This was my first trip to Hawaii and I don't know why my mom thought I have ever stepped foot on one of islands is beyond me lol. We went in late October for a week and the weather was great extension to the SoCal beach weather. We had to booked a flight with United which actually cracked and broke my suitcase wheel and it was freezing going and coming. We walked for the most part to go eat but my mom was upset to find out that where we were staying is literal steps away from the Zoo and Aquarium (I did ask her at the begining of the trip but she wasn't having it). Anyways, I learned a lot about the economy which is mainly tourism, logisitics (pinneaple farming has halfed and has been outsourced to the mainland due to the climate) and the Universities students.
Things to know...
O'ahu translates to "The Gathering Place"
The island has two distinct sides: the dry western (Leeward) side and the lush, tropical eastern (Windward) side.
Summer (April–November) is warmer and drier, while winter (December–March) is cooler with large surf on the North Shore.
You'll arrive at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL).
Transportation
You can book a Rideshare or private transfer to and from the Airport which is what we did beause it so hard to find information about their public transportation.
You can buy a Holo card from Foodland or 7-Eleven or ABC Stores (preloaded Adult pass)to use on TheBus but it's daily cap is $7.50.
Beause we are US citizens I didn't book a car rental or bought travel insurance but I recommend you buy a insurance plan or supplment if you are international tourists if needed when you do decide to vacation here.
Data & Wifi
For international travelers, local SIM cards or eSIMs from providers like Airalo are common for reliable 4G/5G data.
Stay Accommodations/AirB&B
I'm not going lie about Coastal/Tropical destinations like Hawaii and Yucatan/Caribbean see's a lot of rain thus you can see a lot water damage to buildings so just be aware that your hotel maybe in construcation all year round. Waikiki/Honolulu is reccomended place to stay on the island on the beachfront resorts of which we stayed at Twin Fin Hotel but if I were to do it again I would have stayed at Hyatt Regency which is more closer the International Market Place. The other is the North Shore which is more relaxed and unique. Airbnb's are another option if you've been to island multiple times and are usally slightly cheaper than the Hotels. Budget stays like hostels or economy rooms can range from $40 to $150 per night. Standard hotels average around $350 per night.
Get Your Guide/Third-party sight-seeing
You can book activites really easily on the island at different kisoks or you book through TripAdvisor or Get Your Guide. We did go to Pearl Harbor Memorial with the City Tour (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbow, Hawaii State Capitol Grounds, Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue, Ali’iolani Hale and Honolulu City Hall, and Kawaiahao Church) towards the end of the trip and it's etched into my brain due to linger crude oil smell from the attacked. The day before we did go to Polynesia Cultural Center because it was heavily being advertised which FYI is owned by LDS church (North Shore is dominated by the churches presence) and the staff are local BYU students and choose to do the Alii Luau package and to make the trip to the North shores worth wild we did the Cirlce Island Tour add-on. We started the tour by passing by the Diamond Head/Kahala the Beverly Hills of O'ahu, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Pass by Koko Crater Stairs (Summit), Halona Blowhole and you can see Maui in the distance, Nuuanu Pali Lookout - Oʻahu, Waimānalo Pit Stop for local Fruit Stands, Pass by the Aloha Stadium and ended our tour at the Dole Plantation before heading the the Center. We didn't do any of well know hikes to Diamond Head State Monument but where we were staying we got great views of it.
Shopping & Dining
We did go Foodland for poke which is in Ala Moana Center is the world's largest open-air shopping mall and they even had a Dior cafe using the Waikiki Trolley Pink line. We mostly picked up food from the ABC Stores but we did treck down to the International Market Place Lanai food court but my favorite meal was from the famous Liliha Bakery and we even got a massage from Shiatsu & Massage Center and we have walked over to Marugame Udon and right next door is Soft serve shop called KONO's that has Pinneaple Cool Whip.
It's been a while but this post has taken me the longest to create. I had
basically breakout my web design skills to code up this post because of Google
added image restrictions even thought some of image are in the public domain.
Also I've talked about being busy with a work project that has taken longer
than usual to get down which has reached the finalizing step thankfully. Also
I'm kind of restricted to my iPad and my Logitech keyboard finally retired
after my constant use for my coding project from my web development coarse so
I brought a new keyboard for my birthday to able to continue to work on this
post. I actually listened to more breakout albums this year and artists that
finally were able to break their creative slump and the multiple back to back
tour announcements happening are stressing me out.
