[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the founder/editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com]
A fatal shooting on the North Shore across from popular tourist and surfing beach Log Cabins has raised the tally of brutal murders within the past month on Oahu to four. Most of the killings have been brazen acts of violence, including two shootings in full public view and one fatal beating at a popular West Side beach park perpetrated against a tourist from the East Coast by a former All-State football player.
Not to be alarmists or anything but Oahu and the Hawaiian Islands have long enjoyed a reputation as a safe haven from violent crime. Sure, everything in a rental car or a beach bag / backpack was fair game for thieves. But no one died. Apparently, that's no longer the case.
In the latest FBI crime survey, violent crime on Oahu is up by 10 percent. A spate of public beatings have also hit the island in recent years. Like the case of the White House aide who got his nose busted outside a Waikiki night spot -- a crime that, to date, has not been solved (to the best of my knowledge).
The cops say Hawaii is safe but they also say they are severely understaffed. The tourism people say visitors are safe as kittens. Overall, Hawaii is still a pretty safe place. But Oahu, at least, is clearly trending in the wrong direction. Perhaps these crimes can explain Hawaii's slipping hotel occupancy rate?
Though you wouldn't know it with all the snow and ice in the Northeastern US, this week marks the beginning of spring. Spring break, beach season and the imminent start of summer are just around the corner. If April is the new June, we better get you prepped early, so this week we'll be looking at the sandy strands that while beautiful, should come with a warning label. Know about a Killer Beach we haven't mentioned? Help your fellow beach goers out and adventure seekers out--let us know about it.
Papohaku Beach Park :: Map
Hawaii fans love Molokai for its sleepy atmosphere, but Papohaku Beach Park may be a little too sleepy. This stunningly beautiful beach is so isolated that you may even have the sand to yourself--not even lifeguards patrol the three-mile-long beach. Normally, we're all for deserted Pacific beaches, but at Papohaku you may find yourself in trouble.
We're not just talking about the winds that whip off the ocean, spraying sand into innocent beach-goers' eyes. The waves get ripping during a good part of the year, making for tough swimming. Depending on when you take that spring break, you may find yourself fighting some serious swell with no one around to play Lt. Mitch Buchannon for you. Make sure you've got swimming chops before diving in--Papohaku's deserted beauty can be deceiving.
How to get there:
On Molokai, from the airport, take the MaunaLoa Highway (460 West) to Kaluako'i Road. The beach is at Mile 14.9, Kaluako'i Road.
There is one parking lot with unmarked spaces. Public restrooms, indoor showers and changing rooms are also available.
(Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.)
Chef Mavro does not like to sit on his laurels. George Mavrothalassitism, who toques up amazingly subtle and exquisite grub at his posh eponymous eatery in a blue collar district of Honolulu, revamps his menu four times a year. That's pretty amazing for a guy a ton of accolades (James Beard Award Winner, Fodor's Top 10 Restaurants in America - 2066) and a loyal local following in a restaurant town where patrons are highly resistant to change.
To be sure, the seasonal menus at Chef Mavro do often contain items from past menus, but even so, the top-to-bottom rotation is gutsy. His latest menu just busted out and it looks, as usual, like a real winner. My fave pick? Keahole Lobster a la coque with Kahuku corn cake with lobster coral, cucumber glazed with essence of mint, and pomegranate-yogurt sauce. Mavro also gives a nice commentary on the menu, as well.
But you best bust out that wallet too, because the aforementioned dish is part of a "degustation" menu that will set you back $150 per person without wine. Belly up, go bonkers, and go broke, foodie friends.
Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.
With $9 watered-down Mai Tais, hotel charges for junk greeting gimmicks like cheap leis, and a nasty 7.25% hotel accommodations tax, Hawaii is hardly a cheap. Throw in a $350 for a decent hotel room and you have Manhattan in the Pacific. So, pray tell, could Hawaii possibly become even more expensive?
Yes, and you can thank the state and local governments for that. Effective January 1, 2007, Hawaii's state gas tax goes back up by 11 cents per gallon, reversing a previous reduction put in place to take strain off drivers paying record highs at the pump. Me, I love high gas taxes, They encourage less driving which is fine. But if you're on vacation, you don't have much choice, particularly in Hawaii where you need a rental car for every destination save Waikiki.
