigational skills, we somehow ended going in the wrong direction. We had to cut back through three soccer fields to get to the aquarium. I was ready to collapse the moment we got there!

+++

We made it to the aquarium more or less in one piece. The Waikiki Aquarium is very tiny and I would have probably skipped it if I had known beforehand, but I did enjoy browsing through the displays. They had an exhibit on the endangered Hawaiian monk seal which I really liked. I think we made it through the entire collection in just over an hour, but overall it was quite enjoyable.

Heading back towards Waikiki we stopped by Queen Kapiolani Park where the Royal Hawaiian Band was playing a free concert. The band was established back in 1836 and to this day they still perform regularly and have free shows every Friday and Sunday. I was really lucky to catch their performance on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

We ended up spending some time at the beach before trying to figure out where to go for dinner. If you are ever in Honolulu, I recommend picking up a Kau Kau book (if you know Japanese) because they are really helpful. It had lots of good suggestions for eating out, as well as coupons and deals listed by different categories. We ended up at a seafood restaurant not too far from our hotel. I had a funny experience trying to convince our server to speak to us in English. Since we had the book with us, he assumed we were Japanese and continued talking to us in Japanese even though we answered him back in perfect English! It was hilarious.

The set menu we got came with salad, corn, mashed potatoes, steak and lobster. We also got a bottle of beer. I had the Kona Island Lager, while my sister had the Mehana Volcano Red Ale. I think I must of ate too much at dinner because I got really sick afterwards! (I assume the beer didn’t help either.) That must have been the only time I’ve gotten sick from overeating. Let that be a lesson for me in the future!

+++

A bit of a slow-ish day for Day 3, but it seems like we cover a lot of ground (literally). More fun planned for Day 4 when we visit Hanauma Bay! ^_^