As for K-pop I could barely keep up with the new releases so I had to
basically speed run some albums and some were close so you'll find them in my
Honorable Mentions as usual. We have officially entered the Mcbling era and
some themes I saw and visuals effects trends is basically encapsulated in
BadVillian's Zoom M/V. Space/Earthly Bodies (BP inpso), Counter Culture,
Silver "Gentle Monster" Eye Wear, Siren Makeup/ Saturated Blush placements;
Video Game Graphics (Young Posse), Low ISO Digital Film Grade editing; Falling
off buildings/ Floating (aespa), Crashes (aespa & IVE), Gum (YeonJun),
Parking lot, Playing with Perspectives (Key), Realty Breaking (Stray Kids),
and different forms of transportation like the back to the future car DeLorean(aespa &Jeanie). I forgot to mention the curly hair was getting a lot of idols noticed during their solo work meanwhile let's pray for girlies who have to constantly dye their hair for us.
I was going to talk about Loosemble
(the other half of Loona or the new 1/3) since they were on too something
sonically with this last album and I went two there tour but they decided to
disband unfortunately so now orbits will see wonder what's next for them. I
was also hoping they would have brought their (signed) albums to
sell since the rest of Loona were doing this which would have helped boost
their sales and popularity.
First, I went to see aespa's Parallel Synck tour which I came to appreciate
their solos. As for the M/V with the Daft punk influence for
Licorice and Supernova samples Planet Rock
which I adore so I left a comment and someone responded to my appreciative
comment with "That's because this western producer worked on the Album" mind
you I had watched a interview of this producer with a well known song K-pop
writer which was funny. Also Mine is def
Can't Tell Me Nothing Inspired when I first heard it due to the
swing chains synth, high hats, deep pitch vocal chop and of course "Woah ho ho ho." On the Whiplash album Pink Hoodie is basically the female
counter part to NCT's Baggie Jeans. Also Kill It used
a sample that's interpolated from F(x)'s Red Light.
LeSserafim's Pierrot which took me time to get too because I
was still coming off my high from Crazy house remixesandJP version. Pierrot remind me of 2015 music that had that mix of Trap and Chip Tunes but it's
pretty much a homages and vocal samples Kim Wan Sun's
The Pierrot Laughs at Us. I can't wait for next comeback which is next month and the Title Track is
HOT is probably a referencingrock trackfromCrazyapplytitled 1-800-HOT-IN-FUN and lyrics state wanting to
hear Beyoncéwhich quick possibly be Heated track on
Renaissance.
IVE's HEYA used a popular No Diggity sample from with Korean
Folklore should make some K-Youtubers happy since it's not the usual Greek influences.
Starship will probably continue using well known samples for IVE since that's
what garners them views and show wins along with double features M/V. I already discussed Accendio in the K-Halloween post so you can also check that out.
Taeyeon last two comeback definitely got me thinking about Bear vs Man
discussion that was going viral on social media last year. I really enjoyed
the funk elements and theatrics of Heaven and definitely based in
the SMCUniverse with the fish which callbacks to Naevis, the lit cake ties back to AESPA's SUPERNOVA, the woodlands garden
with hairy apples, the bear harken back to Super Junior/Red Velvet's Bear, and
the last supper tables/round tables which I talked more in-depth on my
Wordpress deep dives. The part of the video where she's staring into the eyes
made me think of Twilight Breaking Down Prt 2 Michael Sheen performance as Aro
when he meets Renesmee (His excitement lives rent free in my head lol).
Lisa's Rockstar sampled Tame Impala's
New Person, Same Old Mistakes which Rihanna also covered/sampled
it heavily years ago. Also if you don't know Rihanna is Blackpink's idol that
goes back to their introduction dance practice a Rihanna Remix. I enjoyed NewWomen since it such an ear warm.
I watched Megan Thee Stallion's documentary with my mom after she dropped
MEGAN: ACT I&II and I wasn't expecting the Strategic collab TWICE that it
made Nayeon Blush from Mamushi Remix to Strategy. I
was already happy with Megan Thee Stallion three acts Hiss,
Cobra, and BOA which sample's Gwen Stefani's What You Waiting For. I really enjoyed
Bigger In Texas, Bourbon, He Thinks I Love Him, Neva Play Ft RM of BTS,
Otaku Hot Girl, Mamushi ft Yuki Chiba,
Where Them Girls At, Rattle, Down Stairs DJ, Motion, Roc Steady ft. Flo
Milli, and Number One Rule which I hope these songs make it to the Coachella set list and we get
surprised guests.