Even more damaging will be the .5% in the General Excise Tax, which is essentially the Hawaii state sales tax. That means you can expect your $10,000 Hawaii vacation to cost $50 more than it would have before. So there you go. It IS possible for Hawaii to get more expensive.
(Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.)
The Chinatown District of Honolulu has been perennially on the verge of a nightlife breakout. Seedy enough for prostitutes yet sleek enough for urban swells, Chinatown now has enough watering holes and clubs to make a bar crawl more than a one-night affair. Now Dave Stewart, the impresario behind Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, a restaurant with three bar nooks and a fab Indo-Asian vibe, has rolled out Du Vin. It's an Alsatian-style brasserie down to the weird meats and sweet breads.
Oddly out of place in downtown Honolulu, Du Vin, however, is lovely spot. The wine-by-the-glass menu is pricey but excellent--make sure to ask about the bucket. The crowd is nicely varied from aging boomers down to 20-somethings stepping out. The back room is the place to hang, with dim candles, exposed stone walls, and a speakeasy sensibility. The food is generally good; our risotto was perfectly cooked. The mussels and frittes--natch--hit the spot.
True, its odd to travel to Hawaii to end up in Alsace or--gulp--somewhere in downtown Manhattan. But go with it and the warm weather and you'll have a nice ride.
(Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.)
As many of you know, there has been a wicked interisland airfare war going on in Hawaii for the past six months or so. Precipitated by the entry of new carrier Go! (which is a subsidiary or mainland budget carrier Mesa Air), seats have gotten so cheap--as low as $19 one-way--that locals have started flying outer island on day trips. Compare that to a year ago when flying outerisland cost a minimum of $160 round trip, in most cases.
How long can this go on? Blood is clearly starting to flow. Big incumbent Aloha Airlines (one of two large airlines in the islands) reported a $10 million loss which the company CEO attributed to the ongoing fare war. I would predict this will all end badly within a year, as three interisland airlines are probably too many, with more and more travelers hopping non-stops from the mainland rather than landing in Honolulu and swapping planes.
(Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.)
Aloha Airlines says "Mele Kelikimaka!" to haute vodka tossers with the post-Xmas introduction of Ocean Vodka for its First Class bar carts. This zippy liquor comes straight outta Maui, where it's made with deep sea water sucked up from 3,000 feet off the coast of the Big Island.
The grains that go into it are organic. Yet despite these wow ingredients, Ocean still manages to land squarely in the middle of the premium pack with retail prices per big bottle at $40 or less. One catch: due to some weird legalities, an Aloha flight may be the only place you can get the stuff outside of Hawaii. It's not sold on the Mainland, even though you can buy it at Costco, for crying out loud, in the islands.
I've personally tippled Ocean and it's right up there with Hangar One, Ketel, Grey Goose and the other super-premiums. After its First Class debut, Ocean should flow back to Economy in the not so distant future, sez the vodka maker. Make that a double Ocean with tonic, Aloha.
Hawaiian Airlines finds itself in a bit of a bind this week, amid charges that it unfairly plays favorites. The accuser is the governor of American Samoa, and the supposedly favored? That would be the Oakland Raiders. It sounds like a strange rivalry, but both compete for service from Hawaiian's planes. Hawaiian's 5 1/2-hour flight is the only scheduled commercial link between the U.S. and American Samoa, and the governor is trying to replace them.
He alleges that the airline casually pushes its Samoan passengers aside whenever the Oakland Raiders beckon. Several flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago, American Samoa, have been rescheduled recently, and Governor Togiola Tulafono thinks the plane was yanked to meet the charter needs of the football team, making American Samoa the sacrificial lamb to the Raiders' holy endeavors. He complained of the inconvenience on his weekly radio program, lamenting the fact that travelers heading for the States already have no choice but to pay for Hawaiian's expensive tickets.
Hawaiian denies any intentional wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the governor is searching for a new carrier--possibly United--to service his market.
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by ASalkever
