Tom Upon arrival in Honolulu Oahu, we headed to Honolulu’s Chinatown!
Where to Visit in Honolulu Oahu – Chinatown
Since Honolulu Chinatown was on the way from Honolulu Airport to the city, we decided to stop by to have breakfast before visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, more commonly known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We had breakfast at Happy Garden Dim Sum 恒心点心…
Having come from Asia, especially Singapore, the dim sum was not that tasty. Nonetheless, for a distance, 10,000km away from Asia, the standard is probably one of the best in the area. After a hearty breakfast, we headed to the next attraction in Honolulu – Pearl Harbor aka USS Arizona Memorial
Honolulu Chinatown
Address: Chinatown, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA (Beretania Street, Nuuanu Stream, Nuuanu Avenue, and Honolulu Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii)
Where to Visit in Honolulu Oahu – USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor
Though more commonly known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial, the actual name of this attraction is called World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. At this venue, you can visit the USS Oklahoma Memorial, USS Utah Memorial and the USS Arizona Memorial…
On 7th December 1941, Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor as a pre-emptive strike on the “sleeping giant” to reduce their involvement in the Pacific. The attack was a Sunday, knowing that most would not be ready for such an attack, especially at Hawaii – 10,000km from Asia. In fact, when the bombers approached Honolulu, they were detected by the radar. However, the officer on duty, waived it off as he was expecting a group of planes to return to base that morning. During the impending attack, USS Arizona was hit 4 times by the Japanese, sunked, taking along with it over 1000 sailors and marines onboard…
Today, USS Arizona sits exactly where she was sunk and the whole Pearl Harbor Memorial is built around it. To visit the USS Arizona Memorial, there are three ways to secure the movie/boat tickets to the Memorial (taken from Pearl Harbor Historic Sites Website):
1. Two months out, 325 tickets are place online at recreation.gov. The official National Park Service website for its Parks. Please note there are three choices to choose from in getting these tickets.
2. Each day at 7:00am Hawaii Standard Time an additional 525 tickets are placed on recreation.gov for the next day’s reservations.
3. If you were not able to secure your movie/boat tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial online, the National Park Service gives out over 1,300 free walk up tickets each day on a first come, first serviced basis. Be sure to arrive early for these walk up tickets, the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center opens at 7:00am.
Before taking the ferry, you’ll be watching a short movie that led up to the war and the establishment of the memorial. It was indeed a moving sight then, to see the memorial. The sacrifice of the sailors and marines for the sake of freedom – not only for US but also for the world. A surreal feeling…
World War II Valor In the Pacific Monument (Pearl Harbor Memorial)
Address: 1 Arizona Memorial Pl, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA
Hours: 7am to 5pm
Playing the Ukulele by the Beaches of Honolulu Oahu
To round off our first day at Honolulu, we did the most cliche thing! Playing Ukulele by the beaches of Hawaii!
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It was a perfect evening. Enjoying the sea breeze, taking in the sights of the Lord’s creation as the sun set over the horizon in Honolulu Hawaii, accompanied by tunes from a local instrument – the Ukulele. Pure bliss!
Other Posts from 13 Days Hawaii Travels
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Big Island Hawaii Day 1!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Big Island Hawaii Day 2!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Big Island to Maui Day 3!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Road to Hana Maui Day 4!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Haleakala National Park Maui Day 5
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Arrival in Honolulu Oahu Day 6
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Diamond Head and Waikiki Honolulu Hawaii Day 7
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Hanauma Bay & Maui Brewing Day 8!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Dole Plantation Oahu Day 9!
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Chilling at Kauai Shores Day 10
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Kauai Coffee & Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa Day 11
Travel Hawaii in 13 days: Luau at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa Day 12
Top 10 Things to do in Hawaii ( A Pictorial Review)!
Top 4 Things to do in Big Island Hawaii!
Top 3 Things to do in Maui Hawaii!
