Kapolei is primarily built on the old sugar and pineapple lands that were serviced by the little planation town of ‘Ewa back in the territorial days. From about the 1950s onwards, Kapolei has been the focus of a whole lot of government efforts to create a second major urban center on Oahu. The population today is…
Arriving in Rome – Scaring the Indians
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but you can certainly see some of it in 24 hours if you don’t have more time. A cheap flight from Fes, Morocco with no frills, uncomfortable carrier Ryan Air got me to Rome’s Ciampino Airport from Fes Sais Airport with an ultra cheap fair of about $60 including the taxes. Not bad for a transcontinental flight.
Goethe’s Tower and Modern Frankfurt, Germany – Beer and Weenies! #flashbackFriday
Frankfurt has the cleanest red light district I have ever imagined.
Captain John Rodgers and his Failed Flight to Hawaii from California.
John Rodgers International Airport used to be the name of the Danial K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. Today, there is still a John Rodgers Airport – but it is not the big one you fly into here in Hawaii – instead it is the little training and tourist airport located in Kalaeloa on Oahu….
Leeward Neighborhoods of Waianae, Makaha, and Nanakuli
The Leeward Coast also known as the Wai’anae Coast is one of the most interesting places on Oahu – if you aren’t interested in resort hotels, manufactured tourist attractions, and over-developed promotion of a phony Hawai’i that has never really existed anywhere but in people’s imaginations. Wai’anae” means “Water of the Mullet.” These rich fishing…
Skopje – A Place with Surprisingly Expensive Boutique Hotels and Hostels #slideshowsaturday
One of the things that surprised me about Skopje, Macedonia was the prices of hotels.
Osaka, Japan – Osaka Castle and Last Day
My first trip to Japan was too short but wonderful. I visited Osaka and Hiroshima. On my last day, I woke up and had Japanese breakfast before walking to Osaka Castle and visiting the temple which honors the patron of the city on the way. The castle was stunning and huge – much more than…
Amelia Earhardt on Oahu and in Hawaii
On January 11, 1935 Amelia Earhardt became the first person to fly from Hawaii to California. Not the first woman (though she was that) but the first person. Three years earlier she had become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (it was 5 years after Lindbergh had become the first person to…
Kahalu, Punalu’u, and Kaaawa Neighborhoods –
There are three little communities on the Windward Side of Oahu that I love. None of them will take you more than a minute or two to drive through and chances are that you won’t get out of your car or spend any time in them. I’m okay with that, and probably most of the…
I Cried While Visiting Hiroshima, Japan
I cried at Hiroshima. 140,000 men, women, and children killed by a bomb from my country. Awful. Absolutely awful. I paid $200 to take the bullet train to Hiroshima and back to Osaka. I would have regretted not going. I think Japanese people are better than American people – it’s why they don’t have to…