Episode 4: Visit Hawai‘i

Mary Herendeeen:

Imagine your toes on a white-sand beach, a cool ocean breeze in your hair, casually soaking in the midday sun, and sipping a Mai Tai, or experiencing an oceanfront luau with traditional Polynesian music, dance, and mouthwatering cuisine. I'm Mary Herendeen. On today's episode of Traveling with AAA, we are going to Hawai‘i. Joining us to talk about the culture, food, and people is Rachel Ng, an award-winning freelance journalist, food editor of Westways magazine, regional editor of AAA Explorer Texas, and contributor to National Geographic, Outside, the Times of London, and Rachel Ray In Season. Rachel Ng, thank you for joining us. Aloha and welcome to Traveling with AAA.

Rachel Ng:

Aloha. It's been wonderful to talk to you today.

Mary:

Thank you so much, Rachel. I understand you've always had a love for Hawai‘i. Can you tell us what it is about Hawai‘i that stole a piece of your heart?

Rachel:

I was born and raised in Singapore, and one of my first trips—might be my second trip to the U.S. —there was a layover in Hawai‘i where I spent a few days with my parents and then a few trips later with my grandmother. Being from an island coming to an island in America, it was such a beautiful place. It kind of reminded me of home a little bit, but a completely different flavor. The people there are always so friendly, and the food and the culture, it's just such a magical place to be.

Mary:

Right. I spent time in Hawai‘i for the very first time about seven years ago, and it was incredible. It was really an experience, and I've been several times since then. I know you recently moved there. What's different about living there versus vacationing?

Rachel:

That's a good question. I've actually been to Hawai‘i many times over the years. I used to cover the food scene in Hawai‘i for AAA, and living here is a completely different experience. It's away from the beautiful resorts. I actually live in the mountains in Hawai‘i, which is pretty funny. I live right outside Volcanoes National Park, so year-round up here, it's about a nice, cool 70 degrees, and sometimes it can dip to like 50 degrees. And so I have a fireplace, which is not something you would think of living in Hawai‘i, to need a coat in the morning. Being able to meet the people on a person-to-person level, meet all the aunties and uncles at the grocery store or the farmers market, you get a very different nuance of how people live versus the tourist experience, which is also great. But it's definitely different.

Mary:

Living that island life. And I know you’re a food lover and food editor of Westways. Where did your love of food and travel come from?

Rachel:

I would say probably since I was a little kid. My parents actually met on a trip. My dad was in Japan, and they met on a ski trip. And so traveling has always been a big priority of our family. We didn't get too many toys or too many tchotchkes. But every year, we would travel somewhere, and my dad was always a big foodie. So whenever we travel, he would find like the deep alley little corner store. One time, we walked probably for an hour looking for this place he read about. So I think that’s been instilled in me ever since I was a kid. It’s like food and travel always go hand in hand.

Mary:

I love that. Even as an adult, when I think back to when I was a kid, there were all these little toys or things that I wanted, but it’s the experiences that you really remember. It sounds like travel and food was just part of your DNA.

Rachel:

Right? And I think something about food is that it hits all your senses: there's touch, smell, and taste. Sometimes when my mother, sister, and I talk about some of the trips that  we've had in the past, it was always the food that we remember the most and it was always the most minute, little details about the food that we had. It's really interesting to have such shared memories of something that happened so long ago, and it always has something tied to food.

Mary:

Right? Yeah, I love that. They say food is the way to someone's heart. And I know for you with your Instagram handle, @RachelLovesChicken, I’m imagining chicken is part of that. Will you tell us more about that Instagram handle?

Rachel:

Oh, I love chicken. As I said earlier, I was born and raised in Singapore, and we have this very famous dish called chicken rice. It's Hainanese chicken rice. It's poached chicken and the rice is cooked in broth. I had it every day in high school, no joke. But I love all kinds of chicken. I love fried chicken. Going to KFC for my birthday was a big highlight when I was a kid. Even on this island, my favorite fried chicken place is from a sporting goods store. Also, there's this roadside stand that sells huli huli chicken, which is like seasoned rotisserie chicken. I go once a week, and they know me there. They’re like, “Weren’t you here last week?” and I’m like, “Yes, and I will be here every week.”

