(Part 2) Hawaii Without the Beaches: Jollibee in Hawaii, Queen Emma's Summer Palace, Bishop Museum, Pali Lookout, Honolulu Museum of Art

- May 20, 2018, Sunday.

- Even on my first day in Hawaii (click here for Part 1), I was already impressed by the cultural and royal richness of downtown Hawaii. To think that that was just the tip of the iceberg!! Looking at my tourist map, I realized that there was just too much to see and experience in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, even without setting foot on the beach. On my second day, I was more than ready to see more of Hawaii's royal past. One travel tip: unlike most countries or cities, most tourist spots in Hawaii are closed on Sunday or for both days of the weekend, so it was quite difficult to decide which places to visit on a Sunday while making sure that they're not too far apart or that they follow a certain path for efficient sightseeing (yes, I am THIS meticulous about my travels).

- That morning, I quickly rode an Uber to Queen Emma's Summer Palace, which is located a bit outside the downtown. Also known as Hamaiakamalama, Queen Emma's Summer Palace was a rest house for Queen Emma, husband King Kamehameha IV, and their son, Prince Albert Edward in the mid 1800s, and was used for around 20 or so years. Since it is located in a hilly area near the bigger mountain's forests, it is cooler than the flat lands near the sea. The museum is open from 10am-3pm every Sunday, but is open 9am-4pm on all other days. Since I arrived around an hour before opening time, I had some quality time by myself near the palace's porch, enjoying the same cool air that the Hawaiian royalty did centuries ago (it was probably even cooler back then, before global warning and stuff.)

Trying to do some hula stances outside the palace. Did you know that hula dancing is not just for women? Men would dance the hula too, and is actually a good training for warriors and warriors-to-be!!

- The palace itself is small and quite cozy, and shows some things that Queen Emma and her family owned in the mid-1800s. However, originally, the land owned by the royals was even bigger. The palace can be covered in around 30 minutes or less, but make sure to spend a few more minutes in the garden or taking nice photos around the palace!

The bedroom was right beside the door!!

Old crib.

Royal photos.

This is pretty much the whole "palace."

Ceremonial staffs. 

Prince Albert Edward's room.

Prince Albert Edward's Mahiole (feathered headdress.)

Prince Albert Edward's little boy things. Too bad he passed away at a tender age of 4.

I love the fans!!

The royal feathered cape.

The main sitting room.

Royal coat of arms.

This is what it looks like from the outside.

- After visiting the palace, I had to find a way to move around since taxis are quite rare in the streets, I had to either ride the bus or the trolley. Fortunately, the trolley and bus stops are conveniently located right outside the palace. I decided to take the trolley (formally called "Waikiki Trolley") since it is an efficient way to hop from one place to another, given that you can work around with the trolley's schedule and that you're interested to go to several stops within each line. There are 5 lines: red line (mostly historical places,) pink line (shopping places,) blue line (beaches and coastal areas,) purple line (main stop is Pearl Harbor,) and the green line (main stop is Diamond Head.) These trolley lines also stop in big hotels, one of which is our hotel, the Ala Moana Hotel (click here for more information on the Waikiki Trolley.) You may buy tickets online or purchase from the driver once you hop in. A ticket lasts a day for each line, and costs around 25 USD (except for the pink line which costs 2 USD per way.) The link above has more information on combination tickets and other promotions. For this particular trip, I rode the red trolley, since it has all the places that I wanted to visit and more. (The trolley was air conditioned so it was a big plus for a sweaty guy like me!)

