I was going to assemble a list of my favorite activities, and I was on the internet looking for pictures to post when I ran into this GREAT article about doing Waikiki on a cheap dime or for free! How serendipitous! And in these tough economic times, it helps to be able to vacation or stay-cation without spending much, or even better, anything at all.

Here is the list, compiled in 2008 … so be aware that some places/locations may have changed or times been modified.

FREE Stuff in Waikiki: Starting at the airport end of Waikiki (opposite of the Diamond Head end), here are a number of free attractions.

The Gilligan’s Island Harbor: Remember where the 3 Hour Tour started from at the beginning of the TV show? Well, it’s here at Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. Check out some rather large pleasure craft. It’s at the airport end of Waikiki between Hawaiian Prince and the Hilton Lagoon. Nothing special, but well worth a photo!

US Army Museum of Hawaii: Awesome displays and artifacts from both Hawaiian wars and WWII.

Waikiki Beach: Just have a swim, paddle, snorkel, body-surf, sun bake, sleep, whatever floats your boat!

Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the big pink, and recently renovated old-looking one): Free tours 2pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center (In the Fountain Courtyard): Torch Lighting ceremony nightly from 6 to 6.15pm. 30 minute Polynesian show 6.15pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Polynesian show 10 to 11.30am Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Hula Lessons 10am Monday, Friday. Lei-making lessons 11am Monday, Wednesday. Ukulele lessons 10am Tuesday, Thursday and 11.30am Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Sheraton Moana Surfrider (Big white columns, looks like an old Plantation Inn) Free tours at 11am and 5pm, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. DON’T MISS GETTING YOUR PHOTO TAKEN ON THE FAMOUS ROCKING CHAIRS!

Wizard Stones of Kapaemahu: On Kalakaua, beside Police Station. They are said to contain the secrets and healing powers of four sorcerers.

Duke Kahanamoku Statue: Just Diamond Head side of the Wizard Stones. Hawaii’s most decorated athlete, who brought surfing to the world.

Hula Mound: Most nights of the week there is some form of free entertainment at the Hula Mound (200m Diamond Head side of Duke’s Statue on Kalakaua), at 6pm. Hula shows predominantly.

Oceanarium Restaurant: From the hotel lobby of the Pacific Beach Hotel you can easily see a massive aquarium that divides two restaurants (very expensive food). Divers feed the fish at noon, 1pm, 6.30pm and 8pm.

The Wall (and Groin): Built on top of a storm water outlet, this is a great little walk out to the end, to get a different view of Waikiki beach. You can watch surfers and boogie boarders at very close quarters.

Sunset at the Beach festival (EXCEPT August): Every Saturday and Sunday, except in August, the Mayor throws a beach party. Queen’s Surf Beach. Hawaiian bands perform from 4pm to sunset, then when darkness falls, a huge screen is set-up to watch a feature movie! Tables and chairs are set up. Food stalls galore, with nothing over $US6!

Free concerts (EXCEPT August) Sunday 2 to 3pm, the Royal Hawaiian Band, at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand. Friday 5.30 to 6.30pm, different Hawaiian groups each week, at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.

Kapiolani Park and Beach Park: Gorgeous, well manicured place for relaxing. On weekends, the locals relax, swim, and grill on the barbeque.

Waikiki Historic Trail: Look out for the surfboard markers with historical information about a particular area. 23 in total, you can walk it all in one day, or just complete sections whilst visiting other nearby areas. Definitely print out the text and map from www.waikikihistorictrail.com.

Walk along Waikiki beach at sunset: Sample the outdoor Hawaiian shows at the beachfront hotels. See musicians playing at Sheraton Moana Surfrider’s Banyan Veranda, Duke’s Canoe Club or poolside performers at Sheraton Waikiki.

Kalakaua at night: Street Performers and buskers abound. Also enjoy the antics of the mentally deranged homeless (I know that’s not PC but it is free and entertaining).

ALSO … NOT FREE, but CHEAP:

Waikiki Aquarium: $US9, supposed to be quite good. A great place to identify all of the fish you will/have seen snorkeling.

Honolulu Zoo: $US6, how good is that. Just be aware that it closes at 4.30pm. Occasionally they have a jazz night after hours.

see the full article and video HERE.

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It is a wonder that one could find tastes of Hawaii in a small Nicaraguan fishing town … but as one of the inseparable parts of the soul and spirit of surfing,  Hawaii comes to where ever there are waves and surfers to be found. Kenny Nakai’s Pau Hana is a mix of local Nica flavor and Hawaiian flare, recreating such local Hawaiian favorites as ‘Loco-Moco’ and Chicken Stri-Fry, as well as fusion dishes like “Ono” Revuelto (Spanish for ’scrambled) and Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich.