Kendrick dropped Grammy winning songs from GNX for his latest performances
which is under his new label that I'm literally ready to
Squabble Up we marketing his next chapterand this is one of 4 top tracks from the album some
people are up in arms about his recent performance at same time you can't make
everyone happy at the end of the day (If you want to get into Kdot's work I
highly recommend listening to Dissect Podcast by Cole Krishna and it all
started with Kdot which really appreciate current West Coast hip hop thru
To Pimp A Butterfly which is one of my favorite albums). Kdot never
water down your message because it's not for everyone and it will always be
"too deep" for them but never lacking in soul. Also so now Halftime shows
Performers are supposed to represent the culture of that state now!? When did
that become a thing (when the two teams, Philly vs Kansas aren't even from there either)!? Isn't that why the Super Bowl has Opening ceremonial performances that highlight performers from their for that reason!?
Doechii's Alligator Bites Never Heal with "DeNail is a River"
and CATFISH made me an official Swamp Puppy plus I had been silently
waiting for Deochii's since just clicking for Music Recs and I landed onPersuasive since it was going viral then I checked out Yucky Blucky Fruitcake and I automatic added them to my playlist and then What it is, Alter Ego and NISSAN ALTIMA became her next viral hits.
Then she dropped Alligator Bites Never Healthatgot CATFISH finally noticed for her
Nosebleed Grammy status (she was interviewed by Cole Krishna if want
learn more about her). Also she's been on Complex for her viral tracks. I hope
Doechii gets a feature in the new Vice City GTA game. Also love that she's a
fan of Busta Rhymes and probably Missy Elliot so Doechii will definitely
continue the theatre kid legacy in Hip Hop. Also Baby Tate feat in
Denial is a River sitcom series is just chef kiss because I seriously
missed her.
Charlie XCX comeback was polarizing with brat which is in 2000s PC
Music inspired EDM club scene music which captures that time period especially
with Von Dutch, Club Classics, and 360 makes me think of my 360
line up number I got from aespa first showcase that they went on to do
Whiplash while getting Cozy with Beyoncé's Cunty Silvery accents. I even had
my mom dancing out to it at the gym. Her grammy win was also not televised or
was presented during the red carpet which has happened with on occasion at
award shows. Then my friends were reposting the toxic reactions from X that
was basically pitting women against each another and the added factor
intersectionality being at play as well even though they both won Grammies.
Let's talk a little about Beyoncé there's definitely a culture divide and
people think she's "overrated" when her career spans close to three decades
from CDs to Streaming became valued, multiple Grammies winner. Also saw some
people White Wash her contributions to the Half time show specifically
forgetting 2016 Super bowl performance of which the mainstream were calling it
"too Political" since people have so much smoke for Kdot's performance when
there was already precedence. And on a personal note she and Destiny's Child
are pretty much apart of my music history growing up. I feel like Renaissance
should have received a Grammy for Album of Year and I happy Cowboy Carter won
a 3 Grammies (that's what Miley was referring too when she was presenting) but
only main two were televised because that will reopen more doors that were
closed intentionally.
I'm so happy for Aya Nakamura for being able to perform at the Summer 2024
Olympics in Paris but I know so many French purest weren't having it but I
hope for more success in future projects. I'm also waiting for Lous and The
Yakuza's comeback but I know she's walking the runways so no rush.
Tinashe dropped Quantum Baby that ran lapse with Nasty then finished
with No Broke Boys but the whole album really showcases her signature
sound that I was over here still waiting on that BTS Collab that was brought
up again with this album dropped but my other favorite track from the album is
Red Flags.
Lastly, as for Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter and because I'm a native
Angeleno so I hear them on socials and when I'm out and about. Chappell's
Pink Pony Club is my personal favorite song since I've been to
that West Hollywood Club.
Good Luck, Babe! and HOT TO GO! feel especially nostalgic and
HTG! harkens back to Hey, Mikey! As for Sabrina I
think I've following her since Girl's Meets World and just waiting till
she found herself musical voice with
Feather, Please, Expresso, even Bed Chem and my personal favorite
Taste. I really happy both are gaining more accolades and recognition.
Top 5 Predications for 2025
Primary Years of Influence 1985, 2005; Secondary 1995, 2015.
Artists: Quincy Jones, U2, Alanis Morissette/ Seal and Taylor Swift
Genres: Electro Pop, Alt Rock and Ballads
Fashion: Cargo, Bermuda Shorts, Tracksuits, Low Rise and UGGs
Theme: Neo McBling Era - Colorful, Bold, and dramatic
Pop Culture Highlights: Simple Life, Green Day at Coachella, The Ring II,
The OC, Miss Congeniality, The Nanny, LG Flip phones, Toyota Prius S, VHS,
Sony, Panasonic, Classic Rock, American Express, Volkswagen, The Original
Girls Bosses of the 80s
Hope you enjoy my refreshing content I bring to you through my blog. It's exciting to be able tto share my experiences and hobbies from all things kawaii and cool to the most unbelievable things.
Posts
