It took us slightly more than one hour to clear Honolulu customs and immigration as well as check in our luggage for our next connecting flight DL1558 to Los Angeles departing at 2125 hrs.
Aloha Honolulu! Here we come...
Honolulu International Airport
Next we proceeded to take the Honolulu Airport Shuttle bus to Waikiki. Costing USD9 per person per way or USD15 per person for a round trip, we decided to take the round trip. However as we are required to book the return trip two days in advance, there was no guarantee that we would be able to catch the return bus for that evening. As such, we just took the shuttle bus one way and dropped off at Sheraton Hotel.
Waiting for the Honolulu International Airport Shuttle busOur first stop in Honolulu
From Sheraton, we walked along Kalakana Avenue where we met a Waikiki Ambassador who recommended that we head over to the lovingly lei-draped statue of Duke Kahanamoku along Waikiki Beach. She even gave us a website www.honolulu.gov/multimed/waikiki.asp where you could inform your family members and they can see you live in Honolulu. Interesting!
Duke Kahnamoku along Hawaii Waikiki BeachAccording to the publication “The Best of Oahu”, this is considered as one of the best photo opportunities on Oahu to shoot a great vacation memento.
After some snapping of the shutter at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku, we also took some shots of people having fun on Waikiki beach. Check out more Hawaii Waikiki Beach pictures.
Hawaii Waikiki Beach pictures 
Next was some shopping. We started off with our shopping adenture in ABC Store which sells some reasonably priced items. We also visited King’s Village Shopping Centre where we saw mostly Food & Beverage outlets. Here you can witness the changing of the King's guards everyday at 1815 hrs and be impressed with their spectacular rifle drill exhibition.
ABC Store, more than just a convenience store with 78 outlets. ABC Stores sells more macadamia nuts, suncare products, souvenirs and other visitor-related products than anyone else in the state. You can expect fair prices here.
King's Village, located in the heart of Waikiki, is a unique and exciting visitor's attraction.Waikiki's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame
Walking past Furusato Japanese Restaurant, we decided to delight in a Japanese lunch. The bento set was very reasonably priced and we thorough enjoyed the freshness of the food and the cozy ambience.
Furusato Japanese Restaurant, 2424 Kalakaua AvenueHonolulu, Hawaii 96815
The set lunch came with tuna sashimi, tuna and cucumber rolls, inari (deep fried tofu sushi), small salad and miso soup together with either somen (thin wheat noodles) or udon (thick wheat noodles) Priced at UDS18.50, it was a great bargain!
Udon setSomen set (cold or hot)
Furusato Japanese RestaurantAs per recommendation by the Waikiki Ambassador, we visited the International Market Place which is somewhat of an island tradition.
International Market PlaceWith more than 130 carts, shops and artisan stands, this open-air setting in the heart of Waikiki remains a must-see-and-do for that special gift or souvenir.
Hula skirtsHawaiian wear
Men's Hawaiian wear
Snap a photo by the cascading waterfall with the century-old banyan in the backgroundHoliday Travel Tips:-
We were also recommended to use the phrase “I’ll come back later if you do not give me that price”.
A store we passed... :)Sidewalk entertainment
Watch if he moves...At Payless, a shoe shop, we bought 2 pairs of ladies’ shoes which were already at reduced price. At the same time, there was a summer sale where you buy 1 and get 50% off the 2nd pair. This also applied for items that were on sale.
We spent the later part of the afternoon enjoying a cup of ice-blended coffee in Starbucks. Next to us, a lady was working on her laptop when she asked if we could assist to look after her belongings as she needed to run to the restroom which happened to be across the street. We willingly obliged.
Our new friend from ChicagoWhen she returned, she lamented the odd fact that she had discovered upon checking with the Starbucks staff for the closest restroom. It seemed that either there was not a need to have or they could not have a restroom in the facility as there was a restroom within 200 metres. Whatever the case may be, we ended up with a new friend Rebecca Lee from Chicago.
We then headed to the bus stop along Kuhio Avenue to wait for “The Bus”. We had checked the brochures and realized we could board “The Bus” either #19 or #20 to the airport and pay only USD2.25 per person. This is only for those without luggage, especially good for us.
The Bus - The City & County of Honolulu provides an island-wide bus transportation system that serves Honolulu International Airport.Holiday Travel Tips:-
If you need to go to the Honolulu International Airport and do not have any luggage with you, you can hop onto “The Bus” #19 or #20 from Waikiki.
Holiday Travel Tips:-
There is also the free shuttle bus by Hilo Hattie that you can hop on.
It took us approximately an hour to reach Honolulu International Airport via The Bus. We still had two hours left, so we checked in and browsed through the few duty free shops that were in the airport. We then headed for “Food Court” where there were 3 outlets to choose from:- Burger King, ChowMein Express and California Pizza Kitchen.
We decided to have the set from Chow Mein Express which cost USD7.99 and a refillable regular soft drink at US2.59. The food was slightly bland on the whole but the free refills made up for that as we waited for our boarding time.
ChowMein ExpressHoliday Travel Tips:-
If you have some time to spare, and are on a budget, head for the “Food Court” and have a soft drink. As this is refillable, you will be able to drink to your heart’s content.
Honolulu International Airport as we await our flight to Los AngelesOur flight to Los Angeles was at 2115 hrs. However boarding only commenced at 2115 hrs and the plane finally took off at 2200 hrs.
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