Located on the beach front row of bars, restaurants, and eateries in what can be called San Juan del Sur’s (SJDS) main strip, Kenny Nakai’s “Pau Hana” calls on the long tradition of ‘finished with work’ and ‘let’s get together with friends’ and mixes it with what is already a definitely laid back Nica scene. The restaurant is decorated with blazingly vibrant colors and a tropical island touch recalling visions of Waikiki and the Big Island.

The menu (only several days old since the restaurant opened)  follows Nicaraguan standards for the most parts, but succeeds in injecting familiar Hawaiian flavors, such as the flavorful Ono Revuelto … a local favorite of scrambled eggs mixed with your standard Hawaiian goodness for breakfast. Think scrambled egg omelet with veggies and a Nica flare!

BUT, let’s talk about the mother-of-all Hawaiian local favorites, the loco moco. Consisting of a bowl (or plate) of rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and doused with brown gravy for good measure, this Hawaii favorite becomes the barometer of how local Hawaiian a restaurant can get. After months of being away from Hawaii, this was a definite treat!

Personally accustomed to fabulous loco moco plates from Honolulu favorites such as Asahi Grill and Diamond Head Market & Grill, Kenny’s loco moco was up for some serious scrutiny … and unfortunately it pales in comparison, although not in spirit! The flavors are colorful, with touches of sautéed onions to boot, but the two main components of the dish ( the gravy and the flavored beef patty) were unseasoned and at times bland.To his credit, Kenny does offer other flavors of Hawaii that makes it easy to bypass the loco moco!

[photo collage assembled courtesy 0f DanCesar.com photos]

We have a rather extensive review of Soma’s Airbag queued up for the site where we take it for some serious beatings in an attempt to find just where the limits are to the ’safety factor’, but we just could not leave it off this surf list for the holidays so we did an excerpt type review in the meantime.

Soma Airbags is the answer to your surfboard worries when it comes to shipping or transporting your blank or stick, whether it be from the shapers or right out of the showroom floor! Constructed from “denier ballistic polyester material with a triple coating of polyester vinyl chloride”, this King of Surfbags provides the lightest and most portable form of secure protection.

The bag is inflatable via your standard ‘blow hole’, much like a raft or an air mattress. However, unlike those products, Soma Airbags sports some serious individual air columns from top to bottom, as well as in the areas where your board’s rails will sit. The confined individual air columns disperse energy and pressure, and therefore does not allow contact with your surfboard. A patented technology that the Soma people call AIR-P (Asymmetrical Interior Rocker Protection) additionally ensures that your stick does not ding, snap, or flex when heavy weight is applied on the top and bottom of the bag.

We stuffed an old 6′6″ board in the bag, and just like the video on Soma’s website, we jumped up and down on the bag … slowly at first, and then progressively harder as we felt that it could take more and more punishment — after all, this was one of our staffer’s surfboards! (By the way, see the employee manual for calling in sick!)

The Soma Airbags website does a great job of showing people beating this bag up and even running over it with a motorcycle. We wanted a more “real world use” test scenario for our extensive review (coming soon!) so we tested the bag during transport from the airport check-in and through the baggage handler’s domain (we know people who know people in the airline industry), against sharp objects that protrude from other luggage bags, strollers in transit, and suitcases, as well as (gulp!) using the darn thing as a kite and dropping it down the side of Diamond Head lookout just for kicks. Please stay tuned for that article in our upcoming reviews …

One word of note as we claim this bag to be totally worth the money … the Soma website claims that the bag takes 5 minutes to inflate “under average lung power”, so we wanted to test that out. We don’t have smokers in the office to use as a tester, so a 10 year old child was recruited for the task of imitating average lung power. In all, it took longer than 5 minutes total (about 10 minutes) to inflate the Soma Airbag. Following the directions of inflating the rail first, then bottom and top, we found that the most challenging part was inflating the rail.

You all are familiar with the inflation aid most inflatable accessories such as rafts and mattresses, right? It is the plastic lever much like an uvula that hangs from inside the blowhole, which stops the air from escaping when you stop blowing. Turns out, the inflation hole for the rails does not have that feature (the air chambers for the top and bottom sport this feature thoug!) so pauses in inflation resulted in lost air.

One bonus use for Soma Airbags that a shaper friend of iJS discovered serendipitously is to use it for transporting shaped blanks from the North Shore shop to the airbrush company’s shop in Honolulu. The bags, as it turns out, protects the unglassed blanks from the usual bumps and dings that an average foam board suffers from in transport. He ships the board in a Soma Airbag to the airbrusher’s shop, he paints his magic on it, and once it is dry … back in the bag it goes to the North Shore for glassing. No dings, no damaged paint job, no worries!

