It’s super interesting to think of Hawaii as part of America because I’ve always thought of it as an exotic place instead of just another state. It’s interesting because when you actually arrive there you realize quickly that it’s so much more than just another state. There’s so much history there already and the reality is that we’ve taken the land from indigenous Hawaiians and changed their way of life. For the better? In my opinion I think not. We took their beautiful and natural mountains and waterfalls from them and started charging them to visit. Imagine someone coming into your country and demanding that you pay a tariff for using your local park. Yeah you wouldn’t like that either. Also it’s not very different from what the first settlers did to the Native Americans.  But anyway…that’s a topic for another post!

Hawaii is one of the most expensive states in America which made it very difficult to backpack. One night in a dorm bed is $50 which is insane when I compare the room to an even nicer $4 dollar room in Thailand. It is America so it’s expected that the prices are higher. The sights in Hawaii also make this place worth it, for sure. I even tried my hand at couchsurfing for the first time and it ended up being pleasantly easy! Odie even greeted me with Hawaiian beers and a nice grilled steak. Pretty good welcome to the island!

I came to Hawaii for one of my best friend’s wedding and ended up staying for a month and saw Oahu, Maui and Kauai. The wedding was in Waikiki, Oahu, which is the most popular vacation spot, maybe almost tied with Maui. While I think this place was amazing for weddings and a short vacation, I would suggest visiting another island to get a more authentic taste of Hawaii. Waikiki is the Cancun of Hawaii – a popular vacation spot that caters to tourists who will visit Hawaii but never really know what the culture is about or who the people of Hawaii actually are.

Oahu’s favorite memories include hiking, skydiving for my girl Clara’s birthday, and driving along the coast with friends that I really missed while away! My friend Rico and I were super excited to hike stairway to heaven, an illegal hike that you need to start early so you can sneak past the guards in the dark. In reality, you don’t even need to sneak past them cause we met people who just walked right past them, but where’s the adventure in that?! Without sneaking through you miss the bamboo forest, the trespassing through people’s backyards, and the crazy uphill ascent that you’ll be thankful for the darkness that will mask the reality of how high you actually are. Rico was the leader of the hike but we somehow got separated after getting lost in the forest for a while so the rest of us found our way to the beginning of the stairs before Rico did. We met about a quarter of the way up the stairs when he caught up to us. So proud of him cause he injured himself pretty bad while he was alone but still climbed all the way to the top, sometimes having to pull himself up stairs with his two hands. We made it to the top to enjoy a lovely view of clouds. LOL but thankfully when we were going back down, the clouds moved out of the way and we were able to see the beautiful view that we came for! Awesome hike, not so hard, and surprisingly not so scary given that I’m scared of heights. Skydiving – just awesome. It was Clara’s birthday and I wanted to do something crazy for her so I took her skydiving and I’m not gonna lie – I enjoyed watching her get so scared LOL. Love you Clara! So proud of you for doing it with so much style! She believes she passed out during the freefall and the blank expression on her face while falling 140mph supports that theory.

Driving along the coast was so good with Rico and Madi’s Jeep. We stopped at so many beaches and saw so many cliffs. Oahu is beautiful, especially when you get out of Oahu. There is so much to see! Finally it was Steph’s wedding and she looked perfect. Some pictures to prove it!

Next stop was Maui. I went diving in Lahaina and although it was very expensive, it was worth it! Maybe not as worth it as Kauai but still beautiful. The best part was meeting lovely South African brothers, Vaughan and Donald. I’m always pleasantly surprised to find out how well I can connect with strangers and feel so comfortable after only hanging out for a few days. I was diving alone and didn’t have a buddy – I was still a new diver at this point so having no buddy really scared me but Vaughan constantly checked up on me to make sure I was alright. Not only that, but both of them persisted on including me in their conversation on the boat that it was impossible not to like them! Highlight of the dive? WE SAW A HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL AND HE LOOKED AT ME!! Yep, I made eye contact with a monk seal and it was love at first sight. The guys and I hung out everyday for the next 4 days and they invited me for dinner and drinks on Cinco de Mayo with their friends, Wendy, Rae, and their awesome kid, Luke. This family showed me incredible local only tidal pools, hikes through dried up lava, tasty restaurants and most of all, hospitality that was unmatched. I have to say, these people made my experience in Maui so much better than I could have ever expected it to be.

There was one last stop in my trip – Kauai. If you could only visit one island in Hawaii and you wanted a sense of what islanders truly live like, I would recommend Kauai. There is really not much to do on this island other than hike – the nightlife scene is not as good as Waikiki or Lahaina but this island is not for that type of vacation. This is the place you want to be if you want to relax, hike and just be surrounded by pure nature. The Napali Coast is a sight NOT TO BE MISSED if you are here. Steph, Steve & I hiked a 9 hour hike up to a waterfall – it was challenging but worth every single minute.

What I recommend?

1. Queen’s bath during low tide – preferably early in the morning because there will be fewer people. This place is gorgeous and it’s a very easy hike to get here. Don’t let bloggers deter you from coming here. You’ll read online that it’s dangerous during rainy season and that high tide is dangerous. Yes – be cautious, but don’t be stupid enough to miss it. No pain no gain right?! Just kidding, there’s no pain at all as long as you’re aware!

2. Napali coast hike – so many different hikes here you can’t go wrong. Plus, this is where the King of Kauai hid out during the civil wars of Hawaii so you get to see what his life was like. He hid here because you could only enter via walking, or via boat which meant that he he had the upperhand with his defense.

3. Polihale beach – honestly you can’t go wrong with any of the beaches in Hawaii but this one is particularly special to me. I carried my grandpa around the world with me in the form of a flower that was given to me during his funeral to symbolize that I was his granddaughter. I carried it around with my because he loved to travel and I wanted to show him the world as I saw it. I decided that I would drop him off in Hawaii because before he passed, I asked him what his favorite place in the world is and he answered Hawaii. I drove over an hour to Polihole beach and instantly knew that this was the perfect place to leave him. As you walk from the car park to the beach, the view of the ocean is blocked by a massive sand dune that stretches at least a mile long. When you finally reach the peak of the sand dune (it’s a bit of a workout), you’re rewarded by the sight of what seems like an endless stretch of beautiful, pristine sand and clear, welcoming shining water. It gets better – on your right you will see the beginning of Napali Coast’s dramatic cliffs that boast vibrant green grass at the top and magnificant red soil all the way down to the ocean. I believe my grandfather was with my at this specific moment, and I believe that he wanted to be left here. I made my little speech, and dropped him in the water and watched as he floated away, while I felt a sense of peace rush through my body. Say what you will, but I believe what I believe and this special moment will live with my forever.

Overall, if I could afford to live in Hawaii, I would! This place is nothing short of beauty and deserves to be seen, especially outside of Waikiki. There’s so much Hawaii has to offer – I can completely understand why America included it as a state.