Mary:

That sounds incredible. My in-laws had a place in Haiku, Maui on the side of the island. The Haiku market has a little stand out front, and they have traditional Hawai‘ian food that’s so good. That was one of the things that we did the first time I went over there with my husband. So Rachel Loves Chicken. Now I bet you know a lot about the food scene in Hawai‘i. Would you tell us a little bit about the scene? I heard that the food fusion concept really comes from Hawai‘i.

Rachel:

That's a really interesting question. I'm working on this story about the food scene in Hawai‘i, and I've learned it's very multi-layered. There is the food of Hawai‘i that was pre-Western contact. Before Captain Cook showed up, the food that the people ate here was the taro, poi, breadfruit, fresh fish, and the limu, which is the seaweed that sort of salty seaweed that seasons all their food. And then after Western contact, the British and Americans brought over cattle, pineapple, sugar cane, and—funny enough—ice. They brought in ice for what we know today as shaved  ice. And after that, there was a big migration, a rolling migration of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese workers who came here to work in plantations.

Rachel:

During their lunch breaks, they would bring food and share with each other, and that's sort of how the hybrid and the fusion came together. And so when you're going to a restaurant or going to a luau, sometimes you see representations of all these different kinds of food. But the future of Hawai‘ian food is actually also very interesting. Some of them are going back to the roots and really finding what made Hawai‘i foods stand out rather than competing with what's available at the mainland and really incorporating the local flavor into fine dining.

Mary:

I like that. I like to hear that. As a visitor, if you can get everything on the mainland all the time… It just makes it all the more interesting, all the more experience when you're on your vacation visiting Hawai‘i to be able to have that traditional food. What's the deal with Spam? Why is it so popular in Hawai‘i?

Rachel:

That's a really good question. Hawai‘i has always had a large military presence here. Right after Pearl Harbor was hit, the entirety of Hawai‘i was under martial law for several years. And so, at that time, the Japanese Americans on the mainland were put in internment in camps. But in Hawai‘i, they had such a large population only certain fraction of them were put into camps. However, the movements of the other Japanese Americans were severely restricted. A lot of them used to be fishermen, and they weren't allowed to fish, so they came to be heavily reliant on processed food and Spam, and that's kind of how Spam came to be. But they put their own take on it. They put soy and teriyaki sauce on it, grilled it, and put it on rice for Spam musubi. They took something that was available to them—that was very humble—and they made it their own and they made it a favorite. I love Spam musubi. You can find them at 7-Eleven stores here, gas stations, and roadside stands everywhere.

Mary:

Describe the Spam musubi for us. What is it?

Rachel:

Spam musubi is really just fried Spam on rice. Sometimes it's wrapped in seaweed to hold it all together.  It is a fantastic picnic food; it's portable. At the stores, they keep it in a little warmer so you get this little warm ball of rice and meat, and it hits everything. After a beach trip or a hiking trip, it nourishes you; you’ve got protein, you’ve got carbohydrates. You’re good to go.

Mary:

OK, I have seen it. I know I've seen it in the store. Haiku market for sure. I've seen it because I'd go there to get like fresh poke.

You recently wrote an article: 8 resorts in Hawai‘i perfect for couples, families, and solo travelers. In the article, you have suggestions for visitors to the islands. Can you tell us about the different islands and what type of experience travelers might expect from each?

Rachel:

Sure. There are eight islands in Hawai‘i, but four of them are probably the biggest tourist draws. You have O‘ahu, which has the metropolis Honolulu. If you are only ever going to visit Hawai‘i once, I would highly recommend O‘ahu because you can get the city life and you can also get the tranquil beach life.

North Shore, which is about an hour drive north of Waikiki, is a beautiful beach town where the surfs are great and the white sands are beautiful. But if you want nightlife, you want to go to great restaurants, you want to go to clubs after the sun goes down, I would highly recommend going to Waikiki.

Also, O‘ahu has many museums that are really great to check out: the Bishop Museum, the Iolani Museum, and then all sorts of surf spots.