Matt Mattoon of Matunas Co. Inc. is looking to place surf wax in the forefront of everyone’s minds with ecologically friendly watersports/surf wax. It is a product line aimed not at surfers alone, but everyone who realizes that the oceans are in dire need of help from the very people who play within its waters. With millions of people entering the oceans on a daily basis, it is quite easy to understand the tipping point at hand. The oceans are quickly being polluted by non-biodegradable wax as it rubs off typical watermen sports and activities such as surfing and body boarding.

The Product: Matunas wax is the only non-toxic, biodegradable, petroleum-free, eco-friendly surf wax. Made from local California-based ingredients without any synthetic chemicals, this increasingly popular surf wax boasts itself as farm-produced - a majority of Matunas products come from their California farm, in Santa Cruz. Believe it or not, beeswax, jasmine, clay, and tree sap are the main ingredients used in the surf wax that is derived from their farm. In addition, organic produce not used for consumption through local markets, like raspberries and strawberries, are used for the scents of the surf wax.

To top off the eco-friendly twist, Matunas does not use chemicals or additives in their wax. As it rubs off your surfboard, it returns to its natural state without harming the oceans and the creatures who call it home! Additionally, their surf wax labels are printed from 100% recycled paper, using soy ink for colors and print.

The Test: We at iJs have a long history with Matunas surf wax, since it was one of our first forays into reviewing a surf product. Matt Mattoon, founder and environmental chemist was very helpful in helping us understand some of the internet hoopla about his surf wax. He was quite informative at dispelling myths and rumors about Matunas surf wax, and even provided us with some serious phone time to interview him.

However, as nice as Matt was, we still  placed some serious research on this product – how could we resist the challenge? We even went as far as allowing the staffers to run the gamut of tests from longboard and shortboard use, warm water and cold water use, straight applications to base coat+top coat application … even newbie surfers and pro surfers got into the mix.

We tested Matunas wax in three places: (1) Bondi and Bronte Beaches, in Australia, (2) Honolulu Beaches in Hawaii, and just recently (3) San Juan del Sur beaches, in Nicaragua. We had some staffers doing surf travel, and we couldn’t resist! Armed with regular wax and Matunas eco wax, our staffers waxed one side of their boards with each product (regular on one side, and Matunas eco wax on the other) and went surfing in their respective areas.

Although we tested smell (the wahines love the fruity smell, not so much the guys!), the ease of application (just like any other way in consistency), and the cost (a few cents more than regular surf wax) … the main issue we wanted to test was the durability of the wax in actual surf use … primarily because much of the internet myth was that this wax rubs off easily during actual water use.

From our temperature durability tests, we found very quickly that using Matunas basecoat severely prolongs the life of each wax application! While cold water wax stayed on the board much like regular wax, we found that warm water wax benefited greatly from the use of basecoat.

As a secondary test at Lighthouse break, at the base of Diamond Head Honolulu, we waxed one side of a 6′6″ twin fin with Matunas basecoat+Matunas Tropical and the other side with straight Tropical application. Although the wax held up fairly well through the 2 hour surf session, the side without the basecoat seemed all but gone by the end. The “basecoat plus tropical” side stayed true to the standards we were familiar with surf wax.

To place this issue to further tests, we took Matunas tropical+basecoat to Colorados and Panga Drops, popular surf breaks near San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, where water temperatures average at 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). Sorry to say, but even with the basecoat and tropical wax application, we found ourselves having to re-wax almost after every session … at times durinf mid-session on warmer days!

The Verdict: The bottom line is this product is out to ease the strain on mother nature and our oceans … so even in the painfully warm waters of Nicaragua, we didn’t mind reapplying another coat of wax. How could we even allow ourselves to use any other wax product that is NOT biodegradable at this point??? As environmentally concerned surfers, the slight inconvenience of having to wax a bit more often definitely outweighed the environmental impact of using any other surf wax that serves to pollute our waters! Surf on brothers and sisters!

A big Mahalo to Matt Mattoon at Matunas Co Inc. , and huge props for helping us surf smarter!

[article previously posted as "‘12 Days of Xmas’ #8: Matunas Eco Surf Wax"]

Official Ad Line: The low profile is lightweight and resistant to cuts, while the rubber soles protect your feet and gives you more grip over different terrains. It provides a nice option in that the shoe has none of the bulk of a typical running shoe, while providing you with protection from sticks, glass and other hazards you may come across.