- En route to Bishop Museum, the trolley had to make a 10-minute stop at the Pali Lookout. Though supposedly not a part of my day's itinerary, I thought of this as a bonus trip; after all, the trolley really had to do a short stopover here. The Nu'uanu Pali Lookout is located on top of one of the moutnains of the Ko'oalu mountain range overlooking the northeast coast of Oahu. This spot is also very important since the climax of the Battle of Nu'uanu in 1795 happened here. Kamehameha I from the Big Island (that is, the Island of Hawai'i in the south,) wanted to conquer all the islands and absorb them in the Kingdom of Hawai'i. It is said that the skulls and bones found around the cliffs belonged to the warriors who were pushed off the cliff during the battle. Today, the Pali Lookout gives a breathtaking view of the cloud-covered mountain top, as well as the vivid greens and blues of the Hawaiian Islands. I also realized that the green velvet mountains in Hawaii look so "sculptured" that you just couldn't believe that they were real and natural. Just be careful when visiting Pali Lookout since the winds can be strong, and at times, visitors aren't allowed to visit when the winds are dangerously strong (like when a typhoon is about to come.)

Clouds covering the magical peaks of the mountain. (OK, not sure if the peaks are really magical I just made that up.)

Can't imagine that a nice park like this used to be a place of bloodshed.

Hello there, and also featuring my Hawaiian kukui-seed necklace.

Panorama.

The common backdrop when painting an image of the Battle of Nu'uanu.

- After our 10-minute visit to Pali Lookout, we passed by the Royal Mausoleum. I didn't get off since it was closed on Sundays, but I could see the royal tombs from the bus anyway and it was enough for me. The mausoleum was built in the mid 1800s. A few minutes later, we arrived at Bishop Museum, and I got off the trolley.

The main chapel of the mausoleum.

The tombs.

Another view of the mausoleum.

- I arrived at the Bishop Museum just before the show at the planetarium, so I watched the show first before eating lunch at the museum cafeteria. I enjoyed my lunch at the museum cafeteria because it was my first authentic Hawaiian meal: kalua pulled pork, lomi lomi (a tomato-based salad,), poi (a pasty staple food made from mashed taro), and haupia (traditional coconut pudding.) Poi is an acquired taste by the way, since it is bland with a hint of sourness (well, it's just mashed taro and water, nothing else.)

One of the people's favorite museums in Hawaii.

Lomi-lomi at the top left, haupia at the top right (with slices of taro,) kalua pulled pork at the bottom left, and poi at the bottom right.

- My early Sunday afternoon was devoted to enjoying the Bishop Museum. The Museum was built in the late 1800s by Charles Bishop, a businessman and philantropist and husband of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The museum was built, supposedly, to house royal paraphernalia handed down to Princess Bernice by members of the Kamehameha Dynasty.

A Hawaiian guardian arch, and yes, that's me attempting another hula stance.

I like how it looks from the outside, and I'm sure what is has inside is even more awesome.

A model of a Polynesian boat.

Giant whale!!

It looks like a good set for some kind of Indiana-Jones-like movie or series.

A guardian tiki.

These belonged to Princess Victoria Ka'iulani in the 1800s.

Another model of a Polynesian boat.

Various giant tikis.

Moving dinosaurs at the special dinosaur exhibit.

Its size would've been good as a palace too.

- After visiting the museum, I rode the red trolley back to the downtown right outside the Kamehameha Statue and walked to the Honolulu Museum of Art. They're open from Tuesday to Sunday, but fortunately, I was told the day before (when I arrived a minute late after closing) that I could celebrate "Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday" that Sunday. It is a special event done every third Sunday of the month when the museum would organize some activities for the whole family, and the best part is that it's free on this day! Although I arrived after the family activities, I was still able to go around the museum. It looks small on the outside, but it is a maze of galleries inside, with a vast collection of ancient to contemporary art from all around the world; after all, it is one of the best "small museums" in the USA since it was built in the 1920s.

This is the City Hall by the way, right beside the Iolani Palace. It's called "Honolulu Hale."

Inside the museum!! This is a Qing-dynasty gown.

There was a gallery dedicated to Buddhism.

Forever in love with Gandhara art.

OMG they took a whole window from India and brought it to the museum!!

One of my favorite galleries - one that has nothing but ornate kimonos!!

Another favorite gallery, for obvious reasons.

This Nandi head is around 6 feet.

A naga statue at the Southeast-Asian gallery.

A Vietnamese Dong Son drum.

Wayang kulit from Indonesia.

A wall full of Indonesian masks.

A small replica of the Kamehameha Statue across Iolani Palace.

