Land Day #2: Kailua Kona, Big Island

We started the day off early, especially Norm and Irene who woke up early to get tender tickets for everybody. The port at Kailua Kona is too shallow for our cruise ship to dock so we need to take small tender boats that can take up to 100 passengers to shore. Tender days are definitely not ideal but at least the tender boat takes us to a port to an area with lots of shops and restaurants! Poke round 2 here we come!

May trying to survive the tender ride

We decided to join the Irene tour again with my parents and a bunch of other people. The plan was to take it easy, walk around old town, grab some food, and then relax on a beach. Kailua Kona, or Kona for short, is on the west side of the Big Island. Because of the large mountains on Big Island, the weather in Kona is mostly sunny and very little rain while in Hilo, which is on the east side of Big Island, it is mostly rainy. We definitely felt the difference; when we were walking in town, we kept looking for shade or air conditioning. Luckily, we realized ABC convenience stores are all over Hawaii and the air conditioning is always blasting J We wandered to a farmers market and was able to buy some fresh fruit. We really wanted to try Maui pineapple but we had to wait until Maui for that.

So hottttt

Our cruise ship

Rambutan

Bananas in pajamas.....

Our next stop was a local poke shop just 5 minutes away from the farmers market. (So glad some of us are American and have data to use Yelp!) The line-up was quite long for the restaurant but it was definitely worth it! Even though the poke was very delicious, most of us thought the poke we ate the day before was even more delicious. Might be because we were starving when we ate it yesterday but either way, yesterday’s was definitely more bang for our buck.

Kombucha (not bad)

Poke from Umekes Ali'i Plaza

Hungry and hot

The fish for the next batch of poke

After lunch the parents decided to slowly head back to the ship and we grabbed taxis to check out a beach. The beach was not particularly beautiful compared to the other beaches we’ve been to but the water was nice to snorkel in. I always had a little bit of trouble snorkeling for a long time because I feel claustrophobic and fear that I’m going to drown but on this vacation I got over the fear! I think because I was using Irene’s fancy snorkel gear which makes a world of a difference. We were able to see small and big sea turtles while snorkeling but they were really close to shore and the current knocked us into the rocks and we got cut up pretty bad L Remember to wear water shoes kids!

Who's that cutie

Heyyyy

My first Hawaiian shaved ice

While waiting four our taxi van to get to the beach, I tried my first Hawaiian shaved ice. For a shaved ice from a truck, it was really refreshing and delicious. Our taxi finally arrived and we were on our way back to old town. On our way back, we saw Will T. playing beach volleyball and then when we were walking around old town, we saw him again on an electric bike! I guess when a 2000+ cruise ship goes to a small town, you’re bound to bump into friends. Our last stop was another ABC store to buy some famous Kona coffee to bring back home.

Hey Will!

Bye Kona!

That night we went to Cascade for dinner and either played games, went to the casino or chilled in our stateroom until bed. It’s tiring to have so many land days back to back.... 

Yay for Land - Hilo, Big Island

After six long days at sea, everyone was super happy to touch down on solid land. Though the floor was no longer rocking, as soon as we got off, we were in for a rude awakening regarding how hot Hawaii is. Rather than following an excursion from the cruise (most of which were overpriced), we decided to piggy back Rony’s sister’s (Irene's) car rental. We rented a van and visited the Hilo volcano, which is located in a national park. It was cool to see an active volcano and all the strange terrain that comes along with it.

Landdddddd

When we first arrived, we checked out the sulfur plains, which were tinged yellow from the sulfur escaping underneath cracks in the floor. There was a wooden bridge/trail for us to walk on and we followed it closely, knowing that if you ventured off the path, there was a chance that you could fall through the floor and be scalded by the steam escaping. From then, we drove out to a lookout to get a vantage point of the volcano. It was a large crater, with steam escaping in the middle – quite a sight to see. From then, we checked out some underground caves that were created from the volcano. It was dark and quite wet in those caves, but overall, nothing super special to see. We also continually bumped into Fannie, Rony and their family as their tour group remained right on our tails behind us.

The weather in Hilo was cold and then hot....

Did somebody fart?! =P

The crew minus 1

Reunited for 5 minutes

Hilo known for its active volcanoes

Cave hiking

From then,  we initially planned on seeing the black sand beach at the edge of the plain, but while we were stopping by, we drove through Devastation Plains, a valley of black, scorched volcano earth with little else to see. It was really unique to see that kind of terrain, and we got out of our car to see. The rock was sharp, jagged, and black, the colour of molten lava after it has cooled. However, the heat and pressure create several uniquely colour rocks and cool, folded patterns in the ground. We saw lava formations after they have covered trees (‘lava trees’). However, even in this wasteland, we saw plants growing out of the ground. Life has a way of existing, it looks like.

Look at all the black stuff...

...and more black stuff!

Afterwards, we continued our drive to the edge of the island. We had to stop, as the road was closed and our plans to check out the black sand beach was cut short, as we were informed that it would be a 11 mile hike to and from to check out the beach. However, we were not disappointed, as the drive and landscapes to the beach were breathtaking. Blue skies, clear water, rolling hills of black volcano rock interspersed with green Hawaiian vegetation, it was beautiful. But rather than describing it, here are some photos:

Hilo is so scenic

"Is it worth it??"

Lastly, we got back into the car and realized we haven’t eaten since breakfast on the boat. Eager to try some Hawaiian dishes, we quickly yelped a hole-in-the-wall poke shop. Though the interior was quite poor, many locals were coming in to order food. Maybe because we were so hungry, but that poke was delicious and was a good introduction to Hawaiian cuisine.

