Hawaii :: Waikiki Beach

Hawaii! the party land, the volcano hotspot, the Pearl Harbour. Waikiki Beach only reminds me of the boardgame Hotel. actually i've never known it was in Hawaii, oops. tourist land, with zillions of hotels and activities and sun and beaches. a 2 mile long Waikiki Beach spans from Diamond Head Crater at one end to Ala Wai Yacht Harbor at the other end. too bad I don't have a yacht. Waikiki Beach used to be a playground for the rich and famous, but not nowadays.
(photos from someone's pbase site)

"Waikīkī is a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the Island of O'ahu. The name means fetched water in Hawaiian for springs that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior. Waikīkī has long been a place of relaxation, and is today the very center of the tourist industry in Hawaii. Waikīkī extends from the Ala Wai Canal (a channel dug to drain the former wetlands) on the west and north to Diamond Head on the east."

"It all begins at the yacht harbor where every boat imaginable, from sporty, racing numbers to salty-dog blue cruisers, lines the water. It is here where Hawaiian canoe clubs train and stately yachts strut their stuff. Next door, the Hilton Hawaiian Village stages hula shows to welcome the weekend and blasts fireworks visible from miles away. The beach is wide, the water is safe and any beach toy imaginable is available to rent.

However, not enough visitors find time to visit the other end of Waikiki, where 200 acres of parkland wrap around the base of Diamond Head Crater and there's always a quiet spot in the shade. This is where the locals come to jog in the park, swim at Sans Souci Beach or barbecue dinner with family and friends.

Between these two extremes, the seven-tenths of a square mile that make up Waikiki are packed with hotels, theaters, restaurants and shops and crowded with executives, backpackers, families and hookers, who collectively speak every language under the sun. Late-night revelers cross paths with dawn-patrol surfers, and another day begins on one of the world's most famous strips of sand. "

World Invitational Hula Festival November (Annual)
"This unique hula festival, held at the Waikiki Shell, is an ongoing celebration of Hawaiian culture, art, history, language and the people's relationship to all natural things in the Hawaiian environment.

Every November participants come from all over the world to celebrate Hawaiian culture through the performance art of the hula. Halau hula (hula groups) and haumana from the US mainland, Japan, Guam, France, Germany and Iran return to the source and join with those from Hawaii to share their love of ancient and modern hula and the proper use of the Hawaiian language.

Artists perform in both 'Olapa (traditional) and 'Auana (contemporary) styles. Competition divisions include Combined (male & female), Kane (male), Wahine (female), Kane solo and Wahine solo. Judging is done by 21 Hawaiian masters, experts in every aspect of hula, music, language, leis and adornments and costumes."