The Low-Down: This shoe will definitely get you some strange looks from strangers, but once you get over the oddity factor, you will notice that not only do your feet feel incredibly agile and strong … but the questions become increasingly thoughtful and scientific as time goes on! People are catching on to this incredibly supportive athletic piece of equipment.

Think of what would happen if the bottom support of an outdoor shoe decided to go convertible and then provided individual toe support … then you can begin to see the wonders of this product for activities like running, hiking, biking, and stand-up paddling. Then there’s shopping, lounging, gardening … just name it.

But don’t think that this is an easy product to buy … it requires a specific fit for almost each and every wearer, so make sure your loved one does try on the vibram five fingers first OR get the help of a knowledgeable sales person!

The Tests: What would we be if not brutal to the products we test? After getting the right fit, we walked around the block for 10 to 30 minutes a day at first to get our feet and toes accustomed to the new gear. We quickly got used to having to individually guide our toes into their slots. These slots are essential to allowing and even encouraging toe splay, a natural function totally cut off by normal toe boxes on shoes. Much like any new gear, some break-in period is required … but in this case the breaking-in period is for our feet and calves, and not the Five Fingers. After a few days, we experienced some ‘good pain’ in our calves and toes as our feet began to stretch out and adjust to the new gait.

We discovered that without the added 2 inch cushion that a regular shoe provides – which served to permit you to slam your heel down without much thought – we needed to be aware of how we were using our muscles as we walked, trotted, jogged, and then ran. After a few days, we were ready for more challenging treks.

We decided to bring along a control subject on a hike wearing a decent pair of Columbia cross training shoes.  Hiking the mountains and hills of Hawaii is quite an experience by itself, but adding the GRIP that you get as you feel your toes stretch and flex as you seek higher ground is revelatory. Your feet begin to GRAB the surface, and you tend to feel the terrain as it responds to your body. Even through some serious muddy ground, we were able to easily navigate down a 50 degree slope. The Columbia shoes managed to scale the slope as well, but with plenty of slips and slides along the way, while the Five Fingers gripped along with the benefit of individually encased toes! While the Columbia shoes began to cake on with mud and lose grip as each crevice in the shoe filled up, the Five Fingers made easy work of the hillside.

The Verdict: The Vibram Five Fingers is light and versatile. The shoes provides you a barefoot experience like no other, adjusting quickly to the ground without feeling sharp rocks, wet grass, or hot asphalt. All in all, though, this shoe will transform your entire sense of your body when walking and running in an amazing positive way. We absolutely loved these shoes!

Five Fingers Barefoot technology comes from the age old idea that walking or running barefoot puts you in touch with the natural movement of your feet, legs and entire body, creating a better posture and, for some people, a connection to the earth and energies within.  These help to enhance your grip on surf boards, in yoga positions, Pose Method running and fitness training.

Where to Find them: Aside from the internet, where you cannot TRY THEM ON … Wheatgrass Pacifica in Kaimuki has a great inventory of the shoes in stock! Wayne & Jean Fukuda will be more than happy to share their technical expertise! Visit them at 1215 Center Street, Honolulu, HI 96816 or CALL them at (808) 739-0508.

(808) 739-0508

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[article originally featured as "12 Days of Xmas’ #12: Vibram Five Fingers"]

The Himalayan Kitchen is an authentic Nepali & Indian Cuisine restaurant that boasts an in-house tandoori clay oven … allowing them to serve up a wide variety of tasty breads that are piping hot and ever-so-fresh! The more than gracious and ever-so-friendly owner, Suman Jonchhe, is quite a perfetionist when it comes to his Naan breads, so you are in for a treat! However, I’m getting ahead of myself here! Many people often assume that Nepali cuisine is similar to Indian food, and consists primarily of “curry” and rice.

To be precise, Nepali cuisine has been deeply influenced by both Indian and Tibetan cuisine, which consequently results some wonderful cross-over tastes in their wide variety of foods. Nepali cuisine tends to be simple, but flavorful with its combination of special spices and seeds: garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, chilies, onions, cilantro, scallions, mustard oil, clarified butter (ghee),and other secret ingredients that Suman was careful not to reveal to us too easily!

To start with, you could indulge in a variety of drinks and appetizers that are more than tantalizing on their own … but we opted to jump right into some serious eating starting with Momo (or momo-cha). Momo is a type of Tibetan-Nepali dumpling that is filled with several mixtures available. We chose the vegetarian Momo to start.

Rebecca, Suman’s wife and our lovely hostess, was quick to caution us that the vegetarian Momo is quite spicy and may be a tad much for us, recommending the chicken (after carefully inquiring if we were vegetarians first!) instead. To allow us a preview of the flavor sensation, she brought out a sample dish of the vegetarian Momo … and thankfully for me that she did that first. If you like spicy flavors, then the vegetarian Momo is for you! I opted for the chicken Momo, while my lovely dinner companion savored every last spicy bite!

