36 hours in Honolulu

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| SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 30-31, 2015
INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES
WEATHER ON PAGE 23
weekend travel
36 hours in Honolulu
color Big Island tomato soup and
grilled cheese sandwich with foie gras
and kalua pig; ginger-crusted onaga;
and the president’s favorite dish, twicecooked soy-braised short ribs. ‘‘The
Coconut’’ is coconut ice cream covered
with dark chocolate, shaped like half a
coconut and served with tropical fruits.
Dinner runs about $100 a person (a fivecourse tasting menu, with wine pairings, is $85 a person). Later, head to
small, dark and crowded Jazz Minds.
Young Hae Yi, the owner, will sometimes get up on stage and sing jazz classics (in her Korean accent).
BY ELAINE SCIOLINO
The name Honolulu can conjure up
frenzied activity: exploring the sea
with electric scooters, high-altitude extreme parasailing, close encounters
with sharks, 40-miles-an-hour motorboat rides that guarantee you’ll get
wet. But Honolulu can also mean mellow: the fragrance of a custom-made
orchid lei, the taste and texture of a perfect tuna sashimi slice, the elegance of a
hula dancer, the deepening of the blues
and greens of the sea as the sun sets.
Even the steel-mesh netting to prevent
falling rocks is partly hidden so as to
blend with the landscape. Then there is
the pace, the feeling that no one is ever
too rushed to give you directions, take
your dinner order or explain the history
of a 100-year-old banyan tree.
Sunday 6 a.m.
Take a drive on the east
side of the island toward Sandy Beach,
the backdrop for many scenes and
chases in the ‘‘Magnum, P.I.’’ television series. Loop north to Makapuu
Point, where you can park and take an
intermittently steep hike. This has to
be one of the best places in the world to
watch the sun come up. Then turn
northwest along the Kalanianaole
Highway, where the mountains seem to
touch the ocean. Stop at Waimanalo
Beach Park, where you can stroll along
the beach. You will see colorful tent villages. Finally, there’s Pali Lookout for a
view of Oahu’s windward side, where
you will see Kaneohe Bay in the distance and wild chickens in the parking
lot. The pass forms a kind of natural
wind tunnel, so prepare to feel the
strong trade winds blowing from the
East. (For 20 great Oahu hikes, see
honolulumagazine.com/HonoluluMagazine/September-2013/20-GreatOahu-Hikes.)
SUNRISE HIKE
Friday 2 p.m.
Who knew that Iolani
Palace, the home of Hawaii’s king and
queen once upon a time, is the only official royal palace in the United States?
In 1882 King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani moved into their newly built official residence, done in a unique ‘‘American Florentine’’ style. Fitted with
telephones and electricity even before
the White House, it was richly decorated with koa and other native woods.
The king and queen were heads of state
in their time, receiving foreign dignitaries and being received in places like
Buckingham Palace. After the overthrow of the monarchy, Iolani Palace
became a government building and a
museum to explore. Guided tours cost
$21.75; $6 for those aged 5 to 12; selfguided audio tours are $14.75; $6 for
those 5 to 12.
ROYAL DIGS
10 a.m.
3:30 p.m.
Shopping for your
weekend adventure starts with sensual
self-indulgence. Head to Maunakea
Street in Chinatown, where elderly
women string flowers by hand to make
LEIS AND PAPAYA
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARCO GARCIA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ritz in Paris and the feel is classic and
formal, with dark hardwood bars and
chairs, sumptuous floral arrangements,
Art Deco wood carvings and bartenders in white coats. From the hotel,
a barefoot walk along the two-mile
Waikiki beach with its pillowy white
sand follows naturally. Even locals who
stay away from touristy Waikiki find it
magical to jump into the water to watch
the sunset.
8 p.m.
There are designer
sushi restaurants in Honolulu where
the waiters bark at you and order you
not to linger too long over your raw
fish. Then there’s Yanagi Sushi, comfortable and unpretentious. Start with a
classic — the spicy tuna roll is $6.95 for
eight pieces — or try the divinely fresh
and buttery toro (ahi belly) sushi, the
price of which changes depending on
season and availability. If you’re feeling
adventurous, try the broiled sea urchin,
a local favorite and, at $25.95, one of the
priciest items on the menu. A dinner for
two without drinks costs around $50 to
$60.
SUSHI SUBLIME
From top, the approach to Halona
Beach Cove, also
known as Cockroach Cove; Iolani
Palace, the home in
Honolulu of
Hawaii’s king and
queen once upon a
time; tropical fruits
and vegetables for
sale in Chinatown;
and a mai tai cocktail at House Without a Key in the
Halekulani Hotel.
the flower garlands called leis. The lei
of ginger wrapped inside orchids will
perfume your room, and you, for days.
At Pauahi Leis & Flowers, leis cost
about $20 each, though simpler orchid
leis sometimes go for less than $10. In
Chinatown you can also find stands
with luscious seasonal fruits — including papaya or dragon eye (sort of like
litchi) — and wander in and out of
shops selling hundreds of different
kinds of beads, sold singly or in strands.
5 p.m.
Everyone needs a
good hat to protect against the unforgiving Hawaiian sun. You can pick up
comfortable, broad-rimmed, straw
gardening hats in just about any Honolulu hardware store for about $20. But
why not indulge in luxury with a handwoven one-of-a-kind Panama hat from
Newt at the Royal? Part of the Royal
Hawaiian Hotel, Newt’s sells Sombreros Montecristi, among the world’s
finest Panama hats, made not in
Panama but in Ecuador. Napoleon,
Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Truman Capote and Cameron Diaz have all
worn Sombreros Montecristi. The feel
is more silk or linen than straw. The
classic fedora is about $525; the finest,
more than $15,000.