Our first poke bowl

So hungryyyyy

We spent our last hour on land checking out another nearby black sand beach, where sea turtles are known to frolic. We were really short on time, and the rocks were extremely jagged. Mandy and I snorkeled for about 10 minutes before we were ushered to get back to the car. I had cut the heel of my foot, which would end up annoying me for the following several days of walking. We made it back to the boat and enjoy the rest of the day just chillaxing. Pre-diner, then regular dinner, then sleep for me!

Black sand beach

The last of the black stuff

Frony 2015

Today is the fourth day at sea and it is also the day where Fannie and Rony are getting married. We have been early anticipating this day, and it was a hectic one. Fannie and her bridesmaids (including Mandy) started off with a spa day. I spent the morning playing video games on my phone but then helped with the preparations at the restaurant, including making a photo wall, putting up the decorations and setting up a photo booth where people can take pictures and hang them up. I was also designated backup-to-the-backup photographer in case the two photographers ahead of me took bad pictures. It was a good way to work on my photography skills and I actually ended up with quite a few good shots. After the girls finished at the spa, they started getting ready and I was busy taking pictures of them getting ready for the big moment. I then took some pictures of the groom and his groomsmen as we headed off to the helipad of the boat. I must say, it was a beautiful sunny day and it is very easy to take good pictures when you have such amazing light.

Getting ready for the big day the night before

The personal notes for everyone

The excited bride to be

Breakfast with the bridesmaids

Bride + MOH :)

More prepping

Getting our hair done

Boys being silly

So prettyyy

The wedding ceremony began at the 13^th floor of the boat at Starquest. There, the nuptials were performed and the ceremony took place. Fannie and Rony traded vows and a lot of people in the room were holding back tears. From then, we headed out to the helipad again for yet more photos. After literally thousands of pictures later between the three photographers, it was time for dinner.

Happily married couple <3 td="">

Small but excited crowd

Perfect weather

Rather than eating at the typical Cascades restaurant, we booked out Giovanni’s restaurant on the boat. There, the food and wine flowed non-stop. Antipasti, pasta, gnocchi, lamb chops, shrimp came out in large quantities. People were already full after appetizers! However, the most popular food item was the bread, in anticipation for all the drinking that was to take place that evening. Rony made this silly vow that the groom has to vomit at every wedding, and now that vow has caught up to him. He had his groomsmen to  help to take drinks on his behalf and even enlisted me to take on one of his family members, who was intent on getting Rony super drunk. To do that, I chugged nearly a bottle of wine against his Ben, who is Rony’s cousin’s husband. We also played a lot of funny games, where Rony would have to feel volunteers’ hands while blindfolded to see whether he could identify Fannie’s hand. Fannie did the same game, but instead of feeling and identifying hands, she had to correctly identify Rony’s butt while blindfolded. The maid-of-honour (Mandy) and the best man (Mendy) also gave out riveting wedding speeches.

First dance

After all the food came to a close, we headed up to the 13^th floor for a night of open bar and dancing. There were many dance moves made immortal (pew pew pew), servers that wouldn’t serve us 30 shots at once, many people getting sick and just overall a good time. But most importantly, Rony and Fannie are now married! Congrats to the married couple!

Cruising

To simplify the entries for our sea days (since they are by-and-large very similar), we decided to consolidate our sea days into one entry, with the one exception being Fannie and Rony’s wedding day. Essentially, our days would consist of waking up, and heading either to Windjammer (the ship’s buffet) or Cascades (the dining room) to start breakfast. From then, we began to do various activities. Our first few days, we were actually very active, spending several hours playing soccer. Our massive Asian group also took part in the table tennis tournament, where we were easily half of the all the participants. We also played in several on ship sports competitions. Norman won 2^nd place in the 3vs3 basketball tournament, and Mandy won 2^nd place in the volleyball tournament. We also spent some time on the rock climbing wall and Mandy and I even did a 7 am gym session on the first day. We didn’t do it by choice, we believed Mendy was going to be there to train us and he subsequently just slept in (Mendy!!). We also spent some time playing some board games, including my first time playing Avalon. I was also dutifully reading a book on China in preparation for work, which took up a lot of my time. I’ve also been playing a lot of video games on my iPhone and we hit up the video arcade a few times for some gun games and Guitar Hero (I am very rusty at that game). It is strange not to have access to internet and I can’t wait to be reconnected back to the world.

Bride to be hanging out in May and Will's fancy window suite

What you lookin at

Cheers! (One of the few dinners May attended)

The old man schooled me in ping pong

Go Norm go!

One of the few photos of us in the Cascade dining room

Suited up for rock climbing

Repelling down

Wohoo reached the top!

Rainbow in the background!

Rock climbing round 2 with Mandy's mom!

Of course, cruising is all about the copious amount of food available. After breakfast, we would typically have a lunch, followed by a pre-dinner and then actual dinner at the Cascades restaurant. On the first several days, we would have a couple glasses of wine, along with several appetizers, entrees and desserts. Overall, the food here is acceptable, not great, but not terrible. It does really depend on the day and what the dishes of the day are. However, I have noticed that the staff has a lot of Indian/Pakistani workers and I feel that the Indian food is considerably better than the other types of cuisine. At breakfast, they offer congee, and it is quite possibly the saltiest and unconventional congee there was.

Formal night

Special napkin rolled for the couple

All in all, 6 days at sea is a tough pill to swallow. Some days, particularly the first day, was extremely rocky and there were many that were sick and could not sleep due to the incessant rocking. And the days do get progressively longer. Especially since every other day we gained an hour due to the change in time zones. Though there are things to do (casino, catching shows, or watching movies), but it does get a little boring eventually. We did see a magic show that was quite good and it is always entertaining to see Rony and his friends lose money at the Roulette table. Though, I must say, after so long at the ocean, I am looking forward to being on solid land again!