The Momo came with a sauce that consisted of tomatoes, ginger, cloves, and other secret ingredients that made for a great dipping sauce … although the dumplings needed very little help in the flavor department. Rebecca suggested that Momos are best consumed with beer … but remember to bring your own since they do not have their liquor license, yet! It’s strictly BYOB!

The Momos were followed by Paneer Kulcha, a naan bread with paneer – a type of soft, crumbly cheese native to India. The cheese is considered to be an acid set cheese, which means that the cheese is curdled and set with the assistance of an acid such as lemon or lime juice, rather than rennet and bacteria, as is the case with most cheeses.

Piping hot from the clay tandoori oven in the kitchen, the bread came with a zesty dipping sauce that had jalapenos among many other ingredients. After feasting on the paneer kulcha, Suman brought out the lamb bhuna. For those unfamiliar with bhuna, it is a type of curry, in which the spices are cooked in oil with little or no water.

The “bhuna” is an extension of that process where meat is added to the spices and then cooked in its own juices which results in deep strong flavours but very little sauce. Served with a portion of rice on the side, and a smattering of fresh begetables, the creamy dish was a perfect compliment to the Momo and bread! The spices were nothing short of perfection in the way they mixed with the tender slivers of lamb.

Himalayan Kitchen had been quietly opened for the last five days; a soft opening of sorts, to test the inevitable issues that normally arise during grand openings. Although the restaurant had not advertised publicly yet, and the website has nothing short of a splash page, they have had a steady flow of customers over the last five days … a true testament to the power of “word-of-mouth” in this community.

So get over there quick, get yours, before the word gets too far out and the wait times for tables get way too long! We have made it our mission to dine at almost every Indian, Tibetan, or Nepali Cuisine stablishment when we come across them all around the globe … and it was a great pleasure to find one just steps away from our Kaimuki home. See Suman and Rebecca, tell them you read good things! You won’t regret it!

The Place: Himalayan Kitchen
The Location: 1137 11th Avenue Honolulu HI   (808) 735-1122
The Website: http://www.himalayan-kitchen.com

…   review of Himalayan Kitchen is also featured on Hawaii WOMF [ link HERE ]

With the 400,000 people living in Honolulu (a recent estimate released by the U.S. Census Bureau), about half of that is the male population. Now that’s a pool of about 200,000 boys, men, and old men. Now of course, I would only date men, though in the past, I think I may have dated some who, mentally, were 10 and 60. So 200,000 men is a lot of people, but for me, quality trumps quantity any day— unless we’re talking about bacon (yeah, I have a pork obsession).

And speaking of bacon, I feel like dating in Honolulu is like that concept behind that trivia game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, where you can pretty much link actor Kevin Bacon to any actor based on the movies they both have acted on, in six steps or less.

I find myself trapped in these links a lot of times. I would meet someone, and later I would find out that he’s dated a friend of mine who has also dated someone else that I had dated in the past. It’s almost funny actually— if it wasn’t so sick. It’s not difficult to meet men. I’ve run into them everywhere— the beer aisle or floral sections of Safeway, at a jazz bar, at an art gallery, or through friends, to name a few. But again, quality trumps quantity any day.

There just aren’t that many quality men out there and those few good ones are probably dating a friend or another… Anyway, not to whine or anything, but being single and dating in Honolulu is exhausting, but some of us have that “breather”. That default-opposite sex— a platonic friendship that’s almost an illusion of dating. I’m not talking about your booty-call, I’m not talking about your gay friend. I’m talking about someone you have a relaxed and exciting conversations with over coffee, or a cocktail— Someone, after having your ego bruised in this roller derby called dating, dusts you off with reminders of how cool and wonderful you are. And you do the same for him or her.

Well, I don’t exactly have a person like that.

What I do have is this beautiful Pacific Ocean that hugs Honolulu. My default is surfing. When being single and the unwanted attachments that pounce at me at random times like loneliness and insecurities kick my butt, I go and whine to my default. He’s so good to me that while I’m with him, I can’t imagine being with someone else. Like last night, in Waikiki, he played the Blues for me while I surfed my blues away. He even painted me a beautiful sunset with strokes of peppermint pink— you know, that fluffy reddish color you see that bleeds into the sweet minty white after sucking on a peppermint candy— I’ve never seen that in the sky before. Simply cool.

After the surf therapy, I paddled in, my bruised ego healed with a magic kiss— My soul, once again, at ease.

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