Ottoman Turkish jewelry.

Came all the way to Hawaii to see this.

I have a friend who is terrified of religious statues. Well, this one's for him.

I seriously thought that this man was part of the exhibit since he was sitting VERY still - until I realized that he was just a visitor like me.

Here I am.

The facade of the museum is nothing compared to what it has to offer to its visitors!!

- From the museum, I had another scenic stroll of the downtown until I reached the Kamehameha Statue to ride the red trolley to Ala Moana Center to do some strolling before meeting the family for dinner. Since I got hungry, I decided to have an afternoon snack at the mall's food court. I saw that they have a Jollibee there so I decided to try a regular Chicken Joy mean just to compare. Now I like being Filipino and all that, but truth be told, I enjoyed Hawaii's Chicken Joy more because that chicken pieces were bigger, the skin was crispier, and the meat was juicier. Also, the chicken pieces weren't too salty. I mean, I still like the (original) Chicken Joy here in the Philippines, but I wouldn't mind having the one I had in Hawaii over what we have in the Philippines.

Sa Jollibee, bida ang saya!!!!

BIG CHICKEN OMG.

- That night, my family met some family friends in Hawaii and had dinner in a restaurant near Hilton Hotel. I had my first plate of authentic Hawaiian poke! Poke is a mix of rice, raw fish (usually tuna,) some vegetables and pickles, and other toppings. As a sashimi lover, it's no doubt that I like poke as well.

Poke!!

- As much as we enjoyed the company of our family friends, we had to go back to our hotel to have an early rest. Not only would we have an early call time, but I also had to prepare myself psychologically for one of the most (in)famous place in Hawaii and world history - Pearl Harbor!!

- Don't forget to read Part 1 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5 here!!

(Part 1) Hawaii Without the Beaches: 'Iolani Palace, Kamehameha Statue, Aloha Tower, Ala Moana Center

- May 19, 2018, Saturday.

- If you are expecting to see photos of beaches on this Hawaii blog series, I beg you to change your expectations. While there will be occasional photos of the sea, my take on Hawaii is not concentrated on the beaches. Why? Two reasons: one, I am not a beach person and actually dislike going to beaches (although I appreciate, acknowledge, and admire its ecological importance and yes I agree that we need to keep our beaches clean etc. etc. etc.), and second, it's because I wanted to help introduce Hawaii as a worthy place to visit for "culture and heritage" apart from its pristine - and tourist-crowded - beaches (I'm, looking at you, Waikiki). This was the same mission that I successfully accomplished when I visited another beach-famous island, Bali (click here and here.) However, I do know, understand, and recognize the influence of the sea and sea-life in the culture of Hawaii and the other Polynesian islands.

- Now that the disclaimers are over, let me introduce Hawaii to you! The State of Hawaii (properly spelled as "Hawai'i" and properly pronounced as "hava-i") is made up of 8 major islands and more tiny islands. The biggest island is the Island of Hawaii - yes, the Island of Hawaii is in the State of Hawaii (like how Manila is in Metro Manila,). The island of Hawaii, aka "The Big Island" is home to Kilauea volcano; the volcano made it to world news lately because it erupted a couple of times and its lava is swallowing estates in that region. However, the capital of the State of Hawaii is Honolulu, the state's largest city, and is located in the northern island of Oahu. Oahu is quite far from Kilauea, so my family was still able to push through with our trip despite the on-going volcanic eruption in The Big Island. Hawaii is around a 10-hour direct flight from Manila, and is 18 hours behind Manila time.

- We arrived in Hawaii in the late morning and checked in at Ala Moana Hotel, which is a big hotel between downtown Honolulu and the tourist beach paradise of Waikiki. I specifically chose that hotel mainly because it's close to the downtown - my main focus in this trip - and because it was recommended to my by friends who have been to Hawaii. After checking in, we rode an Uber to 'Iolani Palace (henceforth spelled as "Iolani,") the main royal palace of Hawaii. Speaking of transportation, the main transportations in Hawaii are the bus system (called "The Bus,") occasional cabs (but quite hard to get in the city,) trolleys (to be explained in Part 2 here,) and what most visitors use, car rentals.

