Oahu, Hawaii 2017 Trip: Day 8 - Snorkelling at Hanauma Bay and Spending New Years Eve 2017 in Honolulu
We got up at 5:00 AM this day so we can get ready and make it to the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve by 6:00 AM. The reason we wanted to get there so early was so that we were able to find parking. Before driving out there, we stopped by our local 7-11 for some coffee and snacks. I picked up a musubi from there and I was surprised by how good it was. We got to Hanauma Bay a little after 6:00 and we were able to catch the sunrise by the parking lot.
After the sunrise, we made our way to the park's entrance. It costed $7.50 per person to get into the park. Once we got to the park, a employee gave us a crash course on safety, marine life and preservation before we can start our activities.
We really enjoyed our time at Hanauma Bay, there were so much marine life to see which made snorkelling great. If you're not a strong swimmer like me, I still really enjoyed my time since it was such a pretty beach. This park does get very busy, there were people all across the beach. There are lots of birds and mongoose hanging out in the park as well. If you need to rent snorkelling gear, there is a booth for you to do so. They do not rent out life jackets due to liability issues, I ended up renting one from Snorkel Bob's the day before. Also we rented lockers to store our wallets and keys. In addition there is an area where you can buy food, but over hearing other tourists conversations the food there was very expensive. I would recommend bringing your own snacks and drinks.
After snorkelling, we were both starving so we headed out to Waikiki for some ramen! We decided on a restaurant called Ramen Nakamura. This establishment is cash only so remember to hit the ATM before hand. Our ramens, gyoza and fried rice were very delicious and filling. The only complaint we had was that for some reason, they gave us fully cooked eggs in our ramen. We like our eggs soft boiled with our ramen but that's alright. The food was delicious and the employees there were very friendly.
After lunch we wanted to try Leonard's Bakery. They are famous for their malsada's which is a Portuguese donut. They do not have a hole in them and you have the option of getting a filling in them or not. We got one with a chocolate filling and one with a coconut filling. In addition we also got a eclair and a butter mochi. The malsada's were so delicious and messy, we wished we got more of them. The other pastries weren't a big hit for us though. If you come to Leonard's Bakery, make sure to get the malsada's. They are sweet, hot, fresh and all sorts of deliciousness.
That day was New Year's Eve, so we decided to take a nap before heading out to celebrate.
For dinner I had already purchased a dinner special for New Years Eve from a restaurant called The Wisp. With the dinner ticket I had bought, we got complementary wine or champagne as a drink. For a starter we both a salad and for our mains I got the uni lobster pasta and my boyfriend got prime rib. To be honest, I thought we would be hungry after this dinner since most fancy restaurants serve tiny portions. However both our plates had very generous portions and were very tasty. After our mains, we both got chocolate cheesecake for dessert. All the food here was amazing and we even ordered a couple of drinks. What we really enjoyed about this restaurant was the live music. The music was really good which prompt us to sit down longer to enjoy a couple drinks.
After dinner we walked around Waikiki, it definitely had a great atmosphere. The fireworks at midnight were pretty impressive, Hawaii definitely goes out all with the fireworks on New Years. This night was perfect way to end 2017, one of the best years we've had in a long time.
Stay tune for the last couple of posts from my Hawaii trip!
Vivian
After the sunrise, we made our way to the park's entrance. It costed $7.50 per person to get into the park. Once we got to the park, a employee gave us a crash course on safety, marine life and preservation before we can start our activities.
We really enjoyed our time at Hanauma Bay, there were so much marine life to see which made snorkelling great. If you're not a strong swimmer like me, I still really enjoyed my time since it was such a pretty beach. This park does get very busy, there were people all across the beach. There are lots of birds and mongoose hanging out in the park as well. If you need to rent snorkelling gear, there is a booth for you to do so. They do not rent out life jackets due to liability issues, I ended up renting one from Snorkel Bob's the day before. Also we rented lockers to store our wallets and keys. In addition there is an area where you can buy food, but over hearing other tourists conversations the food there was very expensive. I would recommend bringing your own snacks and drinks.
After snorkelling, we were both starving so we headed out to Waikiki for some ramen! We decided on a restaurant called Ramen Nakamura. This establishment is cash only so remember to hit the ATM before hand. Our ramens, gyoza and fried rice were very delicious and filling. The only complaint we had was that for some reason, they gave us fully cooked eggs in our ramen. We like our eggs soft boiled with our ramen but that's alright. The food was delicious and the employees there were very friendly.
After lunch we wanted to try Leonard's Bakery. They are famous for their malsada's which is a Portuguese donut. They do not have a hole in them and you have the option of getting a filling in them or not. We got one with a chocolate filling and one with a coconut filling. In addition we also got a eclair and a butter mochi. The malsada's were so delicious and messy, we wished we got more of them. The other pastries weren't a big hit for us though. If you come to Leonard's Bakery, make sure to get the malsada's. They are sweet, hot, fresh and all sorts of deliciousness.
That day was New Year's Eve, so we decided to take a nap before heading out to celebrate.
For dinner I had already purchased a dinner special for New Years Eve from a restaurant called The Wisp. With the dinner ticket I had bought, we got complementary wine or champagne as a drink. For a starter we both a salad and for our mains I got the uni lobster pasta and my boyfriend got prime rib. To be honest, I thought we would be hungry after this dinner since most fancy restaurants serve tiny portions. However both our plates had very generous portions and were very tasty. After our mains, we both got chocolate cheesecake for dessert. All the food here was amazing and we even ordered a couple of drinks. What we really enjoyed about this restaurant was the live music. The music was really good which prompt us to sit down longer to enjoy a couple drinks.
After dinner we walked around Waikiki, it definitely had a great atmosphere. The fireworks at midnight were pretty impressive, Hawaii definitely goes out all with the fireworks on New Years. This night was perfect way to end 2017, one of the best years we've had in a long time.
Stay tune for the last couple of posts from my Hawaii trip!
Vivian
Comments
Post a Comment