15 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT OAHU Ask our Hawaii Specialist to assist you in experiencing this fascinating island!1 OAHU is 44 miles long, 30 miles wide, 112 miles around, and is the third-largest island in the Hawaiian chain of 132 isles, islets, atolls and reefs stretching from Kure Atoll in the northwest to the Big Island of Hawaii in the southeast. 2 Oahu lies at latitude 20 north, but is cooled by constant TRADEWINDS. Average temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with less than seven degrees difference between summer and winter. If the temperature drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, islanders bundle up in heavy sweats and add socks under their 'flip-flops', which locals call slippers! 3 CHARLIE CHAN, the fictional flatfoot hero of six novels and almost 50 movies, was based on Honolulu police detective Chang Apana, a rough, but honest cop with a no-nonsense attitude, that was the perfect inspiration for fiction writer, Earl Derr Biggers, who wrote the first book of the series, House Without a Key, while staying in a cottage at what is now the Halekulani Hotel. Today, the hotel's cocktail terrace, named after the book, is a great place to watch spectacular Waikiki sunsets. 4 Bad weather is good! Islanders consider rain a blessing - especially in its usual form which locals call "liquid sunshine". Honolulu's average rainfall is 24 inches a year, with October to April being the wettest months. 5 FOSTER BOTANICAL GARDEN, at the edge of downtown Honolulu, has earned national recognition for its Prehistoric Glen, which contains some of the oldest plant forms on Earth- some left over from the dinosaur age- all organized and displayed in chronological order. (808) 522-7065 or www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/hbg/fbg.htm 6 In 1884, King Kamehameha V offered to sell a strip of land running from downtown Honolulu to Diamond Head for $10,000 to Eliza Sinclair, a rancher's widow from New Zealand. She looked it over and turned him down because the (now priceless) REAL ESTATE wasn't suitable for raising cattle. 7 When it opened in 1879, it was hoped that HONOLULU'S FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY would be an alternative to the city's notorious saloons. It had 130 volumes, and women were not allowed inside. 8 IOLANI PALACE, the only royal palace in the United States - not only had the first telephone system in Honolulu and electricity before the White House, Windsor Palace, or the Imperial Palace of Japan - but was also the first palace in the world to install flush toilets. It also had copper lined bathtubs built to accommodate monarchs of truly royal proportions: the queen's tub is 6 1/2 feet long; the king's, 7 feet long. A tour of the Palace, is well worth taking, if time permits. 9 Honolulu's taste sensation is li hing, (pronounced "lee-hee"). The red li hing powder, tasting of salt, sugar, and licorice and used to flavor sweet-sour preserved plums, now pops up in everything from cake to sorbet. Islanders buy it by the jar. 10 The best CHOCOLATES in town are create by Chef Philippe Padovani at his eponymous bistro. The European-style dark chocolates, with local fillings such as lilikoi and apple banana, are available at the bistro, the McInerny Galleria in Waikiki and Nieman Marcus in Ala Moana Center. 11 Nostalgia bums, in search of the tropical tackiness of old Hawaii, can have their fill of fishnet ceilings, coconut-breaded shrimp, big cocktails with paper umbrellas and the old smoothie himself, Don Ho, at DON HO'S ISLAND GRILL at the Aloha Tower. (808) 528-0897. Hawaiian entertainers and hula dancers often drop in and jam. 12 The only restaurant in Hawaii certified by the royal Thai government is SINGHA THAI, a little bit of Bangkok in Waikiki. Traditional Thai dishes are prepared with locally-grown organic ingredients. In the evening, richly costumed dancers perform repertoire formerly reserved for the royal family. (808) 941-2898. 13 Paradise isn't safe for pigs. PARADISE COVE LUAU, the biggest party in the state, cooks 127 1/2 tons of kalua pig a year for its nightly extravaganza on the beach at Ko'Olina Resort. (808) 842-5911. 14 There's no place like home! SEE HOW ISLANDERS LIVE by visiting the real estate market's weekend "open houses", listed in the Sunday newspaper. Good neighborhoods to visit: Kahala, Hawaii Kai, Hawaii Loa, Nuuanu. 15 Bah! to burgers and humbug! to hot dogs. When locals are hungry, they slurp a big bowl of steaming SAIMIN. The unique noodle soup of the Islands serves as snack, meal and remedy for everything from the flu to the blues. Shiro's Hula Hula Drive-In serves 1,000 bowls a day and 60 varieties. And you're likely to see Shiro playing the ukulele (Waimalu Shopping Center, Pearl City) (808) 488-4834. |
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