Rachel:

I think it’s probably the one island that is most apt at welcoming tourists. I'd say the second is Maui. Maui tends to be a little bit more expensive. Maui has the most swimmable white-sand beaches of all the islands. The waters are pristine, and the hotels are amazing and gorgeous. If you want to just really get away, Maui is also a very romantic location.

Kaua‘i is more rural. I read somewhere that 70% of Kaua‘i is not drivable, so it's very lush, it's very green. It's for the adventurers. If you want to go hiking or go to a waterfall, and sort of want a throwback of what Hawai‘i used to be, you'd want to go to Kaua‘i. And finally, on the Big Island, the island of Hawai‘i is where I live and it has an active volcano.

Rachel:

I think that's the biggest draw on the Big Island. I actually live two miles from the volcano, and sometimes from my office, I can see Pele’s glow and smoke in the air, and I think that's the most exciting thing for people. There's a really great national park here with lots of hiking trails, but also the Big Island is big. I love taking road trips around the island of Hawai‘i. There are one of the most microclimates in the world. So you can drive through desert climate, you can drive through rainforest, and everything in between. There's cactus here and there are rolling hills with cows—it’s very idyllic. In just two hours, you can drive through inky black lava that's left over from the last flow, and it's just such an incredible experience. I think every island has something very unique. It depends on your personality and what you like to do. But if it's one trip all encompassing, I would highly recommend O‘ahu.

Mary:

All right. Well, thank you for that. I can't imagine all on a weekend or even a day just driving through all of that, just experiencing all those different places. So that's amazing. You also mentioned some incredible properties for singles, couples, and families. Do you have suggestions for someone who would like to have an amazing experience but keep it budget-friendly?

 

Rachel:

Budget-friendly? We'll tackle Maui because it is the most expensive. One of the hotels I visited on my very first trip to Maui was the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. And to me, it was such a throwback of the first time I visited Hawai‘i. It's a little bit more old school. It maybe doesn't have as many pools and amenities as some of the other hotels, but I loved it because I felt very connected to the island, just having nothing but the white-sand beach right in front of me. But there are also a lot of camping options. You'll have to plan a little bit earlier, but there are campsites. You can do van camping if you want to, you just have to make your reservations a little bit earlier. On O‘ahu, the white-sand beaches are great, but a block over there are several hotels that are really great.

Rachel:

You just have to walk a little to the beach, but it really is an interesting walk, so I never get bothered by that. As you go further away from the beaches, you can get a little bit more of a deal. And sometimes, if you purchase something in bulk—so instead of three nights, you do four nights—sometimes they have deep discounts. But right now in Hawai‘i they are really promoting this concept of malama, just kind of like taking care of the land and giving back. There are a lot of hotels that are giving discounts if you do some volunteer work when you are on the island. In Maui, Kaua‘i, and on the Big Island, there are several hotels where if you sign up for the program and clean up the beach, you can get one of the nights free. Same with O‘ahu. You can plant trees, and there’s a slew of programs that you can do that if a hotel is involved in it, they give you a discount, which is really fantastic.

Mary:

That is incredible. I’ve never actually heard of anything like that. I think that’s great, the idea that you’re going to leave it better when you leave.

Rachel:

It’s sort of a step up of sustainable tourism. It's actually giving back rather than leaving no trace, no contact. And it's a really new thing that Hawai‘i is doing after the pandemic shutdown and they sort of had time to reassess and rethink about what tourism impact is on Hawai‘i. And I'll tell you, I experienced some of them a couple weeks ago in Maui. I was planting trees, cleaning the beaches, and it really does bring an extra layer of connection to the place that you're visiting. You feel like you're doing something that leaves a lasting memory.

Mary:

Leave that lasting impression. That's amazing, and I love that. I'm going look it up. My in-laws were living in Haiku, Maui before they sold their property not too long ago. During visits there, we would hike. And my husband loves to surf; he surfed all his life. Snorkeling, checking out the sea turtles, and shopping in Lahaina or Paia. And as much as I've been, I still haven't been to an authentic luau, made any of those handmade leis, or swam through any waterfalls. What advice do you have for a traveler like me hoping for those types of experiences in a short visit?