Iolani Palace.

It's not as big as palaces in other countries, but it is actually quite spacious inside.

- The Iolani Palace was the main royal residence for a good 50 or so years, from the mid to late 1800s. It is one of the only two main palaces in America, the other one is the Hulihe'e Palace in the Big Island. Yes, Hawaii had its own powerful royal family tree before Queen Lili'uokalani was forced to abdicate the throne in 1898 and Hawaii became a US territory; Hawaii became a state after 61 years in 1959.  Currently, the royal family does not really have any political power, but some of the royal family's heirs are still around and managing the organization of the royal house. The two main royal houses in Hawaiian history were the House of Kamehameha, and the House of Kalakaua. The royal family was overthrown because of a US-backed coup d'etat (which is one way of getting hold of the Hawaiian islands.)

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

Coronation Pavillion at the yard.

- Now on to nicer things: the interior of the Iolani Palace. The palace has two main floors and a basement level. It has several rooms, some of which are named after colors. One important thing about this palace is that it is one of the earliest (if not THE earliest) palace to have electricity. Thomas Edison himself installed the lighting system of the palace. What is also charming about this palace is its architecture's conscious effort to merge Hawaiian styles and motifs as well as western architectural styles.

Main throne hall.

I love this peacock dress.

More royal gowns.

Crowns and ceremonial swords.

Stairs to the second floor.

Some portraits of the Hawaiian royalty.  

The Blue Room.

Dining Hall.

Loving the carpet.

- The palace has some music rooms as well since several members of the royal family were gifted musicians. King David Kalakaua, for instance, wrote the words for Hawaii's current state anthem called "Hawai'i Pono'i," and the last queen, Queen Lili'uokalani, composed the well-known song "Aloha 'Oe."

Bedroom.

The study.

Old telephone!

My favorite: the gold room, aka the music room.

Music scores of some songs that some members of the royal family composed.

The crazy quit that Queen Lili'uokalani made white being imprisoned in the palace.

Queen's bedroom.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the chubbiest of them all.

- Right across the Iolani Palace is the iconic Kamehameha Statue. King Kamehameha I was the founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Behind the statue is the Supreme Court of Hawaii; the building where the supreme court is is called Ali'iolani Hale. Also built in the mid-1800s, it was supposed to be another palace, but was used as a government building instead as Hawaii used to lack one. (More on this in Part 5 here.)

It looks strikingly similar to the Iolani Palace across it.

- One thing about Hawaii is that a lot of food establishments close for the afternoon, and open again in the evening. Since we hadn't had lunch yet, I bought my family to the nearest "proper" restaurant that was open, which was a couple of blocks away near the Aloha Tower. I went back to the heart of the downtown to hopefully visit the Museum of Art (around a 15-minute walk from the Iolani Palace), but I got there just a minute after they closed. Sad about walking all the way back for nothing, I had lunch at a convenience store before walking all the way back to Aloha Tower at the other side of the city to meet my family. The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse the has been guiding incoming ships to the harbors of Honolulu since 1926.

Aloha Tower!!

- After meeting my family, we rode an Uber to Ala Moana Center, which is the big mall beside our hotel. Now one of my regrets was not being able to take photos of this nice, semi-outdoors mall mainly because I was busy looking for stuff to buy and rushing to meet my family for dinner (we went our own ways inside the mall.) One thing I can recommend is eating at Shirokiya at Street Level 1; it is a Japanese food court with some Japanese pop culture stores at the side. I can also recommend shopping for some souvenirs inside Ala Moana's Target for cheaper prices, or for variety, at the ABC Store at Street Level 1 near the center stage.

- The Ala Moana Center has a "secret" passageway that links the mall to the second floor of Ala Moana Hotel. I had an early rest that night since I planned for a semi-packed day for myself the day after since I realized that there were a lot more fascinating things to be seen in the tiny island of Oahu!!

- Don't forget to read Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here and Part 5 here!!