THE PERFECT HAT
6 p.m.
It may
seem corny, but a mai tai at House
Without a Key in the seafront garden at
the Halekulani Hotel in late afternoon is
perfection. Even the most jaded travelers fall under the spell of the Hawaiian
music and swaying hula dancer. But if
it’s trendiness you’re after, try L’Aperitif at La Mer, where the cocktails have
been curated by Colin Field from the
THE SERENADE THAT DELIVERS
If you go
Iolani Palace 364 South King Street; iolanipalace.org.
Pauahi Leis & Flowers 1145 Maunakea
Street, Honolulu; 808-521-6156.
Newt at the Royal 2259 Kalakaua Avenue,
Waikiki; newtattheroyal.com.
House Without a Key and L’Aperitif at La Mer
Halekulani Hotel, 2199 Kalia Road; halekulani.com.
Yanagi Sushi 762 Kapiolani Boulevard;
yanagisushi-hawaii.com.
Shangri La 4055 Papu Circle; shangrilahawaii.org.
The Pig and the Lady 83 North King Street;
thepigandthelady.com.
Nohea Gallery 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard;
noheagallery.com.
Halona Beach Cove (Cockroach Cove) 8450
Kalanianaole Highway, between Hanauma
Bay and Sandy Beach.
Alan Wong’s 1857 South King Street, Honolulu; alanwongs.com.
Jazz Minds 1661 Kapiolani Boulevard; honolulujazzclub.com.
BookEnds Bookstore 600 Kailua Road,
Kailua; 1-808-261-1996.
Orchids Restaurant Halekulani Hotel, 2199
Kalia Road; halekulani.com/dining/orchidsrestaurant.
Saturday 9 a.m.
Doris Duke, the
American tobacco heiress, called
Shangri La, her home at the base of
Diamond Head on the Pacific, ‘‘a Spanish-Moorish-Persian-Indian complex.’’
She filled the 14,000-square-foot Islamic
flight of fantasy with tiles from Iran, inlaid mother-of-pearl wooden chests
from Syria, ceramics from Moorish
Spain, marble mosaics from India, embroideries from Central Asia and
painted ceilings from Morocco. In October, after extensive renovations, the
Mughal Suite (Ms. Duke’s bedroom,
dressing room and master bath) was
opened to the public for the first time.
Guided tours must be reserved ahead,
and begin and end with a 20-minute
shuttle ride from the Honolulu Museum
of Art. They include a visit to the sumptuous and exotic Mughal Garden,
styled after the royal gardens of India,
which Duke visited during her 1935
honeymoon voyage. Tours start at 9
a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; $25 general admission. (Times and days open
may change, so it’s best to doublecheck.)
ISLAM BY THE SEA
12 p.m.
Casual and spacious, The
Pig and the Lady in the Pacific Gateway Center in downtown Honolulu is
the place to go for an inventive, filling
meal, especially if you like Vietnamese
and Asian fare. Try the vegetarian pho,
ginger beer and, if available, the caramelized avocado cake, made with bee
pollen, strawberries and pea shoots.
(Desserts change regularly.) Expect to
pay $25 for lunch.
ASIAN REPAST
2 p.m.
At Nohea Gallery,
wood is celebrated in beautifully made
items, including bowls, calabashes and
boxes by local master turners in local
woods such as koa, mango and macadamia nut wood. Koa (‘‘Hawaiian Mahogany’’) was used extensively in the
Iolani Palace; its harvesting has been
restricted by the state. Mark Twain
wrote about the beauty of koa wood in
his letters; a bowl can cost several hundred dollars. But you can also find
THE MAGIC OF WOOD
ONLINE: MAP AND VIDEO
A video tour of Honolulu and an
interactive map: nytimes.com/travel
green sea turtles in glazed ceramic and
stone for $29.50; they bring good luck,
as the sea turtle swims forward, never
backward.
will be tempted to plunge off the volcanic cliffs into the pure waters below. Less
experienced swimmers can sunbathe
and admire the view.
4 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
The hike down to hidden Halona Beach Cove, also known as
Cockroach Cove, is steep and rocky, so
wear rubber-soled shoes. Expert divers
TAKE THE PLUNGE
FIT FOR A PRESIDENT You too can dine
like Barack and Michelle, who have
eaten at Alan Wong’s. Specialties include the ‘‘Soup and Sandwich,’’ a two-
SHOPPING AND BRUNCH There’s a bit of
backtracking to get there, but a certain
strip of Kailua Road is lined with small
shops featuring affordable Hawaiianmade goods: starfish-shaped soaps,
plastic mermaids, hand-painted onesies, jewelry made with sea glass. The
fabulously informal BookEnds Bookstore offers books about Hawaii, including ‘‘Camping Hawaii,’’ ‘‘Pests of Paradise’’ and ‘‘The Aloha Shirt.’’ Then it’s
off to brunch. Orchids restaurant in the
Halekulani Hotel offers an over-the-top
brunch for $69. One station features
prime rib, roast turkey, baked ham and
a roasted pig with an apple in its mouth,
another piled high with exotic fruits, a
third with sashimi and sushi. And on
and on.