 

Rachel:

I'd say right now, especially in the last few years, a lot of these resorts have been folding those cultural experiences into their programming. A lot of hotels in Hawai‘i have—and they’re all complimentary, part of your stay—lei-making set workshops, hula classes, cultural ambassadors, and native Hawai‘ians who talk story with you. If you want to learn, it's a place that you can go to. For example, the Outrigger in Waikiki recently opened a cultural center to talk about the canoe history, and they have a cultural ambassador there too that's very knowledgeable. I think that is one of the things the hotels are doing these days that I think are pretty incredible. My favorite luau is the Royal Hawai‘ian in Waikiki. It's a beautiful, dazzling show, but they also take it a step further where they explain the context because the luau that a lot of people are familiar with is actually a mixture of Polynesian dances.

Rachel:

They're not just strictly Hawai‘i. I think a lot of people in the past, in the '70s and '80s, they’d go see a luau show and think it's all Hawai‘i. What the show at the Royal Hawai‘ian does is explains where the Polynesian people came from, what's significant about those dances—the costumes are different. I also like the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is on the North Shore, that also has a very comprehensive and has a luau that's entertaining but also educational. But if you're not in a fancy hotel with all this programming, sometimes if you go to one of those outdoor malls, they will have performances and those are really authentic. They work with the local hula schools and put on these performances. I've seen a few of these, and they are really incredible to see as well.

Mary:

Right. You really know a lot about these.

Rachel:

One of the really unique things on the Big Island is you can swim with manta rays at night. They have these boats where they light up, it attracts these planktons, and the manta rays show up. I think there are only a handful of places in the world where you can do that. I'd say work with tour operators, Pleasant Holidays, they have all these great packages. It doesn't take away from the experience just because you go with a vendor; it actually really helps you plan your time, and you can get a lot more out of it than trying to figure out yourself: How do I get there? Where do I park? When you work with a vendor, it really does help you maximize the time that you have on the island and it also makes sure that you are visiting places that are designated for a large number of people. For example, on Instagram and on YouTube, you see a lot of people going to these beautiful waterfalls, but they’re in someone’s backyard. You have to think about, as a tourist, what your impact is, too.

Mary:

Yeah. Be respectful of the place.

Rachel:

Exactly.

Mary:

I love that you’re sharing about the hula in all of these great places. I know you recently wrote an article in the National Geographic on the history of hula. Would you share a little bit more on what we might find in that article?

Rachel:

As a kid, I’d gone to a luau, I watched a hula, and I thought I knew what it is: these beautiful ladies with  a flower in their hair dancing to beautiful music. When I was doing the story, I found out that Hawai‘i is more of an oral tradition; that's why they talk stories. They didn't have a written language until the 1820s. A lot of how they communicated with each other was through chants or meles. And these chants were talking about history of how the islands were formed. It's sort of how historical knowledge is passed down. But in the late 1700s and 1800s, there was a big Christian influence on the islands, and it was sort of frowned upon. It was banned and kind of went underground.

Rachel:

When it comes to the early 1900s,  people thought hula was such a great cultural tourist ambassadors and such a friendly face to invite tourists over. So they kind of got tied into the tourism industry with the Kodak show that was free in Waikiki in the 1970s and the luaus and all that. Along the way, a little bit of what hula really is kind of got lost, which is about history. It's about them telling the stories of their ancestors, about how the islands were formed, how the weather was formed. And so, along the evolution, cultural activists have really moved forward in preserving the authenticity of hula. There are actually two kinds of hulas that we see these days. There are the original chants, more traditional and you'll see the costumes will be a little bit different.

Rachel:

Then you have the more modern ones where maybe they're dancing to ukuleles and slack guitar; that is the more modern version. They're both embraced. Each year in April, the Merrie Monarch Festival is a huge hula competition. It started in the '60s to attract tourists, but now the tickets are really hard to get because it's gotten so popular. It's really gotten the people into appreciating all forms of hula. You can watch that on YouTube. They do televise versions of that, and it's quite amazing to watch.

Mary:

I plan to. That's coming up in just a few short weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing that. In your article, you also mentioned Hyatt Regency, the Maui resort, and the Moana Surfrider. Could you tell us why those resorts stand out?

Rachel:

Sure. I was just at the Hyatt. I stayed there a few years ago and I loved it. It's like a tropical, lush botanical garden. There's birds everywhere. There's flamingo, there's swans, there's black swans, and there are penguins too—African penguins that you can visit in the morning. Their pools are incredible. There's an underground grotto with a swim-up bar in there. There's a lot of amenities for children. What I liked about it is that you can just stay in a hotel and they have cultural programmings as well. And so you can stay in a hotel, unpack your stuff, and just really immerse and enjoy your stay there without having to leave if you don't want to. And the Moana Surfrider, it's got a special place in my heart. I'm a big history buff.

Rachel:

I love history, and Moana Surfrider is the first hotel to open up in Waikiki in 1901. It's a historic place. And it's got this giant banyan tree that you can sit under in a rocking chair and look out into the ocean. It's an older hotel, so it's not as fancy as some of the other hotels with the six pools and all that stuff. But it also does have the only beachfront spa in Waikiki, so there's that. And I just love the history of it. I love the architecture, the building, and all the famous people that have stayed there before.

Mary:

Certainly a lot of history in that hotel. When is the best time for traveling to the islands? If I wanted to go, when should I start planning with my AAA travel advisor?

Rachel:

I would say plan sooner rather than later. Hawai‘i just lifted its travel restrictions, and so a lot of people have seen a spike in interest in coming to Hawai‘i. I'd say even if it's two years ahead, book now. There is no bad time to visit Hawai‘i. There are rainy seasons, but then in Hawai‘i, there's also the wet and dry side. You’re always going to find sunshine somewhere. Christmases tend to be very popular, so if you want to come during Christmastime, definitely book far ahead. The rainiest times are around February and March. Sometimes if people want to do a lot of outdoor activities in the places, even if it's the wet side of the island, that's something to take into consideration. I would say April or May is a great time.

Rachel:

The humpback whales come to Hawai‘i between, I believe, November and April. They're plentiful in Maui if you go around March. I was just there, and it's incredible. I think I saw two or three dozen humpback whales. When I lived in Southern California, I would go whale watching and if you're lucky, you get to see one whale. But there were just spouts everywhere, tail flips everywhere. It was quite incredible.

Mary:

It sounds like it. It sounds like anytime is good, you just have to be really clear about what experience you're looking for when working with your advisor.

Rachel:

Exactly. Summer holidays are very crowded, so that might influence a little bit of your experience. In Christmastime, some of the restaurants might be booked up. If you want to come during the high season, plan early.

Mary:

I know you said that Hawai‘i just lifted its protocols and it's already getting a lot of interest, so it would be important for people to book now. Rachel, thank you so much for all of your tips. Now, one last thing. If I could only visit the islands once in my life, I know I'm going to O‘ahu like you said, but what are the once-in-a-lifetime must-do, see, or eat experiences that you'd suggest that I could only get there?

Rachel:

I would say yes, go to O‘ahu. I would say plan a few days on Waikiki. They have this trolley tour that you can sign up for that takes you to all the attractions. You get to go to Diamond Head Mountain and the Bishop Museum. I would also spend a day or a few hours at Pearl Harbor. I think you'll learn a lot about the history there. I would say, definitely make a trip out to the North Shore for a quieter side of Hawai‘i. You'll want to eat a lot of banana bread, shave ice, and Spam musubi. Definitely sign up for one luau at least. Then you’ll get to see all the cultural experiences and taste all the plate lunch food that you might have to go seek out. If you are short on time, a luau is a great experience to sample all the food in Hawai‘i. And I would say plan some days where you just sit by the beach. You’re on vacation. It doesn’t have to be go, go, go. Just enjoy the breeze, the sand, and enjoy the surf.

Mary:

And thank you, our listeners, for being with us. If you are planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA travel advisor. Check out AAA.com/Travel or visit your local branch. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe. I'm Mary Herendeen. Thank you for traveling with AAA.